loving all the takes on going back to the analog. i’ve always preferred making things with my hands, but somehow slipping into the field of Canva Girlie Graphic Design has removed me from such roots. producing cultural workshops over the last nine months has done SO MUCH for my creative brain & body

Tonight, I was one of more than 200 people who gathered on Chicago’s North Side to mourn Renee Nicole Good. Several people asked me to publish my remarks from the vigil, so I’m sharing them here.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but cops are not allowed to shoot people just because you didn't do what they said. That is called murder when they do that. Some cops are working hard to convince people otherwise.

May we all move with fierce love and solidarity in 2026. It's been a brutal year, but I am entering 2026 with more hope than I had at the end of 2024, because the people of my city gave me that hope. I love you, Chicago.

An excellent piece by @yasminzacaria.bsky.social in @inthesetimes.com inthesetimes.com/article/cult...

Here in Broadview, outside Chicago, a large group of faith leaders & protesters have gathered this morning outside of ICE’s detention center. This looks like one of the largest protests on Beach St. in weeks, where the city of Broadview is still enforcing a small “free speech” zone. It’s packed.

Longtime Reader theater critic Tony Adler died this week. Former Reader editor Michael Lenehan wrote this touching, detailed obituary Tony, “a champion of the unknown, the arcane, the disreputable, and especially the not-yet famous.”

Tonight, in Chicago, North Side rapid responders and community members held a vigil. At least ten people were abducted by ICE in Rogers Park alone today. We uplifted the message RESIST ICE in lights. We spoke out, sang together, grieved, and reaffirmed our commitment to defending our neighbors.

i'll never get over this beautiful night of firsts. so proud of these TAYF musicians and my production company BIYA BIYA. some more writing and videos coming soon (':

If you would like to support some of the families of people who have been abducted by ICE in my area during the recent federal attacks on our community that I've written about, local organizers have put together this trusted list of crowd funds.

ya girl was on live tv celebrating her first independently produced concert 😭😭😭 join the queer-fronted maqam ensemble TAYF at the Chop Shop tonight at 7PM

🚨🚨 My dear friend and fellow academic, the Palestinian American sociologist @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social has been taken by the Cook County Sheriff near Chicago. They have not mirandized her. Please signal boost. All eyes on Broadview for Eman and the community she was defending 🚨🚨

🗣️ Join City Bureau & PUÑO for a #PublicNewsroom on how to document & report ICE activity in your neighborhood. 🧊📹 Get trained, stay informed, and protect your community. RSVP for free! We’ll see you October 9 at 6pm: www.citybureau.org/events/publi...

It is not in any way "worse" when cops assault journalists instead of protesters. It's all the same violence; it's all wrong and horrific. What's notable is the intentionality behind what happened today, esp when paired with DHS accusing anyone recording their activities of intimidating *them.*

As ICE continues to terrorize Chicagoland, protesters gathered this morning outside the Broadview detention center—throwing stuffed animals at DHS agents, playing music through tear gas assaults, and putting their bodies on the line to stop ICE vehicles. My latest.

what happens when you put #MAQAM in a rock hall? we're going to find out! my lil company BIYA BIYA is producing a Ziad Rahbani tribute Concert on October 13 @ the CHOP SHOP! join us for one night only, celebrating Arab roots past and future tinyurl.com/TAYFconcert

We're going to be in movement for the rest of our lives, there's a world to win & so much between us and freedom. How do we make struggle sustainable? So ask yourself, what is the best use of my skills and resources. Limit yourself to that work, because you can't be everywhere.

Federal agents did this in front of the news cameras and helicopters. They did this in front of elected officials and political hopefuls. They did this in a tucked-off industrial park in Broadview, an otherwise quiet suburb just 12 miles west of Chicago. thetriibe.com/2025/09/and-...

Officials warn that ICE raids could begin in Chicago as soon as this weekend. We created a resource list with support hotlines, links to legal services, & multilingual Know Your Rights materials to help inform our communities. Access the guide in English: www.citybureau.org/newswire/202...

got approved for my LLC. business banking is set up. ya girl has an arts company for real real 😭😭

🧵 City Bureau is proud to voluntarily recognize the City Bureau Workers Guild! At the most basic level, we value our team, see the incredible impact of their work, and fully respect their right to organize. 1/5

carved some time to bring my BIYA BIYA newsletter back to life. some musings on my muses and more: biyabiyaproductions.substack.com/p/for-my-muses

so honored to be in the next cohort of TCG's Rising Leaders of Color of theatre journalists!! already loving the support and love brewing amongst my stellar, smart peers

Second day in a row in @newsguild.org that we're welcoming a new union - we love to see it

the City Gurls are unionizing!!! I’m incredibly proud to share that my colleagues and I at City Bureau have joined together to formally unionize under the Chicago News Guild-CWS Local 34071. @cbworkersguild.bsky.social

UNION ALERT!!! I'm organizing with the @cbworkersguild.bsky.social ✊🏼🖊 We want to build City Bureau's future collectively, and you can help us by signing on to our petition at bit.ly/cbworkers

the biggest thing im learning on my writing fellowship is that im not a SLOW writer but a DISTRACTED one

The panel will be a conversation between me, @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social, Tanuja Jagernauth, and @mayaschenwar.bsky.social, all of whom contributed letters to the book. This will be the first event where we publicly discuss the book and the ideas behind it. You can preorder here.

is it acceptable to call the National Critics Institute "Critics Love Island" or will i be voted off

still proud to be Iranian despite everything in the news working to justify the kill!ng of our people and the destruction of our homes and cultural sites

grieving for everything we continue to lose. all my love and in solidarity for all impacted by the gen*c*dal wrath of is**el

Over the weekend, I was able to record a last-minute episode of Movement Memos with @silkys13.bsky.social. Our convo about immigration raids, rising authoritarianism, mass protest, innocence narratives, and organizing in this moment will air Thursday.

zine-making night of our dreamsssss (follow BIYA BIYA Productions on IG or Substack for more opportunities to get creative)

3 years, & i will still bring him up every day, in everything i know this grief so intimately, an undercurrent that drives me & slows me i often apologize for my unending energy, but the residuals of caregiving & eldest-daughtering seep into everything i make & build

At the latest edition of South Coast Rep's influential Pacific Playwrights Festival, the new plays (5 readings and 2 full productions) showcased real lives and real losses, which touched a chord with reporter Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel. So did SCR's ongoing support for emerging writers.

in my latest reporting for @americantheatre.org I cover @southcoastrep.bsky.social's annual play-development gathering which showcased moving works about loss and reupped the theatre’s long-standing commitment to emerging writers

first bb newsletter is out! 🌹 open.substack.com/pub/biyabiya...

hey #Chicago! last call for Zine-Making Workshop happening on Tuesday night ✂️✂️✂️ www.tickettailor.com/events/biyab...

mind if i just —

babe, come eat salmon kotlet

BIYA BIYA save the dates for cultural workshops in #Chicago! 🌹🌹🌹 follow us on IG and SubSt*ck for the forthcoming ticket drop 🌹🌹🌹

bye LA

produced the hell out of my BIYA BIYA Birthday music show and zine launch! here's to new beginnings for my creative agency & production house 🌹🌹🌹 subscribe to my substack for the latest on upcoming events and the 101 on building your artist biz

this weekend of new plays wrecked me. stay tuned for my feature 😭❤️‍🩹

on assignment with @americantheatre.org magazine covering 7 plays in 3 days at the @southcoastrep.bsky.social Pacific Playwrights Festival ✍️🎭

spent the day with Sixty Inches From Center magazine at @haymarkethouse.bsky.social for the inaugural Midwest Arts Writers Convening! got cute with my Arts + Public Life Cohort and collaged some bliss

loved facilitating this workshop session on Documenting Your Artistic Practice! it's been so fun working with artists interested in leveling up their self-advocacy now I've got a SubSt*ck to chat about it all: biyabiyaproductions.substack.com

🗣 calling all artists!!!! ✨️ i'm teaching a virtual workshop 4/26 at 1pm CST: "DOCUMENTING YOUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE" come learn practical techniques for writing about your work, capturing high-quality images, organizing archives, and leveraging it all into gigs app.betterunite.com/ddp-document...

excited to share i won an illustrious, funded arts criticism fellowship! really treasuring the opportunity to learn from ambitious peers in the field. every Thursday night is filled with so much warmth, calculated side-eye, & dreams for a better infrastructure for arts coverage

🗣 calling all artists!!!! ✨️ i'm teaching a virtual workshop 4/26 at 1pm CST: "DOCUMENTING YOUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE" come learn practical techniques for writing about your work, capturing high-quality images, organizing archives, and leveraging it all into gigs app.betterunite.com/ddp-document...