Friday October 20 * 6-8pm * Free with RSVP / small donations via cash/venmo encouraged at the event
Shab-e-Shehr: A Night of Gathering
The past year has been a difficult one for the Iranian and Kurdish peoples, as we commemorate the one year mark from Jina Mahsa Amini’s murder at the hands of the Iranian government’s morality police, and the blaze of the Women, Life, Movement within and beyond Iran’s borders. How do artists, within and outside of the diaspora, meet this moment? How do we find one another to build community? How can we as artists participate in radically imagining a future of freedom for all?
“Shab-e-shehr” translates from Farsi to “night of poetry,” and references informal gatherings like those hosted by my family to share and discuss poetry, stories, conversations, and music. In our Iranian home, gatherings took place in a living room, seats pushed into a circle against the walls so all could face each other, with offerings of food and drink as people shared stories, memories, jokes, songs, and poetry. This “Shab-e-shehr” invites Iranian and diasporic artists into the artistic home of Rhizome DC to share their work, and includes an open portion for anyone attending to share poetry, music, and thoughts on how to continue solidarity with the current revolution in Iran. At this critical moment in our history, these gatherings will offer a decentralized space for members of diasporic communities to find one another, share art and knowledge, and imagine shared futures together.
The first hour will consist of artist presentations, with the second hour opening the floor for all attendees to participate in a free discussion in conversation with the artists.
This series is made possible through the Wherewithal Grant by the Washington Project for the Arts.
PRESENTING ARTISTS:
Kimia Hesabi and S
Dr. Kimia Hesabi is a D.C.-based violist, educator, composer, and the Co-Director of Learning and Engagement at the National Philharmonic. A versatile and multi-faceted artist and creator, Hesabi’s work and self-initiated projects are centered around artistic, educational, and social impact. Passionate about the music and culture of her home country, Iran, Kimia has recorded and published her debut album entitled Nemāno Gaona, featuring commissioned works for viola by composers of the Iranian Diaspora. For more please visit https://www.kimiahesabi.com.
S is an Iranian born artist living on unceded land of the Piscataway. She is a multi hyphenated Artist, Curator, Jinn Investigator, and Medieval Persian Astrologer. Her work centers around the use of art, myth, ancestry, and ritual to access the liberatory gifts of the alchemical heart.
The story telling of the Queen of Serpents, Shahmaran is part of a larger Azadi Project that includes a talisman, zine, and practice. The magical resistance practice is intended to help align the bearer's heart desires path with the path of Woman, Life, Freedom / Jin, Jiyan, Azadi. The talisman magnifies this intention through the use of Iranian talisman technology, ancestral Kurdish remembrance of goddess ritual, Jineology, Iranian sufi mysticism, and the science of the stars.
COVID SAFETY: Masks and rapid tests will be available at the event. Attendees are asked to test before the event. If taking place indoors, masks will be required, except when eating or drinking. This requirement asks all participants to respect our shared responsibility to protect the most vulnerable and at risk members of our community from infection. It acknowledges the severity of the current surge of Covid 19 with new variants, and the failure of our local and federal governments to take adequate measures to prevent the spread of infection.
NOTE FOR ATTENDEES:
This event is meant to offer space to artists of Iranian backgrounds with multi-ethnic identities and multi-racial backgrounds. The United States has historically silenced and erased the stories and experiences of non-white and immigrant peoples. It continually enacts policies and military interventions in our part of the world that directly harm and traumatize South-West Asian and North African peoples. Within Iran, nationalist policies actively oppress minority ethnic communities, including those of Kurdish, Armenian, Baluch, and East-African origins. We ask that attendees keep in mind the need to respect and honor the intention to give voice to the marginalized, and to allow BIPOC attendees, those of minority backgrounds, and those of queer identities to be given prioritization in our open discussion.