The Khayamiyya Monument, 2017, Canvas, charcoal, acrylic, wood, paint, string, organza, collected personal writings by female im/migrants and U.S. veterans, community workshops, community open mics, 7 ft tall x 6.5 ft wide x 4.5 ft deep .Photo by Jennifer Coard
Process video of making the monument
Contribution by Dunya Mikhail, Iraqi poet
Friends gather at the community center launch of the monument, 2017
photo credit: Claudia Zamora
Detail of veteran’s writing. Photo credit: Jennifer Coard
I install the monument at the community center for our opening, 2017
Photo credit: Claudia Zamora
Writing by Nicole Goodwin, a Brooklyn poet who fought on the ground in Iraq. She offered this poem for The Khayamiyya Monument.
I traced the women’s collected writings in Arabic and English onto fabric. This physical engagement with their language helped me to process and connect with the content.
by Sofos, a Yemeni woman I worked with in Brooklyn. Translation (by Emma Ali): Those who live war through the news and TV are not like those who live it while it’s happening, with the fear of its sound and the humiliation.
by Leyya Tawil, a Palestinian American dancer, who offered this writing at a workshop in Detroit.
Excerpt of a poem by Angie Hanes, a U.S. veteran who fought in Iraq. She offered this poem for The Khayamiyya Monument.