And She Made the Moon a Light in Their Midst

       وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا

و ماه را در میان آنها نوری قرار داد.

Bahareh Khoshooee and Naz Orakzay
curated by Maryam Ghoreishi

PANEL DISCUSSION

November 23rd, 11am EST | RSVP

Collective Healing for Survival: How to activate the potential of the art community to support Afghan girls and women.
 An online conversation with exhibiting artists Naz Orakzay (Kabul), Bahareh Khoshoee (Brooklyn), joined by artist Nazafarin Lotfi (Chicago), and curator Maryam Ghoreishi (Brooklyn).

Since the Taliban’s return in 2021, many artists have created works and spoken out about the situation of Afghan girls and women, raising awareness across the global community. Yet an important question remains: what can we actually do to support them?

In this program, we will listen to five short narrations, written by Afghan girls based in Kabul, who believe in the power of collective healing and survival and use writing as a tool to nurture their imagination; a shelter where they can envision a better life.

Centered on the initial idea of And She Made the Moon a Light in Their Midst and the organic formation of a small support group, this program explores the power of individuals and creative networks; how we can activate the immense potential of the artistic community, share resources, and use technology as a tool for connection and healing during this time of erasure and isolation.

Join us as we imagine the growth of these circles of care, reflect on their challenges and possibilities, and hope to expand this wave of creativity and solidarity. 

About the artists:

Bahareh Khoshooee is a multidisciplinary artist, feminist activist, educator, and the co-founder of two collectives –Blockbusters (an international group of New Media artists), and [Redacted] (a network of feminist artists, activists, and technologists). Born in Tehran, Iran, Khoshooee uses time-based strategies in presenting work that fuses 3D environments, video projection mapping, sculpture, performance, and sound. Her practice explores the complex dualities of technology: its oppressive role in surveilling, documenting, and criminalizing BIPOC bodies, and its radical potential for futurity and alternative solidarities. Her work unearths how technology mediates the intimate and collective experiences of grief, violence, and memory, reclaiming these spaces as arenas for liberation, and reimagined futures.
Khoshooee is the recipient of Eyebeam’s Democracy Machine Fellowship and a Skowhegan alumna. She has presented her solo installations at the Dorothy Center for The Arts, Baxter St CCNY, The Elizabeth Foundation for The Arts,The Orlando Museum of Art,and NADA MIAMI 2018 among others. Khoshooee has been included in various group exhibitions including the Honor Fraser Gallery, Latinx Project, Southern Exposure, Museum of Photography Stockholm, and the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg. Her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Guardian, Artnet News, The Metro, and The Creators Project. 
baharehkhoshooee.com

Naz Orakzay is a photographer, graphic designer and writer. She received her bachelor in Photography from Kabul University. After graduation, she started working as a lecturer at the Fine Arts Faculty. Currently, she teaches English Literature at Women Online University in Afghanistan.
IG: @naaz.orakzay

Nazafarin Lotfi is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist and organizer who creates space through drawing, painting, sculpture, and community organizing. Through her practice, she explores the power of imagination not only as a catalyst for creation but also as a tool for personal and collective transformation. Lotfi is the founder of Hamrah Arts Club, a creative mentorship program supporting refugee-status youth. She facilitates trauma-informed care groups for immigrants and refugees in the U.S., as well as for women and girls in Iran and Afghanistan. Lotfi received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BA from the University of Tehran. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and has received support from numerous organizations, including the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation, the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, among others. Lotfi serves as a lecturer in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago.
nazafarinlotfi.com

About the curator:

Maryam Ghoreishi is an independent artist, curator, and arts administrator based in Brooklyn. Most recently Ghoreishi curated In-between, at The Bridge and Tunnel Gallery, New York, 2023. Other curated shows include The Pleasure of Futile Cycles, by Yasi Alipour, at Twelve Gates Arts, Philadelphia, 2022, Out of Sight, Beyond Touch, at the Center for Book Arts, New York, 2021, Who Really Cares, Cathouse Proper, New York, 2019. She also co-curated Pop-up Exhibitions as part of FIELD MEETING Take 6: Thinking Collections, at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, 2019, and MAPPING OUT A FIELD, Zanbeel Art, Los Angeles, 2020. Her exhibitions were featured in Special Week of Shows-within-a-Show on Art at a Time Like This and Hyperallergic. Ghoreishi has been collaborating with Asia Contemporary Art Forum (ACAF), working with Afghan artists through ACAF’s Talking Peers program, Arts for Afghanistan since December 2023. She received her B.F.A and M.F.A in Iran and her M.A in Visual Arts Administration from New York University.
maryamghoreishi.com

About Hamrah:

Founded in 2021 as a grassroots, artist-led response to the large-scale relocation of Afghan citizens to the United States, Hamrah Arts Club is an independent creative mentorship program for youth with refugee status. Centering artistic expression and meaningful connection, Hamrah Arts Club fosters solidarity among refugee, asylum-seeking, and immigrant youth, creating a strong network of support.

Ackknowledgements
Penumbra’s Project Gallery is generously supported in part by the Joy of Giving Something.

About the Project Gallery
The 300 square-foot Project Gallery offers emerging and mid-career artists a place to present new work. The exhibitions are developed in conjunction with Penumbra's editorial or educational programming. 

Contact: Lisa di Donato | lisa@penumbrafoundation.org