Nilufer Yanya's Radical Love For Arabic and Islamic Love Songs

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Nilufer Yanya's Radical Love For Arabic and Islamic Love Songs

Female artists from across the globe shared work inspired by ancient Arabic poems of love and lust for Valentine's Day, with all profits going to The Global Fund for Women Refugees.

This article originally appeared on i-D. 

Tired of a long history of hidden female voices, Radical Love are a collective of female artists from across the world, finding inspiration in Arabic poems of love and lust from thousands of years ago. Their exhibition, Female Lust, is being displayed publicly for the first time, sharing their art alongside the poems that inspired them. The show is free and artwork available to buy, with all profits going direct to The Global Fund for Women Refugees.

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London musician Nilufer Yanya—featured in i-D's Class of 2017—will be performing at the Valentine's Day launch event. Together with her sister, Nilufer runs Artists in Transit, an art project for refugees in Athens. Their first zine, My Friend, is available tonight and will help fund the initiative. Until then, let her introduce you to her favorite Arabic and Islamic love songs, especially for Valentine's Day.

More information on the show can be found here.

Maryam Saleh,  Nouh Al Hamam
"Egyptian singer songwriter with trip-hop and psych rock influences. Vibes."

Yasmine Hamdan,  Beirut
"This song really makes me want to visit Beirut."

Mazi kalbimde Bir Yaradır,  Incesaz
"Turkish group combining classical Turkish music and influences of tango."

Soapkills,  Tango
"Soapkills were an influential Lebanese group that emerged in the late 90s, combining classical Arabic music with electronic music."

Mustafa Said,  Let Every Heart
"Mustafa is a famous Egyptian singer, composer and virtuoso Oud Player."

Fadoul,  Sid Redad 
"This is a cover of James Brown's  Papa's Got A New Bag by 70s Moroccan funk musician, Fadoul. It was re-discovered by Jakarta Records & Habibi Funk in an electronics shop in Casablanca."

Tamer Abu Ghazaleh,  Namla
"This is from Palestinian artist Abu Ghazaleh's third album called Thulth. The lyrics are taken from famous Arabic poems."