Lena Merhej talked about her work as an illustrator at Samandal and WatWat. Merhej discussed how her comics publishes provides an alternative expression of cultural and social issues for youths and adults.

Lena Merhej is a visual storyteller and an expert in graphic narration. She taught at several universities in Beirut. She is the founder and director of the Story Center, which offers professional trainings in animation, illustration, and comic books. She was the director of the Beirut Animated Festival, and worked with Tosh Fesh to promote comics and animation in Arab countries. Lena Merhej has illustrated over twenty-five Arabic children’s books and has exhibited her work both locally and internationally. Her animated Drawing the War (2002), her comic book Kamen Sine (Another year, 2009), and her book Mrabba w Labban (Yogurt and jam, 2011) took international awards. She is a cofounder and a member of Samandal, an award-winning comics organization in Lebanon. Recent comics she worked on include Là où il y a la vie, il y a l’amour for Solidarités International and Manarat for OXFAM.

Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp

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afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
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ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
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