Our story starts in 2017 as both Filmmaker Ahmed Al Hagri and Graphic Designer Waleed Al Ward led their independent journeys to explore the real scene of Yemen’s art and culture. Then, speeding up events to 2018, at a social event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ahmed Al Hagri, alongside a group of Yemeni culture enthusiasts, produced a pilot short film. This film was an homage to Yemen and received positive feedback from the international audience present that day. Today, we consider it as our platform’s first chapter that established our essence.
Yemen Used to Be was founded in 2019 and is built on the fuel of the desire to recognise and acknowledge Yemen as part of the human narrative. This sense of accountability runs strongly throughout the platform today, where 15 creative members -researchers, translators, writers, and artists- teamed up believing in one mission: to connect the missing dots of Yemeni art and culture.
Working with exhaustive research, we specialize in simplifying information into interactive content using engaging visuals and illustrations. So far, we’ve published more than 6o stories on various cultural topics, reached over 50k followers on our social media platforms, launched two events in Sana’a and Malaysia, and produced two short films (Sofra and Covid-19), in addition to a series of biographical documentaries on inspiring Yemeni figures coming up soon.
Co-Creator & Director
Co-Creator/Designer
Bashayer Ali, Coordinator
Seham Al-Surabi, Coordinator
Mustafa Wehbi, Proofreader
Rofaida Ahmed, Illustrator
Arwa Ghamdhan, Researcher
Abrar Almohamadi, Researcher
Dua’a Al-Nahdi, Researcher
Asma Alacki, Researcher
Farah Gamal, Writer
Sara Zaki, Writer
Thuraya Naji, Writer
Mohammed Al-Abadi, Writer
Bushra Alghurbani, Writer
Ruba Mansoob, Translator
Ahd Yaseen, Translator
Maria Al-Shehari, Translator
Tareq Al-Seawiee, Architect Designer
