Label art from the limited-edition Bronx Brewery beer “HabiBx,” designed by local Palestinian-Latino artist Lafi Melo, was recently added to the permanent collection of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Mich., the brewery announced April 30.
Melo, who lives in the South Bronx, designed the can for Pride Month (June) 2022 and told the Bronx Times they were thrilled to receive the unexpected honor.
“We’re working really hard to preserve our culture, and I don’t know how much more you can get than putting it in a museum,” Melo said. “I was really excited to know that this item is going to be sitting on the shelf.”
Melo created the can art after being recommended to the brewery by Callen-Lorde, a local LGBTQ+ health organization designated to receive some of the proceeds from the 2022 Pride Month beer. Melo had previously designed window art for Callen-Lorde’s Bronx office, and when the brewery came looking for a local artist to create the Pride Month can, Callen-Lorde staff recommended Melo right away.
The honey Kolsch-style ale was released in June 2022 and combines the words “habibi,” an Arabic term of endearment, with “Bx” for the Bronx.
Melo also had a hand in creating the beer’s sweet and smoky flavor profile, choosing smoked hops as an homage to their grandfather, who was known for smoking cigarettes while “watching Al Jazeera on TV, drinking espresso cups like nobody’s business.”
To inspire the label, Melo looked no further than their good friend Samer Akroush, aka Ridikkuluz, a Palestinian-Egyptian-Jordanian multidisciplinary artist based in NYC.
Akroush became their “muse” for the label art, which depicts Akroush dancing vogue-style while wearing a traditional kaffiyeh, combining queerness and Arabic culture in a way that Melo found natural to their own identity.
“I guess, in a way, it breaks a stereotype for me that I knew was broken,” they said.
As it turned out, Akroush was also Melo’s connection to the Arab American National Museum, which they have yet to visit. Someone from the museum saw the beer and told Akroush that the institution was interested in acquiring it.
Melo could only react “after I picked my jaw up off the floor,” they said. “I feel so honored.”
Although Arab people are commonly associated with the Muslim religion that historically disallows alcohol, Palestinian culture includes a mix of religions with varying beliefs around alcohol consumption, Melo said. For the Bronx Brewery can, they took inspiration from the craft beer brand Back Home Beer, created by an Iranian in Brooklyn, and Palestinian wine brand Philokalia.
These creations, and their own HabiBx, reflect the diversity of the Arab American people, Melo said. As for having a beer-related item in the Arab American National Museum,“It’s something that people didn’t expect, but I think it’s something most Palestinians and Arab Americans wouldn’t be surprised about at all,” they said.
Melo is among those who don’t drink alcohol, but they love to use the beer for cooking, they said. “There are a lot of different ways to enjoy HabiBx.”
The significance of seeing their creation at the Arab American National Museum isn’t lost on Melo, who said that Palestinians are often painted as victims, especially in wartime, as today.
HabiBx — as well as their work as digital media manager for The Gaza Sunbirds, a professional team for disabled cyclists based in the Gaza Strip — takes on new meaning as the Israel-Gaza war drags into a year and a half, resulting in catastrophic deaths, injuries and displacement.
The label art for HabiBx shows the complexity of the Palestinian narrative, Melo said. “This is who we are. We’re multifaceted, just like anyone else in any part of the world.”
This story was updated 4:10 p.m. to clarify information around alcohol consumption in Arab cultures.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
