Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project

“The Western media is rampant with preconceived notions about women in the Middle East. In an unfortunate display of ethnocentrism, it seems to have trouble getting past hijabs and veils. Women are depicted as subservient and oppressed, and the conversation doesn’t go much further. ‘Not About Bombs’ is challenging that notion in a major way. ‘I want to know what these women are feeling and thinking,’says curator Tricia Khutoretsky. ‘There’s so much going on in the Middle East right now and women are playing a really major role in change. There are a lot of other discussions that can happen.’”

- “What Lies Beneath,” Tony Wagner (MN Daily)

NOT ABOUT BOMBS is set to begin with an opening reception on February 3, 2012 at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. However, we must raise at least $2,400 more to pull it off and avoid scaling back programming. Please consider a gift today to help amplify the voices of female Iraqi artists and make NOT ABOUT BOMBS possible.

By making a contribution, you’ll help present authentic female perspectives in place of stereotypes. NOT ABOUT BOMBS addresses how female voices can fit into the modern context of turmoil and conflict through art and avoid falling into the ways that women are represented… and misrepresented.  The women in NOT ABOUT BOMBS contribute art that is visually and conceptually accomplished, but unpredictable and emotionally engaging.

As curator Tricia Khutoretsky says, NOT ABOUT BOMBS is about the war in Iraq and its effects on women, but less about the practical effects of war and more about how women respond to it emotionally and how their identity is affected by it: “It’s about what women are dealing with or what their thought process is, having been part of a country that’s been at war for the past 10 years.”

By supporting this exhibit with at least a $25 donation, you’ll also get a 12×18 exhibit poster. Thank you for your support!

After the exhibit ends, we plan to build on this and our two previous exhibits, Navigating the Aftermath and The Art of Conflict, to support and strengthen communities of people affected by war and bring the discussion on the effects of war and the lives of those affected into a mainstream audience of Americans.

Here is what some attendees of Navigating the Aftermath said about the exhibit:

• “Beautiful, heartbreaking art work. A reminder that art of all kinds captures and expresses the human condition and experience like nothing else does.”
• “Deepened my awareness of the long-term personal devastation war causes on a society and its peoples”
• “It’s good to see how creative and resilient Iraq’s artists are”
• “I hadn’t seen the Iraqis in this light before.”
• “What a collection of tragic stories shared and based on “both sides” of the Iraq war. Powerful!”
• “The subject matter of both the exhibit and the film was relevant and had an immediacy that captured the audience.”
• “The interactive SPEAK table was extraordinary, giving people an opportunity to share their own comments & experiences.”
• “A 10!  I thought it was very thought provoking and engaging, and eye opening! In a very un-shaded way – the truth was shared by way of interviews and artwork.”

IARP’s Luke Wilcox recently returned from Iraq, where he was hosted by Muslim Peacemaker Teams Director Sami Rasouli. The Huffington Post recently published an article by the two of them here. Wilcox also wrote a blog about his trip here.

The Star Tribune published a story about his trip and IARP’s Water for Peace program here.

The original version of this article appeared in The Veteran (Spring 2011).

By Luke Wilcox

“It’s not clear how much time passed. Perhaps it was only a handful of minutes. Suddenly, she awoke to a burst of pain. Sitting squarely on top of her legs was a shell bomb. Shock and horror. Crushing weight. Loss of consciousness. An errant US shell had crashed through her bedroom wall and landed on top of her as she slept in bed. It did not detonate. If it had, this would be a different story. There would be nothing left to speak of.”

— Excerpt from Zainab Jawhar, a book by Clare Beer, Monica Haller, and Zainab Jawhar appearing in the exhibit, Navigating the Aftermath.

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Navigating the Aftermath is an art exhibit and campaign that creates a shared space for Iraqis and Americans to speak about the ongoing war in Iraq and its consequences.

Organized by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP), Navigating the Aftermath opened on February 18 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. From June to October, it will tour with the film, The Unreturned (a documentary film following five Iraqi refugee families), to six towns in Minnesota: Duluth, Ely, Mankato, Bemidji, St. Cloud, and Winona.

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Muslim Peacemaker Teams Director Sami Rasouli on Iraqi artists and the Iraqi Art Project. Check out our upcoming exhibit, Navigating the Aftermath, which brings Iraqi and American artists together.