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As an artist, Farrah Karapetian(@farrahkarapetian)

As an artist, Farrah Karapetian(@farrahkarapetian) believes in the agency of individuals in the face of forces beyond their control. Her methods incorporate sculptural and performative means of achieving imagery.

During her Art Prospect Residency last month at The Ilkhom Center for Contemporary Arts in Uzbekistan (@ilkhom.theatre), Farrah collaborated with local people to remember and represent their experiences picking cotton. “I wanted to know what people experienced first-hand, what kind of agency they had.”
Cotton, nicknamed in the country “white gold”, has been grown in the region for over 2,000 years. In 2021, one in eight people of working age in Uzbekistan participated in the cotton harvest.

Collecting oral histories and cotton-picking songs, Farrah made large-scale cyanotypes on local cotton Ikat fabric, produced a video, and transformed the gallery at the Ilkhom for a public performance “You don't have to believe me…”, activating it with the songs and shadow dancing of the participants.

As a result of her residency, Farrah will contribute a book chapter to an anthology They Work Hard for the Money: Performative Representation of Working-Class Laborers, edited by Colin Gardner and Jennifer Vanderpool. She is also inspired to deeply consider the ecological results of mid-twentieth century industrial agricultural colonial enterprises in transnational terms, as well as to develop a long-term collaborative project “that can truly be useful to folks’ sense of agency now with respect to how their country develops.”

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Credits
Part of the installation “You don't have to believe me…”, artworks and photo by Farrah Karapetian
Video credit: Farrah Karapetian, with Kama Moon(@kama.moon), interpretive dance; Arlayim Guvaidy(@arlaeem.goovajdi), song and narrative; Yan Dobrynin(@yan.dobrynin), song and guitar.

Meet the artists, curators and activists whose div

Meet the artists, curators and activists whose diverse practices drive cultural and social transformation.

ArtsLink International Fellows in the second year of their Fellowships will be at the leading cultural institutions throughout the US in October - November 2022.

In preparation for the in-person visits, last year the host organizations and Fellows conducted virtual residencies to dialogue, research, network, and share practices. We are looking forward to these vital in-person collaborations and to the extraordinary range of projects in the making.

⚡2022 Project in the US Fellows⚡

♦️ Anna Scherbyna(@annascherbynaaaa), artist and cultural activist, Ukraine
Hosted by Kala Art Institute(@kalaartinstitute), Berkeley, CA
Anna will conduct research.

♦️ Asli Samadova (@_contemporary_nomad_), independent curator, arts manager and museum specialist, Azerbaijan
Hosted by Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Asli will research the structures and operations of a contemporary arts organization and approaches to connecting artists with communities.

♦️ Dante Buu(@dante_buu), visual artist, storyteller and performer, Montenegro
Hosted by Jebney Lewis, New Orleans, LA
Dante will explore the diversity of music practice in the historic Treme district of New Orleans and start work on an album of songs.

♦️ Tina Petersone(@tnptrsn), independent curator, Latvia
Hosted by Hyde Park Art Center(@hydeparkartcenter), Chicago, IL
Tina will conduct research and public workshops.

♦️ Brigitta Kovács(@brigitte.anita.kovacs), arts and cultural manager and producer, Hungary
Hosted by Movement Research(@movementresearch), New York, NY
Brigitta will research independent arts organizations.

♦️ Ibrahim Abdo(@ie.abdo), director, choreographer and dancer, Egypt
Hosted by Dance Exchange(@danceexchange), Takoma Park, MD
Ibrahim will participate in Dance Exchange’s leading social practice projects and creating a new work with Dance Exchange artists.

♦️ Yosra El Gazzar(@yosraelgazzar), visual artist and designer, Egypt
Hosted by Peacebuilding and the Arts, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Yosra will research current practices in socially engaged arts

Read on in the comments

Have you ever encountered the spirits of Chilltans

Have you ever encountered the spirits of Chilltans?

Invisible, shape shifting spirits and holy entities, Chilltans appear in difficult periods of life to guide, heal and protect people. They are mentioned in the female shamanic texts and in oral traditions passed down from generation to generation by the keepers of holy places.

Video artist and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova(@saodatismailova), Uzbekistan, presents video works and the new film Bibi Seshanbe at documenta fifteen (@documentafifteen) as part of the project that explores the phenomenon of Central Asian mythology Chilltan.

In preparation for the chilltan project, Saodat gathered DAVRA (@davracollective), a collective of 19 young artists from the Central Asian region. From June 25 to August 4, during the 40 hottest days of the year or chilla, DAVRA and invited guests will articulate their understanding of chilltans through artistic practices, film screenings, discussions, collective cooking, readings, dance, workshops, music performances and children's programs.

“At documenta fifteen, my dream came true – to gather a group of young artists from our region. We have been working for ten months, exploring and being inspired by a shared idea. We haven’t met in person, we’ll see each other in Kassel at last! Women artists, writers, performers, musicians, filmmakers – I am tremendously glad! …Only with generosity of energy, experience, and resources will we be able to move forward!”

Last week, Saodat received a prestigious The Eye Art & Film Prize for her work at the intersection of film and visual art and a Counter Histories grant from the Magnum Foundation. Her works are currently on view at La Biennale di Venezia, documenta fifteen and in the permanent collection at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Saodat was an ArtsLink International Fellow in 2006 and an Art Prospect Residency Fellow in 2018.

June 25 at 5 - 6 pm CET at Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
Opening: Collective reading and a ritual by DAVRA
Project runs through August 4

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New York, NY 10013

TEL: (US) 1-212-643-1985
EMAIL: info(at)cecartslink(dot)org