Author: rayela

Brazil 18years + Chicago 20yrs + Paducah since 2005 These have shaped my path and interests. I spent many years as an active artist (ceramics and textiles) but have focused on promoting the creative community online since 2010. My current projects are Artizan Made and this site, Creative PlaceMakers.

Zohreh Solati and I were both Global Fellows with the Goldin Institute in 2024. We met every Thursday on Zoom with our other cohorts for eight months, learning new tools for our social projects. This experience was so impactful for me! I wrote about it on Artizan Made.  We became friends through this experience and slowly, I am learning more about her life as an artist in Iran. There is so much that can only be imagined…

We had to have a project to work on during our training. Zohreh did a series of photos on body imaging, photos that challenge Iranian laws about what it means to be a woman.  I created this website, focusing on diversity, equity, inclusion and sustainably,  dangerous words under Trump’s Administration….

Zohreh introduced me to another photographer friend of hers, Nazli Abbaspour. Nazli has worked on several series that explore memory and time. Both of them have joined Creative PlaceMakers as members.

Zohreh lives in Tehran and has been documenting the Women, Life, Freedom Movement with photos and performances, often standing still in public without a head scarf while people walk by. What so many of us take for granted in other countries, a simple act of resistance like this could mean jail or even death.

women, life, freedom movement

This movement started with the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.

Iran-protests.com documents human rights violations, civil liberties and other news about freedom in Iran.

• Killed: More than 500

• Executed: Seven as of May 2023

• Detained: Nearly 20,000

• Flashpoint: Death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman detained for “improper hijab”

• Scope and Location: Protests began in Tehran, where Amini died, and Kurdistan, her home province, but spread to all of Iran’s 31 provinces, including more than 100 cities and universities.

 

On September 16, 2023, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman detained days earlier for “improper hijab,” died in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Protests erupted over her death and the regime’s suppression of personal freedoms. Protesters chanted “Woman, Life, Freedom” and “Death to the Dictator,” a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during nationwide demonstrations that lasted into early 2023. Many women and schoolgirls removed their mandatory headscarves in public in a symbolic show of protest against the government. The demonstrations were the most significant since the 2009 Green Movement. But security forces were able to maintain control. Most demonstrations included just dozens or hundreds of people, in contrast to the millions who turned out in 2009.

Amini’s death sparked a movement that continues today, where women and men are challenging the suppression they have lived with for decades.  This video tells a bit more:

Zohreh’s photography and performances do not happen in a vacuum. They echo thousands of women and men who are demanding a freer life.

Nazli’s photography might seem safer as she explores the past and interesting photo techniques, but in documenting memories, she opens the door to nostalgia, to a time when Iran was in synch with the fashions of the time.  This photo had no attribution and has a lot of copies on the internet:

Nazli’s photos

Westerners can relate to the longing we feel of times and people who are gone. But, we cannot begin to imagine what losing the rights of self expression must feel like.

Nazli Abbaspour – Butterflies – photography in Iran

war

Now we have war….  At the time of this writing, Israel attacked Iran and Iran attacked them back.  People died and buildings were destroyed on both sides. People are terrified.  Now, the United States joined in and bombed Iran.  We have NO IDEA how this is all going to go. World War III?  We hope not!

One thing about connecting with people from different countries is that those places become “real”.  Even if we never visit them, even if we don’t understand in full what it is like to live there, we expand our understanding by engaging with each other. It’s a lot harder to bomb a country that is real to us in our minds.  One of the tactics that have been used in history is to demonize the enemy. So people know about the horror stories, of women like Mahsa Amini dying for something so inconsequential as not covering her hair properly. But, most people don’t know the stories, the joys and the happiness that also happens in these faraway places. The artists open up those doors and give us connections that help us all connect through familiar experiences.

It’s vital that we humanize different cultures and separate governments from the people. Many would like to see regime change happen in Iran, but that has to come from the inside, not by bombing the country. People like Zohreh and Nazli are the warriors for change, challenging the regime and creating solidarity with each other.

Artists struggle everywhere and both Zohreh and Nazli depend on the sales of their photographs to get by.  Both have exhibited in Europe, but they are really struggling right now.  Something I just learned about Zohreh is that she has an autoimmune disease called Behçet’s disease.  I had never heard of it so had to look it up:

Behçet’s disease is a rare, chronic inflammatory disorder that affects multiple parts of the body, primarily blood vessels..It is characterized by recurring sores in the mouth and on genitals, eye inflammation, and skin lesions. The disease can also involve other organs, including joints, blood vessels, the digestive system, and the brain.  -Google

That sounds so awful!  Zohreh wrote on her Facebook page:

Nine days into the war…
From the series “Why should I have to leave my city Tehran”

I’ve been living with Behçet’s disease for a few years now, a rare autoimmune condition where constant stress and anxiety mess up my entire immune system. Lately, with all the anxiety from this war-filled time, I keep getting painful sores around my lips. Even the Asentra pills don’t help anymore. Every day, I just wait for the war to end.

When the internet gets cut off, my anxiety gets even worse. I can’t check in on people or see how everyone’s doing. Why should I have to leave my city, Tehran? And even if I did… where would I go? I have no idea what’s going to happen. We’ve been at war for years — just a different kind. One without the sound of drones, missiles, or bombings.

It’s only been a week since this war started, but I already feel displaced. Like I’m living through exile. Just one week — but it feels like I’ve been away from my home and my city for years.

 

paducah arts alliance

Both Zohreh and Nazli would like to come to Paducah, Kentucky, where I live, to connect with people here through their photography and experiences. The Paducah Arts Alliance is the perfect bridge for them:

The program welcomes self-motivated, focused individuals working in a range of traditional and non-traditional arts practices. Artists must have a clear objective for the time of their residency and are required to engage with the community through a workshop, lecture, exhibition, performance, installation, or any demonstration representing their chosen artform. The duration of the residency may range from two weeks to one month. Collaborative artists and couples are welcome to apply.

I introduced them to Stefanie Graves, who serves on the Board, and we talked about them coming this year.  Given the current horrors that are happening here in the United States with ICE and the persecution of foreigners, especially Muslims, this is not a safe time for them to come. Paducah seems pretty quiet right now, but what scares me are the airports and coming in through the big cities. So, we will wait on that for now. Paducah is a UNESCO Creative City and having Zohreh and Nazli here fulfills one of the wonderful opportunities we have in building connections with people from around the world.

the cost of creativity

How can we help?  I asked Zohreh and Nazli what they need financially in order to have a breather, to have some rest.  Nazli is stuck in Sweden. She went there for an exhibit and has not been able to go back home because of the war.  She lives with her father, who depends on her care. Friends are taking care of him while she is gone.

All of us who feel called to the creative life know that we do so at the risk of ending up very poor.  When there is a crisis, the arts are the first to be defunded and nothing that we make or do is essential for daily needs. There has to be a partnership between the creators and the supporters, where there is the understanding that what we provide is a peek into the soul. Our products (music, dance, art, etc.) may have a short life, but a long impact. Most early societies understood that the artisan, the maker of craft, needed patrons. This relationship broke with the Industrial Revolution and now is under further attack as AI and corporate theft steal ideas and reproduce them with no reward to the artist. Yet, neighborhoods and cities that openly embrace the creative spirit generate a great deal of economic activity by attracting visitors and new residents because of the experiences, the eye candy, the spontaneity of music and dance, and often, the blending with Nature.

Nazli has created a $15 book that she would like to sell:

During my recent artist residency in southern France, I created a series of pinhole self-portraits and botanical prints (eco-prints), reflecting on themes of presence, memory, nature, and belonging. The result of this experience has taken the form of a digital art book titled: “Back to a place unknown, yet deeply familiar”

This publication brings together visual works, the artist’s statement, and reflections on silence, light, and the body’s relationship to place. In light of the current war in Iran and the sudden closure of airports, I am unable to return home for the time being. I am temporarily staying in Europe, waiting for the situation to stabilize. If you choose to support or purchase this book, it would truly help me navigate this difficult time until I can safely return home.

The book is available at the following link: https://share.google/5vDKg68tWKSCSwJXA

Examples:

You can support Nazli with any amount through her PayPal account:  Nazli.abbaspour@gmail.com

Zohreh can accept donations through this PayPal account: taatfilms@gmail.com

I asked Nazli how much they need to get some relief. I was shocked to learn that a small house’s deposit in Tehran is $5,000! How can they pay that much?  At any rate, I think that a realistic goal that would make a difference in their lives would be around $20,000. There is so much need all over the world! Gaza hangs on my conscience.  Israelis are also suffering. There is a long list of countries we could go down that are experiencing horrors at this time.  We can’t fix everything, but maybe we can make a bit of difference in this case, two talented women who need help.

Learn more about Nazli and Zohreh on their member pages here on Creative PlaceMakers.

Their links are there and you can follow them on social media and get to know them, too.  You can also leave questions or comments for them here on this post. Scroll all the way down and you will see the comment box.

Nazli:  https://creativeplacemakers.net/creative/nazli-abbaspour/

Zohreh: https://creativeplacemakers.net/creative/zohreh-solati/

Stefanie is also a member!

Cowango Studios:

https://creativeplacemakers.net/creative/cowango-studios-stefanie-graves-and-david-lucht/