Teaching

Because human interaction enriches my life beyond all else, teaching is my favorite art form. It combines my love for research with my passion for performance, allowing me to contribute to shaping young minds and unlocking blocked voices. I have taught at the grassroots level as well as in higher education institutions, and below are some snapshots from some of my workshops and mentorships.

I served as a Teaching Assistant at New York University Abu Dhabi from 2021 to 2023, working alongside Dr. Terri Geis to support student learning and refine course content. I delivered lectures exploring the role of sacred rites and practices in contemporary art-making, and demonstrated surrealist studio techniques to help students develop their creative practice. My responsibilities included designing and grading assignments that challenged students to integrate research, creativity, and presentation skills, while also evaluating their progress throughout the semester. I prepared engaging discussion prompts and interactive, immersive activities that complemented Dr. Geis' syllabi, creating a dynamic learning environment that encouraged both critical inquiry and hands-on experimentation.

Garden Exploration - Ages 6 to 11

Garden
- Journaling Sensing the Garden
- Yoga & Meditation Becoming the Garden
- Storytelling Bringing the Garden to Life

Film Production - Ages 8 to 11

Writing classes on the subjects of:

- Genre & Style
- Character & Concept
- Story & Scene

nuqat

The IN-DIG-GO program was launched in 2017 as collaboration between Nuqat and Zain telecommunications. As part of the teaching team, I helped design and teach the curriculum for the garden and production programs, which were taught to 36 children between the ages of 6 and 11. Among the modules I led:

Production
- Genre & Style
- Character & Concept
- Story & Scene

Garden
- Journaling Sensing the Garden
Exploring the garden through the five senses.
Teaching the students how to document their experience in the garden through text and visuals.

- Yoga & Meditation Becoming the Garden
Understanding the space of the garden through imagination and meditation. We utilized a number of techniques from the Bihar School that creatively introduced students to the focusing and calming effects of breathing, movement and visualization.

- Storytelling Bringing the Garden to Life
Finding characters in the garden and constructing their narratives through the narrative arch of exposition - growing tension - climax - declining tension - resolution.

The curriculum is based on the 4 C’s – creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. Split into three phases – discovery, skill development and production – the program aimed at strengthening the participants’ sense of curiosity, expanding their knowledge, and developing their creative and collaborative abilities.

An iteration of the workshop at q8bookstore

Authors we read include:

Susan Abulhawa, Ernest Hemingway, James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Lydia Davis, Simon Rich and Sophia Al Maria.

writing

In Fall 2014 I guided a group of ~8 American University of Kuwait students through a series of creative writing exercises and reading discussions to help each of them gain confidence in their personal writing voice.The workshop was designed to stimulate new content and ideas for the Fikir student journal. I created a series of fast-paced writing exercises that would lead to the uncovering of some of the contradictions embedded in the participants' daily lives and Kuwaiti society. Versions of the workshop were taught at q8bookstore (Winter 2014) and the Creative Space Beirut (Fall 2013). Download assigned readings here.

Between 2017 and 2021 I taught Vinyasa and Yin Yoga at C Club and Tru3 Yoga in Kuwait. Pictured here are my students at a yoga festival organized by C Club.

tarot reading

Tarot reading has long been viewed as an esoteric practice, reserved for performative prophets waving their hands over a crystal ball. Often those who are offered tarot readings will respond with an anxious or belittling response, citing their “fear” of knowing the future or their “disbelief” of the practice. Truth be told, Tarot has nothing to do with reading the future, and began merely as a parlor game in the Renaissance. That being said, Carl Jung found profound capabilities for the use of the
tarot in the healing of the psyche.

This two-part workshop was conducted in June 2017, July 2018, and August 2021, covering tarot history, minor and major arcana, and different card spreads. Participants gave each other readings and delved deep into tarot archetypes and symbols.

I taught undergraduate courses in writing and media studies as an Adjunct Instructor at Gulf University for Science & Technology in Kuwait during 2015. In this role, I developed comprehensive course syllabi, engaging lectures, and tailored teaching materials to support student learning. I worked closely with students to strengthen their critical thinking abilities, refine their writing skills, and deepen their understanding of media analysis. It was rewarding to see students grow in their capacity to express complex ideas clearly and to approach media with a more analytical, thoughtful perspective.