The exhibit “She Who Tells A Story” is a photography exhibit, a smaller scale Light from the Middle East which is dedicated to the work of women artists, featuring work by twelve women photographers from Iran and the Arab world.
The photographers are: Iraqi Jananne Al-Ani, Yemeni Boushra Almutawakel, Iranians Gohar Dashti, Shadi Ghadirian, Newsha Tavakolian and Shirin Neshat, Egyptians Nermine Hammam and Rana El Nemr, Moroccan Lalla Essaydi, Jordanian Tanya Habjouqa, Palestinian Rula Halawani, Lebanese Rania Matar.
The exhibit opened in Boston in August 2013 and will conclude its public run in Pittsburgh on Sept. 28, 2015.
The artists explore identity, narrative, representation, and war in daily life, inviting a broader understanding of the Middle East than what Westerners glean through media reports. The 79 photographs and two videos—a collection of stories about contemporary life—especially refute the belief that women from this region are oppressed and powerless.
Events organised to tie in with the exhibit include talks with Iraqi author Dunya Mikhail on July 30 through Aug. 2. There will also be a discussion about Arab Women and Traditions in Contemporary Culture on Sept. 10 at the Carnegie Museum of Art.
The Aesthetics of Disappearance: A Land Without People – Jananne Al-Ani from Sharjah Art Foundation on Vimeo.
Giza Series – Rana Al Nemr from Sharjah Art Foundation on Vimeo.
Nermine Hammam: Excerpt from “Mirrors to Windows: The Artist As Woman” from SUSAN STEINBERG- SDS Productions on Vimeo.
Tanya Habjouqa (2014 Photo Contest) from World Press Photo on Vimeo.
Also check out this talk on photography in the Middle East, featuring Rula Halawani.
Arab Hyphen 