Art Corner
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Syria Refugee Girls Draw Images of Forced Marriage 27th December 2013 Syria Refugee Girls Draw Images of Forced Marriage Syrian girls at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan recently attended sessions designed to raise awareness of the dangers of child marriage. A new report by Save the Children titled “Too Young To Wed” has revealed that amongst the many devastating effects of the civil war in […] |
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Street Art by Black Hand – “Iran’s Banksy” 27th December 2013 Street Art by Black Hand – “Iran’s Banksy” A striking piece of graffiti in Tehran showing a woman holding up a World Cup in the shape of a washing-up liquid bottle has gone viral. It’s by Black Hand who is sometimes referred to as “Iran’s Banksy”. It’s unclear whether it’s a man, a woman, or […] |
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Hijab Girl: Unveiled 27th December 2013 Hijab Girl: Unveiled A new comic book series “Hijab Girl: Unveiled” by author and illustrator Sarah Alhazmi, a Saudi youth currently residing in Dubai is a social and political statement on the role of women in Saudi society. Hijab Girl, the series’ protagonist, is a young girl living in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Gazette reports: […] |
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A collection of Iranian photography at the Fine Arts Gallery at Cal State Los Angeles 27th December 2013 A collection of Iranian photography at the Fine Arts Gallery at Cal State Los Angeles According to a report on a collection of Iranian photography at the Fine Arts Gallery at Cal State Los Angeles: “When you’re an artist in Iran, you live a harsh reality. “Make a politically subversive sculpture and you’re censored. Create […] |
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Victoria Guggenheim 27th December 2013 Victoria Guggenheim Victoria Guggenheim is an award-winning body painter who sees the expression of your sexuality, and the autonomous use of the body as a human right. Censoring the human body is an act of closed mindedness and prudery and is a form of oppression. People confuse it especially when it’s on a female body, […] |
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An Iranian Journey 27th December 2013 An Iranian Journey According to a news report, Hossein Fatemi’s “An Iranian Journey” is a series that shows young people’s public modesty and piety as a result of strict rules and regulations vanishing once they escape the wary gaze of authority. These youths play music, drink, smoke, co-mingle and enjoy other activities. They are online, […] |
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Beyond the Veil 27th December 2013 Beyond the Veil Kiana Hayeri’s photographic project Beyond the Veil shows a predominantly young Iranian population (more than seventy-five percent is under the age of thirty-five) challenging compulsory hijab or veiling and restrictive rules in the way they dress or interact with the opposite sex despite fines, imprisonment and worse. Many take risks to put […] |
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Burka Avenger 27th December 2013 Burka Avenger The Burka Avenger is an amazing action-comedy animated TV series shown on Pakistani televition that follows the adventures of the Burka Avenger and three young kids in the imaginary city of Halwapur as they fight the evil Baba Bandook and his henchmen. The superhero is a mild mannered unveiled teacher who becomes the […] |
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5th Passion for Freedom Festival 27th December 2013 Passion for Freedom Festival The fifth annual Passion for Freedom Festival was held during 4-9 November 2013 despite the original venue pulling out last minute due to ‘legal and security’ concerns. Shortlisted artists exhibited works addressing a wide range of issues, including the veil, women’s rights and freedom of expression. The winning piece – judged […] |
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Iranian Woman 27th December 2013 Iranian Woman Award winning film and music maker Deeyah has released ‘Iranian Woman’ focusing on the music of Iranian women and their struggle for artistic expression. Under a regime that currently represses women from performing in public places, the contemporary artists in this collection are the standard-bearers for a tradition of Persian music making by […] |
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Paradise 27th December 2013 Paradise Paradise an Afghan rap singer who focuses on women’s rights and gender equality issues has recently returned to Afghanistan but faces huge amounts of difficulty; she was recently beaten and had to make her album in Tajikistan. In one of her songs Nalestan, which is dedicated to Afghan women, she sings: ‘I will get […] |
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Absent Portraits 27th December 2013 Absent Portraits Phillip Toledano has sourced censored packaging from Iran for his photography project ‘Absent Portraits.’ He says: Packaging in which the women have been erased. Inked out, individually, by hand. I remove the blacked-out figure from the surrounding image, and a transformation occurs. The censor becomes an artist. And the censored figure becomes a […] |
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Your Fatwa does not apply here 27th December 2013 Your Fatwa does not apply here Karima Bennoune has just published her first book: “Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism.” Inspired by her father Mahfoud Bennoune’s work in Algeria, it tells the stories of progressive people (journalists, artists, women’s rights activists…) who have risked everything to stand […] |
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This is Who I am 27th December 2013 This is Who I am Aryana, one of the judges of an Afghan singing competition The Voice, has received threats for appearing on TV unveiled. In an interview she says: “Being a woman, the problem is… whatever she does in Afghanistan is a problem.” Here’s her song about the plight of Afghan women. It ends […] |