Curated by CarryOn Homes (Peng Wu, Shun Jie Yong, Zoe Cinel) for the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project to this travelling exhibition explores homemaking and memories in the portraits of Iraqi Minnesotans by Iraqi Minnesotan photographers Ahmed Alshaikhli and Jaafar Alnabi. The portraits and stories featured in Home of Memories give us a complex and intimate portrayal of what home was, is, and what it can be. We invite visitors to reflect on the theme of home by bringing a photograph to be collectively displayed on a journey wall along with a shared memory.
The exhibition travelled in various locations in MN: Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts (2020), Rochester Art Center (2022), Hennepin History Museum (2021), Duluth Art Institute (2022), Moorhead (2024).
Participants and Lab: Iraqi Voices is a collaborative arts storytelling lab run by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project that pairs Iraqi-Minnesotans with professional artists to share their stories through an artistic platform. Since its start in 2012, the lab has produced 9 books, 15 award winning short documentary films and the groundbreaking theater production Birds Sing Differently Here premiering at the Guthrie Theater. The 2020 Iraqi Voices lab invited participants and photographers to look both inward and onwards as they explored home. The storytellers Lafta Abduljabbar Jassim, Rasol Albayati, Eynas Alnabi, Zena Khalil, Ronak Ali, Dhafer Abdulla, Abir Majid, and Hazha Las come together to compose a beautiful and intricate tapestry of home.
This traditional music played in the gallery during the run of the exhibition. Feel free to play it while you browse this page!
2020
Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, Fridley, MN
Artist Ahmed Alshaikhli talks about his work to the visitors
Cultural artifacts donated by the community
Opening celebration
2021
Rochester Art Center, MN
The promotional postcard designed by Peng Wu was used to invite people to reflect and contribute with their story. Stories were included in the "home wall".
Cultural artifacts donated by the Iraqi immigrant community to the exhibition
Cultural artifacts donated by the Iraqi immigrant community to the exhibition
Cultural artifacts donated by the Iraqi immigrant community to the exhibition
Cultural artifacts donated by the Iraqi immigrant community to the exhibition
Interactive "home" wall
Interactive "home" wall
Interactive "home" wall
Artist talks with the portrayed community members and the photographers
Summer celebration with the Iraqi Community at the Rochester Art Center. Activities included: food from a local Iraqi restaurant, traditional art and craft, music, dance performances, calligraphy and language workshops.
Documentation by Zoe Cinel and Kali Morrison
2022
Duluth Art Institute
Corridor Gallery | September 26–December 31
Info at: www.duluthartinstitute.org/Home_of_Memories
Info at: www.duluthartinstitute.org/Home_of_Memories
2024
Moorhead