Arab Futurisms

Names

• Arab Futurisms
• Arab Futurism
• Arabfuturism
• Arab Futures
• Can overlap with MENA, MENASA, SWANA and SSWANA Futurism(s)
• Can overlap with Global South Futurism(s) and Post Western Futurism(s)
• Can overlap with Levant Futurism(s)
• Can overlap with Afrofuturism(s) and African Futurism(s)
• Can overlap with various Indigenous Futurism(s)
• Can overlap with Gulf Futurism(s)

Artists and Creators

• Marwan Abdelhamid aka Saint Levant
• Ahmed Salah Al-Mahdi
• Sophia Al-Maria
• Fatima Al Qadiri
• Monira Al Qadiri (DE)
• Zahrah Al Ghamdi
• Mounir Ayache (FR)
• Meriem Bennani (MOR|US)
• Hicham Berrada
• Ahmad Baba
• Neïla Czermak Ichti
• Ayham Jabr
• Tarek Lakhrissi
• Søren Lind​
• Elian Marjieh aka Elyanna
• Ibrahim Nehme
• Sarah Omar
• Sara Sadik
• Gaby Sahhar
• Larissa Sansour
• Aïcha Snoussi
• Skyseeef
• Ayman Zedani

Curators, Theorists & Writers

• Élodie Bouffard
• Nawel Dehina
• Perwana Nazif

Events

• Nuit électro Arabofuturs, Institut du Monde Arabe, May 25 2024. Performances by Saint Levant, Guedra Guedra, Aziz Konkrite, Glitter55, Bashar Murad.

Discussions

• "Arab Futurism", Theater Kikker, Impakt Festival, Netherlands, October 28, 2012. Speaker: Nat Muller.
• "FUTURE·CON-ARAB FUTURISM: Geoengineering Mindscapes", Online as part of FutureCon SF 2021, September 04 2021. Speakers: Emad El-Din Aysha, Fadi Zaghmout, Khadijah Aljabri. Hosted by Cristina Jurado.
• "Tomorrow: Futures of Resistance. A Virtual Panel on Arab and Palestinian Futurism", Online, March 10 2022. Hosted by PYM and Palestine Writes and RAWI (Radius of Arab American Writers). Speakers: Rasha Abdulhadi, Khalid Abu Dawas, Iasmin Omar Ata. Facilitated by Summer Suleiman.
• "Arab Futurism", Arab British Centre, London, April 18 2024. Speakers: Hassan Abdulrazzak, Raphael Cormack, Ahmed Naji, Selma Dabbagh.
• "Beyond the Algorithm: What Future for Arabic and Cultural Narratives in AI?", Museum of the Future, November 18, 2025, as part of Dubai Future Forum 2025. Speakers: Yara Hassan, Mikey Muhanna, Fatima Alkaabi, Noor Nugali.

Exhibitions & Catalogues

• 

  ARABOFUTURS: Science-fiction et nouveaux imaginaires, Institut du Monde Arabe, 2024

2024

• ARABOFUTURS: Science-fiction et nouveaux imaginaires, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, April 23-October 27 2024. Works by Sophia Al-Maria, Fatima Al Qadiri, Meriem Bennani, Sara Sadik, Skyseeef, Ayham Jabr, Mounir Ayache, Gaby Sahhar, Neïla Czermak Ichti, Tarek Lakhrissi, Ayman Zedani, Larissa Sansour, Søren Lind​, Aïcha Snoussi, Hicham Berrada, Zahrah Al Ghamdi. Curated by Élodie Bouffard and Nawel Dehina.

Publications

Books

Arabilious: Anthology of Arab Futurism edited by Francesco Verso, 2024.

• Francesco Verso (ed.), Arabilious – Anthology of Arab Futurism, Future Fiction, July 15 2024, 217pp. Works by Fadi Zaghmout, Nadia Afifi, Sara Saab, Jess Barber, Abdulla Moaswes, Emad El-Din Aysha, Maria Dadouch, Hassan Abdulrazzak, Farah Kader.

Videos, Podcasts, Radio

• "Arabfuturism with creator, curator and editor Ibrahim Nehme", University of the Underground, Video, July 10 2020.
• Layla Azmi Goushey, Ahmed Salah Al-Mahdi, "Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Futurism in Arabic Literature: Interview with Ahmed Salah Al-Mahdi", Baladi Magazine Youtube, Video, November 18 2020.
• "« Arabofuturs », l’expo qui rêve les mondes d’aujourd’hui et de demain", Nova Radio, Audio, April 29 2024. (French)
• "Exposition Arabofuturs : la science-fiction habibi", Radio France, Audio, June 06 2024. (French)

Essays, Articles, Book Chapters

• Perwana Nazif, "Arabfuturism: Science-Fiction & Alternate Realities in the Arab World", The Quietus:Black Sky Thinking, February 22 2018.

• Joan Grandjean, "Come and visit my spaceship! Arab Futurity and the Art of Mounir Ayache", Vector, No. 289, Summer 2019.

• Kamil Kopacewicz, "Arabfuturyzm. Analiza gramatyki wizualnej", Instytut Socjologii i Instytut Lingwistyki Stosowanej, Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2019. Polish.

• Benay Blend, "‘Where Do We Go from Here?’: On the Future of Arab Futurism", The Palestine Chronicle, March 08 2020.

• Najrin Islam, "Imagining Palestinian Statehood: Arabfuturism and the Scope of Radical Fictions", ASAP Art, July 25 2021.

• Dalia Al-Dujaili, "Babylons of Tomorrow: The Architecture of Arab Futures", Azure Magazine, Nov 24 2022.

• Farida R. Ali, "Arabfuturism: How Arab artists are building the world of tomorrow", Middle East Eye, July 22 2023.

• "Arab Futurism, Mohammad Awwad", Bayt Al Fann
• "« Arabofuturs », l’expo qui rêve les mondes d’aujourd’hui et de demain", Nova, April 29 2024. (French)

• "Arabofuturs : la science-fiction, vecteur d’émancipation?", Diptyk Mag, May 02 2024.

• Emma Sednaoui, "How Arab Futurism is Imagining the Tomorrow of the Middle East", Mille, May 08 2024.

• Rémi Guezodje, "Monde arabe se met à la science-fiction", The Steidz, May 27 2024.

• Zeina Zbibo, "Institut du Monde Arabe’s ‘Arabofuturs’ examines singularities of the Arab world", Arab News, July 19 2024.

• Farah Abdessamad, "The Glossy, Nostalgic Drift of Arabfuturism", Art Review, September 12 2024.

See Also

Futurisms, Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, Gulf Futurism, Palestinian Futurisms, Amazigh Futurism, Global South Futurisms, Post Western