The Message is the Medium

We Are The Medium presents this multimedia retrospective takeover, within the scope of the SSHRC-funded project on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), as a curatorial team based in Turtle Island and alumni of Concordia University’s Communication Studies Department. The experiential installation presents the plethora of media and projects produced out of WATM and the community that it has cultivated over the past two decades, showcasing archival materials, artwork, video, book arts and spacemaking.

As bastions of Arab culture in Tio:tia’ke, this retrospective seeks to celebrate, uplift and reflect the rich tapestry of thinkers, artists and educators of the deeply-rooted communities which WATM fosters through their work.

See the full schedule below:

How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca

Euphrates

Music, interviews and archival materials

Highlighting Pioneering Arab Hip Hop group Euphrates, founded in the early 2000’s by NARCY and Sandhill.

Arab Winter

Videos, articles and documentation

An archival re-presentation of the WATM curated exhibition “Arab Winter” from 2011: An immersive multimedia journey exploring the soul of revolution, and the rich tapestry of Arab cultural heritage, which conceptually played on the term "Arab Spring" — the wave of pro-democracy uprisings and revolutions across the Arab world that began in late 2010.

NARCY

Music videos and T-shirts

Presenting NARCY’s cutting-edge directorial work and music videos on the screens, and display of his political t-shirt art spanning two decades.

Sundus Abdul Hadi

Artworks, paintings, sound

Showcasing paintings from 2007 (Inanna in Damascus), 2010 (Warchestra) and 2025 (Qamar), and other media including sound art, digital prints and book art.

Take Care of Your Self

Documentation, book

An archival re-presentation of the WATM curated exhibition Take Care of Your Self from 2017 that culminated in the book of the same title, centering themes of care and trauma.

PANEL

Collectives that Care: Community and Archival Practice

A conversation between three collectives, We Are The Medium, Never Was Average, Super Boat People, facilitated by Sticky Rice Magazine, rooted in community care and culture—exploring how the practices of archiving, documentation, and bookkeeping can foster a more engaged arts and cultural scene in Montreal.

MAKTABA

Installation, Curation

An installation of a Maktaba-inspired reading room showcasing books themed to the show, and an invitation for visitors to spend time in the space reading and reflecting.
Founded in 2022, MAKTABA is an artist-run, deeply-rooted space invested in representation and culture located at 165 rue Saint-Paul O.

COMMUNITY ARCHIVE      

Magazines, catalogues, books, photos

Highlighting work by Rungh, print material from the Intersectionality Hub, Tamara Abdul Hadi, El Seed, and members from WATM’s extended family and community.

Organized by We Are The Medium (WATM).

We Are The Medium (WATM) is a creative and culture agency dedicated to consultancy, communication and curation through video, music, print and visual arts. Founded by Sundus Abdul Hadi and Yassin Al-Salman in 2013, WATM is the think tank of their brick-and-mortar Maktaba Bookshop located in the Old Port of Montreal (founded in 2022). WATM is a counter-action to the regular model of the arts industry, because decentralizing and decolonizing business from the arts is what creates cultural currency.

Our work is intentional, intuitive and fiercely independent. With a birds eye view of industry, our intention is to give back what we have received from culture. Our ethos of "Independent is the new major" permeates throughout all our works, presence and internal dialogue. In a world on the cusp of change, being independent empowers our approach to cultural production, and is rooted in social justice.