CREATIVE DIALOGUE BETWEEN IRAQI AND AMERICAN WOMENVisual Art Work by Thaera Al Mayahi, Elham Al-Zubaedy, Angham Nasser Al-Zubaidy, Jinan Muhammed, Nawrast Sabah, and produced by the Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here project, and the “Today and Tomorrow” initiative.
This event commemorates the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, and the 16th anniversary of the car bombing of Baghdad’s literary district.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.
HER STORY IS, a collective led by independent women writers and artists from the United States and Iraq, promotes projects aimed at expanding linguistic, artistic, and cultural boundaries in response to global conflict and its aftermath, with a focus on centralizing the experience of women.
HER STORY IS produces exhibitions, anthologies, scholarly articles, panel discussions, theater productions, and a semi-annual residency in the Middle East. We believe our process transforms established power structures, creates new grounds for learning, and builds a community of equals across borders.HER STORY IS is the latest in a series of collaborations and exchanges, begun in 2010 by playwright Amir Al Azraki and artist Anne Loyer, that have brought together artists and scholars from the United States, Iraq, and other parts of the Middle East.
In fall 2017, four U.S. women artists and four Iraqi women artists began communicating via Skype, email, and blogging about their art, their lives, and the relation of their art and lives to their countries and the world. The artists included Jennifer Jean, Anne Loyer, Amy Merrill, Hana’ Ahmed Mohammed, Mary Mohsen, Thaira Al Mayyahi, Lillie Paquette, and others. The workshop and exchanges were supported by the creative contributions and translation of scholar and writer Nadia Sekran, playwright Amir Al Azraki, and filmmaker Dina Fadil.
That December, seven of these artists and three translators met in Dubai, a location accessible to all. Over five days, each participant offered a workshop and told her personal story. At this face-to-face encounter among women from two countries divided by war and geography, the participants laughed and cried a lot. All felt that the face-to-face meetings and the experience of discovering common and divergent experiences, was an invaluable step in building new relationships as individuals and artists between two countries separated by war and geography.
After the artists and coordinators left Dubai, they reaffirmed their commitment to continuing the relationships and laying the groundwork for a series of collaborative projects in both countries. Since then, teams creating specific works have met regularly. Women artists in both countries have continued to participate via emails, Facebook posts, Skype and What’s App calls. They have prepared public exhibits and performances, undertaken new initiatives, and engaged in other projects growing out of the collaborative work.
Read a Summary of HER STORY IS Work
“Finding a Common Language: Iraqi and US Women Seek Reconciliation in Dubai,” by Nadia Abdulridha Sakran AlEsi, graphic by Thaira al-Mayyahi, introduction by Amy Merrill, Journal of Middle Eastern Women’s Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3 (November 2019).
Add MAPA’s events to your Google Calendar! 1) Open Google Calendar on a computer. 2) Under “Other Calendars” on the left, press the small downward arrow. 3) Choose Add by URL, then enter this URL:
webcal://masspeaceaction.org/?post_type=tribe_events&ical=1&eventDisplay=list
Copyright (c) 2022 Massachusetts Peace Action
