Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me) is a visual and literary exhibition about Islamic Internal Reflections in a Modern World. It is a culmination of writer, performer, director, and curator Habibah (Biba) Sheikh’s collaborations with thirteen Mediterranean and Arab-world artists, many of whom are refugees. As a collective, they created a body of work that weaves her poetic theatre texts, shared immigrant experiences, and testimonies about their communities and neighboring countries into visual works of art. Collectively, they illuminate stories of indignation, systemic discouragement, human trafficking, gender biases, exodus, and survival of life as human flotsam in an ever-changing, turbulent political ocean. Together with Sheikh, the artists are discussing Refugees, America, and Cultural Hybrid Theories.

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Besides Sheikh, the artists comprising the collective, many of whom are current residents of occupied territories and refugee camps, include: Hani Alqam (Jordan), Thameur Mejri (Tunisia), Sinan Hussein (Iraq), Taghlib Oweis (Jordan), Wael Darweish (Egypt), Ahmed Nagy (Egypt), Klaudja Sulaj (Albania), Lucas Paleocrassas (Greece), Abbas Yousif (Bahrain), Basel Uraiqat (Jordan), Mohammed Al Hawajri (Palestine), Haitham Khatib (Syria), May Murad (Palestine), Hassan Meer (Oman).

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These specific artists, working in different mediums and different countries, are connected through a common literary narrative, but each depicts their varied experiences and identities in distinctive ways, styles, and mediums. Ultimately, these works symbolize a celebration of survival and perseverance, of community, and of culture, and witness how the artists' situations reverberate with refugees worldwide.

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Touring Exhibitions 2018-2020

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N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Detroit, Michigan

Central Michigan University Art Gallery, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Third Avenue Playhouse, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Peeler Art Museum, Depauw, Indiana

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Mitli Mitlak’s artworks were brought to life as a theater production, directed by Habibah Sheikh; Part 1 is titled "Mitli Mitlak (Like You, Like Me)," and Part 2 is titled "Right to Live."

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