Theory of Survival - Taraneh Hemami April 2, 2008

with Ala Ebtekar, Ali Dadgar, Termeh Yeghiazarian, Shadi Yousefian and Darvag Theater Group

Front gallery exhibition runs: April 2-19, 2008
Gallery hours: Wednesdays-Saturdays, 1-6 PM
Closing reception with performance by Darvag Theater Group: Friday, April 18, 6-9 PM

Theory of Survival is a residency with Taraneh Hemami that invites a cross generation of Iranian and Iranian-American artists to engage with an archive of posters, publications, and documents belonging to the Iranian Students Association of Northern California, active from 1960-1982. This project turns the gallery space into an evolving laboratory for exchange and collaboration, exploring the unique collection that ref lects the local history of Iranian immigrants in these politically critical years. The archive, which includes numerous publications, theoretical discourse, original essays, translations, as well as newspapers and documents, will be processed for partial contribution to the Library of Congress and the Hamid & Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies Center at Stanford at the end of the residency.

Theory of Survival is a continuation of Hemami's CrossConnections project that engages the Iranian and Iranian-American diaspora community in an intergenerational, creative dialogue about issues of cultural identity, preservation, and representation.

The artist would like to thank the many organizations and individuals who have been instrumental in making this project possible including: Hirad Dinavari, Mohsen Emami-Nouri, Navid Ghaem Maghami, Keyumars Hakim, Afshean Hessam, Sepideh Khosrowjah, Mehdi Mortezai, Naciem Nikkhah, Parviz Shokat, Torange Yegh iazarian, Bella Warda, The Christian Fund, and the Center for Art and Public Life at the California College of the Arts.

Official Website: http://www.thelab.org