Since 2007, the Omid Foundations have
used participartory photography workshops as a therapeutic tool for
marginalized young women in Iran, providing means to communicate
their perspectives as well as a voyage of self-discovering,
connecting with feelings and thoughts which may have been hidden
for many years. A group of 11 girls spent seven months exploring
the idea of what is meant by being a woman. Making use of
photography, they engaged in the world outside their own, then
observed and framed reality with a new perspective. This
exhibition, Voices of the Other Half,
displays results of this rediscovery process.
The project is led by Shandi Ghadirian, an
Iranian photographer working at the Museum of Photography in
Tehran. Her work is intimately linked to her identity as a
Muslim woman living in Iran, questioning the role of women in
society and exploring ideas of censorship, religion, modernity, and
the status of women. Her works are in major public
collections such as British Museum, Centre Pompidou, Victoria and
Albert Museum and Saatchi Collection, and have been exhibited
internationally.
The Omid Foundations were established to
help vulnerable young women in Iran to transform their lives by
strengthening the social, emotional and economic competencies, and
to provide them with a sense of self-worth and with the
opportunities to experience a full range of life options through
self-empowerment, education and training.
For more about The Omid Foundations, please visit their website.
Date: 12 - 21 April 2012
Venue: Rossi & Rossi
