Al Fenn

4. Did you face any obstacles informing your parents about delving into the arts professionally? Many Muslim families look down upon the arts in general as a career, were your parents accepting/supporting?

No , thanks God, my parents always supported  me and always help me to be better, because  they notice that I've a talent since I was a kid, so they already knew that I'm interested in art so I didn't face any problem in this part and they helped me to do what I love. 5. What advice would you give for those who are starting out or even just considering pursuing their artistic dreams?

I would advise them to do art with passion and from all their hearts, and don't do it for just making money or being famous, because once you become good at what you do all these things will come automatically, and always try to improve your skills and be aware of the new updates. 6. What inspires you - and do you use that inspiration directly to create a project or do you channel towards something you are already working on?

I am always inspired by people's struggles and their internal conflicts, every one of us fighting a war inside himself and this always touches and inspires me to create art works, and once I am inspired by something, I directly start to draw many sketches to put myself in the mood of creation.

7. What would people be surprised to learn about you?

Umm…I think I'm the only person on the earth who hates coffee and doesn't drink it at all. Another thing is that I don't like any pets and was always afraid to get close to them, but recently  I have been trying to change  that, so I bought  a cat  and I'm trying to be close to her and I'm happy with that .

Photography for me is something I do on the side. Although I love it, I don't want to feel the pressure to photograph as a job, so I try to use it as my relief from work and school. Because of this, my parents are only supportive of me pursuing my passion.

4. What are some obstacles that you faced in your journey, and how did you deal/have you dealt with them?

Even if you don't consider yourself to be artistic, just go for it. I could never imagine myself as a photographer or an artist of any sorts. For example, I used to never be able to show anyone what I captured. I was just too embarrassed because I didn't think any of it was good. And you know, at first it wasn't any good. But by practicing and getting criticism with others, I've been able to improve exponentially and take pride in what I do. I still don't consider myself a decent photographer, but I'm getting there, slowly but surely. Nobody can define what art is, that's up to the individual artist. 

a compilation of Huda's work. more can be found at her facebook page.

5. Did you rely on your Muslim community when you first began? did you ever rely on them? if so, did you gain support? and if you didn’t, why didn’t you?

I first began photography as a personal endeavor. Something about being able to capture my thoughts on certain issues or framing emotions that I see enraptured me. The Boston Muslim community was great; I photographed various events for the Boston community and that allowed me to work on my style and add more photos to my portfolio. It was on a MAS Boston retreat that I was able to take a picture of a gorgeous sunset, which was one of the first few photos I really felt accomplished about.

6. What inspires you - and do you use that inspiration directly to create a project or do you channel towards something you are already working on?

Different things inspire different reactions. I'm currently toying with an idea supporting the Syrian Revolution, since, being Syrian, it is close to my heart. I'm also brainstorming different ideas for surrealist photographs to portray emotional positions that people might feel themselves in. I try not to start too many projects at a time, instead saving them in a journal for whenever I want to start something new. 7. In the spirit of being random, what's your favorite book?

I would advise them to do it for the art of it, and not any other reason. Don't do it for the pay (well, we all know that takes forever to come by), don't do it for the power, don't do it to become part of a change. Those things may all come, and you can use them wisely, but the reality is that most arts are intensely competitive. You simply won't survive if your art isn't up to par. So, you can have ideals, but you won't be able to pursue them unless you become good at what you do.

4. What are some obstacles that you faced in your journey, and how did you deal/have you dealt with them?

This isn't anything unique to myself, but funding is always an obstacle. I think all artists know that, and that's why the term "starving artist" is so popular. Learning the ins and outs of the business, and figuring out how to get all the financing in place is a daily struggle. For the most part, I've just tried to be smart about it, make as strong a project as possible, and put all of my heart, soul--and time, into it.

5. Did you rely on your Muslim community when you first began? did you ever rely on them? if so, did you gain support? and if you didn’t, why didn’t you?

I didn't rely on them when I first began because I was working in more of the mainstream industry. I had gone to UCLA and then gone on to intern and then work at various production companies. Sometime after, however, my work did catch the eye of the Muslim community and they have been quite supportive ever since. They helped me when I needed extras or people in my music videos, they helped fund some of my smaller projects, and now they are promoting my Kickstarter (online fundraising/crowd-sourcing) campaign for my feature film. They also helped me meet some of my investors, those who were Muslim and those who were not.

6. What inspires you - and do you use that inspiration directly to create a project or do you channel towards something you are already working on?

I think I am inspired by the support of everyone else. Sometimes, when you really get deeper into the film industry, you find that some of the spirit gets lost and the business dominates. In the midst of this, it is so refreshing to get constant support from others who share my dream and support it. It puts the soul back into my work, and gives me energy to plug on. Honestly, I am working about 17 hours a day (I time it) on this Kickstarter campaign and raising money, and the people who are supporting me are how I get the energy.

7. What would people be surprised to learn about you?