The revolutionary Syrian singer Asmahan was one of the only singers in the region to have been considered significant competition for Umm Kulthum. Her career was catapulted after a chance meeting between a then-teenage Asmahan and one of Egypt’s most famous composers Dawood Hosni, which in-turn led to a public concert at the prestigious Cairo Opera House at the mere age of fourteen ...

Having inspired everyone from The Beatles to John F Kennedy and Indira Gandhi – the influence and impact of Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran’s work is seismic. A true revolutionary, Gibran’s relevance has long “transcended space and time” confirms Dana, whose theatre adaptation of ‘Broken Wings’ debuted on London’s West End ...

Shifting the paradigms of expectation naturally comes with a weight of responsibility - not only to yourself, and to the people who paved the way before you - but to holding space for the next generation of aspiring artists...