Poetic Portraits of a Revolution, a multimedia spoken word performance by Will McInerney, Kane Smego, Mohammad Moussa, and Sameer Abdel-khalek, will take place on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, from 7:30-9:30pm in Guilford College Art Gallery, located in Hege Library,, 5800 W. Friendly Ave., on the Guilford College campus in Greensboro, NC. The public is invited to attend this free event.
Poetic Portraits of a Revolution is a theatrical multimedia performance incorporating spoken word, video, and photography that seeks to give a glimpse into the stories and emotions behind the popular movements in Egypt and Tunisia. The event will be followed by a Q&A session.
Members of PPR, left to right, top to bottom: Mohammad Moussa, Kane Smego, Will McInerney, Sameer Abdel-khalek. Courtesy of PPR.
Produced by the Academy Award-winning organization Empowerment Project, Poetic Portraits of a Revolution sent nationally recognized spoken word poets and youth educators Will McInerney and Kane Smego along with project translator and interpreter Mohammad Moussa and professional photographer and videographer Sameer Abdel-khalek to Egypt and Tunisia from June 15 – August 9, 2011. The team collected oral histories, captured photographs and video, and created poetic reflections that depict the sights, sounds, and emotions of life in both countries during this time of transformation. Poetry and recordings from their journey have been featured in radio segments broadcast nationally on the American Public Media show The Story with Dick Gordon, as well as on the WUNC program Morning Edition. All of the material gathered during the trip is currently being transformed into a live theater performance, a photographic and poetry installation, a book publication, and a film production. Poetic Portraits of a Revolution seeks to utilize art and first hand accounts to highlight the human experience behind these powerful social movements.
“The privileges and rights we have are something we cannot take for granted,” Abdel-Khalek said. “Also, we need to help others achieve that self determination and their struggles overseas because it is what connects us as humans—we actually need to care about one another in a globalized way, and it can promote peace and not war.”
The performance is offered in conjunction with the exhibition, Esse Quam Videri: Self Portraits by Bahraini Muslims, which features twenty-four portraits collaboratively created by Muslims living in Manama, Bahrain and NC artist Todd Drake. The photographs are the result of a project funded by a Fulbright-Hayes Grant and support from the US State Department.
Drake visited Bahrain last May to conduct photography workshops for Bahraini youth and photography aficionados. During his workshops, Drake collaborated with Bahrainis from diverse backgrounds to explore concepts of identity and perspectives of themselves. The objectives of the workshop included promoting a richer understanding of Muslims and Islamic culture in America, building bridges between the United States and Bahrain, and deepening friendships in and across cultures.
Co-sponsors for the performance and exhibition are the Center for Principled Problem Solving and the American Friends Service Committee.
Esse Quam Videri: Self Portraits by Bahraini Muslims, an exhibition featuring 24 portraits collaboratively created by Muslims living in the Kingdom of Bahrain and NC artist, Todd Drake, is now on view through Feb. 29, at Guilford College Art Gallery.
This event is free and open to the public.
For further information call 336-316-2438 or visit (www.guilford.edu).
Tags: Carolina Arts, Esse Quam Videri: Self Portraits by Bahraini Muslims, Greensboro NC, Guilford College, Guilford College Art Gallery, Kane Smego, Mohammad Moussa, Poetic Portraits of a Revolution, Sameer Abdel-khalek, Todd Drake, Visiting Greensboro NC, Visiting North Carolina, Will McInerney
