In 2017, Sarah Hatahet, Lena Kassicieh and Nahla Tabbaa were inspired by the Brooklyn Sketchbook Library in New York – home to sketchbooks from artists all over the world – to start a sketchbook project that could be shared by a community, rather than a private process taken on by only one artist. Nahla was gifted a yellow sketchbook from her former colleague, artist Nasir Nasrallah, and suggested that it be the sketchbook they start to circulate among the art community in Amman. Nasir was also one of the artists to later participate in The First Daftar.
From there, The First Daftar traveled around Amman, London, and the UAE, and the project took on a life of it’s own, its’ pages filled with the stories, experiences and art of over 38 artists from different backgrounds all working in their own mediums.
All photos of The First Daftar are by Darah Ghanem.
