Taferelen #34 – Remembering Across Cultures

Detail

During this evening we will explore transnational memory – how does memory function when it “travels” and gets passed and transformed from a context of one country and culture to another?

Language: English

–

What could be better than enjoying good food and listening to inspiring speakers with other art enthusiasts? During Taferelen you will learn more about one of the themes of the exhibition Joint Memory: Photographic Fragments … in an informal way. The event invites to join a curator’s tour through the exhibition, a dinner, and two short lectures followed by an open Q&A session. Take a seat, grab a plate, get a drink at the do-it-yourself bar, lean back and let the evening surprise you.

Theme & Guests

During this evening we will explore transnational memory – how does memory function when it “travels” and gets passed and transformed from a context of one country and culture to another. Guests are Parisa Aminolahi, one of the artists taking part in the ongoing exhibition Joint Memory: Photographic Fragments, and artist & researcher Andrea Stultiens.

Andrea Stultiens was trained as a photographer in Utrecht and Breda. Over the years her practice developed from relatively conventional documentary photography to academic research. She completed a PhD at Leiden University on photographs in Uganda in 2018, and insists that her artistic practice is her research method. Stultiens’ investigations deal with photographs in relation to the ways in which particular histories are presented. Since 2007 she mainly works with photographs made on the African continent. She thinks of her artistic and research practice as a non-hierarchical Collective Making that is necessary to explore photographic imagery in complex and potentially problematic post-colonial settings. Stultiens will present an aspect her investigations into the legacy of Dutch anthropologist Paul Julien (NL, 1901-2001) who made ca. 20 expeditions to the African continent between the early 1930s and 1960s and, with the photographs and films he produced, arguably contributed to still largely tacit transnational memories.

Parisa Aminolahi, born in Tehran, based in the Netherlands since 2008, is a freelance filmmaker, photographer and painter. She studied theatre stage design (BA) and animation (MA) at University of Art in Tehran and documentary filmmaking (MA) at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her work covers a spectrum of themes such as displacement, exile, homeland, family and childhood memories, utilizing childhood and old family photographs, self‐portraits and her own family members as her subjects. Her mediums range from photography, documentary filmmaking, animation, painting and mixed media. She is grant recipient of The Netherlands Film Fund, One World Media Student Film Bursary, the Chevening Scholarship and had screenings and exhibitions in Armenia, Australia, Canada, Iran, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Aminolahi is represented by Ag Galerie, Iran. Parisa will speak about her artistic practice and most recent work.

The Taferelen Concept
Taferelen arose from the desire to create a ‘cross-fertilisation’ between the work of image makers and other research areas. It intends to offer access to further depth on FOTODOK’s exhibition themes. People across different disciplines often share research interests and thus could provide each other, as well as others, with new perspectives on the same subjects. While the guests are eating, two speakers – artists, scientists or experts – talk about their work, linked to the theme of the current FOTODOK exhibition. Every evening an artist and a theorist are placed next to each other, to offer their perspectives on the chosen theme. A maximum of 25 seats is available.

Dinner
The food is provided by SYR, a Syrian restaurant in the neighbourhood of FOTODOK that is largely run by Syrian refugees. SYR strives for inclusivity and treats visitors to Taferelen with authentic Syrian cuisine.

Tickets
A ticket for Taferelen is €17,50 and includes dinner with coffee, tea and water, a guided tour of the exhibition by the curator, and two short lectures. Excluded from the ticket is the cost of beer, wine and soft drinks, which we serve at the do-it-yourself bar. Drinks can be paid for at the end of the evening.

>> Buy your tickets here

For further questions or group bookings you can send an e-mail to info@fotodok.org.

*Image (c) Parisa Aminolahi, Untitled from Tehran Diary, 2019