Transforming Defiance Through Artist Dialogue
Earlier this week, artist Anida Yoeu Ali‘s exhibit, “1700% Project: ‘Otherance‘,” was vandalized at the School of the Art Institute’s Sullivan Galleries. The exhibit exposes hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs after 9/11. It was defaced with caricatures and a word bubble encircling the words “Kill all Arabs.”
The defacement of Anida’s work underscores the need for greater understanding about the Arab-American community and Muslims of all backgrounds. The 1700% Project is an artistic statement against racial profiling and the rise in violence and hate directed at Muslims following 9/11. It is a tragic irony that an artist’s work was desecrated by the very hate it was designed to challenge. Please join IMAN as we support Anida Yoeu Ali in her urgent call for a public discussion and performance this Saturday, May 15, at 12:30pm at the Sullivan Galleries.
The event is free and open to the public; it will offer an opportunity to transform defacement into defiance through dialogue, performance and collective healing. Anida has been involved with IMAN in various capacities for the last seven years. She is a long-standing member of the artistic community and recently submitted a film, titled “1700%: Mistaken for Muslim,” to the One Chicago, One Nation film contest. Anida will also be one of the hosts at IMAN’s summer festival, Takin’ It to the Streets 2010, to be held on June 19.
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