MIMI is a collaborative artist residency for Jewish and Arab artists to convene, imagine, and create.
Bringing together Arab and Jewish voices from the diaspora, its mission is to foster dialogue and creative processes that engage the narratives, experiences, and imaginations of historically opposing (and also aligned) peoples. Co-founded by Maya Pindyck and Reem Rahim, two artists working in the mediums of visual art and poetry, the residency aims to stand as an example of hope and possibility, and to create space for questions, relationships, and new structures of thought and feeling to take shape.
The residency includes time for participants to share their work and experiences with each other, invitational readings, prompts to spark collaborative practice, and shared meals. Reem and Maya will be on site to facilitate the residency.
The MIMI residency is located 15 minutes outside of Marrakech, Morocco, in Reem’s Dariana residence. The pilot residency will run from June 13–22, 2026.
The residency is named MIMI after the nickname of a blanket that Maya gifted Reem’s son Ziad when he was a baby. Ziad grew to refer to all soft things as MIMI.
MIMI is also an extension of the name Miriam, meaning “sea of bitterness” or “sea of sorrow”; sister to the Latin name Mira, meaning “wonderful”; an Italian pet form of Maria, which may have roots in Ancient Egyptian, meaning “love” or “beloved.”
Finally, MIMI holds a quiet echo of “me me” to which we wonder, like owls, “who who?”
About the Founding of MIMI
Reem Rahim & Maya Pindyck, artists/poets and longtime friends, came up with the residency while reflecting on the internalized narratives they each grew up learning about their own and each other’s people. Reem and Maya’s work address, in different ways, dehumanizing patterns of thought and action in their lives and the world. As artists, they believe in the powers of creative collaboration—not to provide solutions or answers, but to open up new questions, connections, and structures. For over twenty years they have studied art theory and practice with shared mentors, Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronsky, whose teachings have inspired their work, including this residency.
Reem is an Iraqi-American visual artist and co-founder of Numi Tea. She lives outside of San Francisco, California.
Maya is an Israeli-American poet and interdisciplinary artist. She lives in Philadelphia where she teaches at Moore College of Art & Design.
Carla Repice is an interdisciplinary artist and educator. She is collaborating with Maya and Reem on MIMI, providing consultation and support. She has over twenty-five years of experience working with nonprofits and developing transformative arts programs. She is a first-generation Italian American, born to parents who migrated from southern Italy after World War II. Thirty years ago, she met Maya and Reem in Florence while studying with Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronsky, mentors she continues to study with today, and whose values inform her artistic and educational practice. She lives in New York City where she directs education at the Hill Art Foundation.