To the Other Side of the Concrete Wall
A book launch and panel discussion reflecting on the Jina Uprising, one year after its beginning.
Saturday, 30 September, 2023, 16:30–18:30 hrs at BAK, basis actuele kunst, Utrecht
Organized by Jina Collective, a Netherlands-based feminist, leftist, anti-capitalist, anti-sexist, and pro-LQBTQIA+ action group that emerged from the Jina Uprising.
This event launches a book of translated essays, co-published with BAK, which include some of the first English translations of texts by journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi—imprisoned since September 2022 for their thorough reports on the murder and funeral of Jina. Readings and remarks from the editors and translators of To the Other Side of the Concrete Wall will precede a panel discussion on feminist solidarity in the Middle East.
In conversation with Katayoon Barzegar, researcher and critic Nastaran Saremy will navigate the politics of representation and archiving in Iran and Kurdistan during the first year of the Jina Uprising. Researcher and organiser Nisrine Chaer and Niloufar Nematollahi—convenor and co-editor of this project— will discuss regional resonances of the Jina Uprising, focusing on queer, transnational, revolutionary solidarities and the gender politics around by the slogan Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom).
Panelists
Nisrine Chaer is a researcher and organiser whose interests lie at the intersections of queer anthropology, migration studies, trans studies, and Middle Eastern studies. Chaer holds a Master’s degree in Gender & Ethnicity from Utrecht University and is also the co-founder of Sehaq Queer Refugees Group. Currently a PhD candidate at Utrecht University, his applied research is focused on queer and trans migration in the Netherlands and Lebanon.
Nastaran Saremy is an art critic and interdisciplinary researcher in the fields of cultural and social analysis whose research particularly focuses on the roles of art, media, and communication in social transformation processes. She holds an MA in Philosophy and Aesthetics from Tehran University of Art and a PhD in Media and Communication Studies from Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Moderators
Katayoon Barzegar is a visual artist and researcher. Notions of body and space make up the core of Barzegar’s artistic and research practice—in-situ spatial interventions of sculpture and video. Through bodily interactions with objects and spaces, Barzegar investigates the effects of power regimes on human individuals. She holds an MA in Artistic Research from Alzahra University, Tehran and an MA in Fine Arts from HKU, Utrecht.
Niloufar Nematollahi is a writer, translator, artist, and organizer currently based in Amsterdam. With a background in fine arts and Middle Eastern studies, international relations, and cultural analysis, she has conducted research on the literary genre of Farsi oil fiction and the politics of electronic dance music in Iran. Her current research revolves around feminist conceptualizations of contemporary labor politics in Iran.
