Author: mara.ahmed

presentation and screening at noma

my day today, june 13th, as a series of non-linear moments: lunch at blue oak BBQ with artists phil and debi, a sketch of yours truly by the wonderful @stitchpixie who drew me as i spoke, the screening of ‘return to sender’ + my talk which introduced some of its themes + a brilliant and moving community discussion at the new orleans museum of art, the spectacular madera during a symposium on saving the planet, collage on screen at istanbul cafe, and hanging out with artists julie, diane and robin afterwards. wanted to listen to some jazz but decided to retire for the night. maybe tomorrow.

kolaj panel discussion at noma

attended a panel discussion with artists ryann sterling, ashley teamer, and soraya jean louis moderated by artist and scholar kristina kay robinson. i was nodding vigorously the entire time. here are some things i loved. from soraya jean louis, the idea that POCs are an abstraction – something that cannot be fully encapsulated by the white gaze – but also something which is labeled in v concrete ways. she talked about how cutting/ deconstructing anatomy is not a european practice (picasso learned from egyptian paintings and stylized african representations of the human figure). it is a way for fragmented people to reconstitute/ reassemble themselves. ashley teamer explained how time is not linear in collage, but localized, a collection of moments. it can be stretched or elongated. also compared collage to DJ-ing. collage is broken because that’s the art form, just like scratching records (a blasphemy) is what DJs do because that is their art. finally, i learned about mother catherine seals and the temple of the innocent blood, as well as poverty point (centuries ago, when stonehenge was built and queen nefertiti ruled egypt, indigenous people were building earthen monuments in north louisiana). incredible.

kolaj meet & greet at artisan cafe

my day today: decided to walk to alma cafe (contemporary honduran cuisine) for brunch and walked about 30 minutes in hot nola weather (thank god i didn’t pass out). ordered some baleada sencilla – eggs, refried beans, cream, queso fresco, and avocado served on a homemade flour tortilla. the tortilla was splendid but too much parmesan on top – too salty for me. a slight detour to get a slice of blueberry and marzipan tart at petite clouet cafe. a short trip to lucullus antiques – nothing interesting and too pricey. in the afternoon a meet and greet for all the collage folx at artisan cafe and bar. i met some lovely artists from nyc, chicago, maine, new hampshire, portland, nebraska, etc. finally, a kolaj fest panel discussion at the new orleans museum of art. more about that in next post.

evening with madera

a beautiful evening spent with the brilliant madera who cooked me a lovely meal and welcomed me into her stunning home. madera’s work and passion revolve around recycling, conserving water and energy, transforming trash into beauty, crafting as a tribute to our grandmothers, and living lightly and kindly on this planet. i learn so much from her. what an amazing human!

Return to Sender screening at New Orleans Museum of Art

I will be screening ‘Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation’ and giving a talk at the New Orleans Museum of Art on Thursday, June 13th, 3:15-4:15 pm, as part of Kolaj Fest organized by the Kolaj Institute. New Orleans friends, pls join the discussion and come and say hello.

More details here.

stop killing children

i want to scream. what is this effing world where burning and decapitating children, refugees living in tents, is ok? where the atlantic can publish a piece about ‘legally killed children’? where language has become so corrupted, so debased, that it is practically meaningless? where old white men can try weapons of mass destruction on the bodies of brown and black people and make billions while families burn? yet life goes on. we meet our friends, we hug our children. for hours, we forget the images we see on our phones. it shouldn’t be so. the world should be on fire. stop the annihilation of palestine. stop the massacres. stop the genocide. as ali abunimah said: ‘that the genocidal enemy can continue these atrocities hour after hour, day after day, is an indictment of the whole world. “israel” needs to be sealed off from humanity, sanctioned and blockaded to oblivion until it stops.’

block celebrities

cate blanchett wears a dress at an award ceremony with some of the colors of the palestinian flag and everyone is thankful. it’s so little, folx. so very little for someone with that kind of platform and privilege. celebrities, except for susan sarandon, are useless. they will risk nothing, not even a tiny role in a film or a random award, to speak out against genocide. tiktokers urging people to block celebrities have the right idea.

recreating history

My IG account was hacked and deleted on April 9th this year. A kind of erasure. I will be recreating history off and on by digging into posts archived elsewhere by friends and collaborators. Here is one from @phototrouveemagazine??

Repost from @phototrouveemagazine:

Spotlight on issue 12 featured artist Mara Ahmed @mara__ahmed. “My art practice focuses on crossing borders and dismantling political and cultural boundaries. I work in multiple disciplines and narrative formats to tell marginalized stories and build community. The personal and political are intertwined in my practice. For example, the experimental short film, Le Mot Juste (2021), which was selected for an exhibition by Chicago’s South Asia Institute, is a fusion of autobiography, film, and dance. It spotlights three languages: Urdu, French, and English. In the analog and digital collage series, This Heirloom (2012-2014) which has been widely exhibited in New York and California, I recreated my own history by using old black and white photographs sourced from my family archive. In conjunction with my NYSCA-funded film, Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation (2023), I created three collages that subvert the colonial male gaze in found postcards from the British Raj (early 1900s). My aim was to rewrite history by relocating South Asian women from derelict studios, where they had been subjected to Orientalist fantasies, and reconnecting them to their roots. I placed the women in their native cities, adorned with architectural details and built with Indian textiles.”

beautiful sunday in rochester

sunday: lovely breakfast with ted at hydra coffee, lunch at sinbad’s with andrea who is working on a fascinating project about river cultures and collective memory, a visit to ruth and russell’s old home on crosman terrace (russell’s garden looks as splendid as ever), finally, ‘newtown’ the play about sandy hook at geva theatre (thank u laura) with my friend muna, followed by some late night gupshup at java’s.