Zarafa Unfolding

January 14 - February 15,2020

‘Zarafa Unfolding’ is an exhibition of art works, installations and performances exploring the cultural complexities of issues and identities of ‘creatives’ coming from Middle Eastern/South Asian descent. Most are artists who have connected with Dallas at one time or another, making contributions which have helped define this city and beyond as more globally dynamic.  Their work represents a diversity of situations, perspectives, mediums and actions through their individual efforts to define themselves as creative agents within colliding cultures- while also confronting differences within their own cultures. The word ‘Zarafa’ is Arabic for ‘charming’ or ‘lovely one’, it is also the phonetic word for the strange exotic African creature- the ‘giraffe’. The historic name ‘Zarafa’ was given to this odd, beautiful anomaly of nature, stolen from its homeland Sudan and transplanted to Paris (1827)- the center of the Western world, to a spellbound public that had never before seen the likes of such curiosity*. A diplomatic gesture that failed, a spectacle unrehearsed and a longing- struggling to adapt in such a foreign land… this story is not unfamiliar, nor need it be, in charting the challenges of one’s own creative adaptation, intellect and reflective verve. Artists included:   Shafaq Ahmad; Ayman Alamoudi; Ameer Alwan; Maedeh Asgharpour; Maryam Baig; Sarah Bawany; Simeen Farhat; Marjaneh Goudarzi; Niloo Jalilvand; Mona Kasra; Pooran Lashini; Goran Maric; Aqsa Shakil; Fahimeh Vahdat; Noor Wadi; Break Bread Break Borders; Atif Akin and Dilek Winchester Greg Metz/ Curator Sarah Hashmi/ Programing Curator

Opening: January 17, 2020 | 6-9 pm

Artist talk: February 12, 2020 | 7-9 pm
Atif Akin: Visiting Artist talk

SP/N Gallery at Synergy Park North 2 (UT Dallas) 3020 Stewart Dr.
Richardson, Texas 75080
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