Kirkus Reviews has given a starred review to "Are the Arts Essential?," a book exploring the vital meaning of art that includes an essay from Building Bridges Senior Program Officer Zeyba Rahman and Building Bridges Advisor Hussein Rashid, calling it a "vigorous, timely, necessary defense of creativity." The collection also contains an essay by DDCF trustee Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, among other notable academics, artists, arts and culture professionals, and arts funders.
Writes Kirkus: "For Zeyba Rahman and Hussein Rashid, the arts, speaking through the language of imagination, 'can bring alive communities and urgent problems that are unfamiliar to us by creating a universal resonance and relatability.'"