99 Clay Vessels: The Muslim Women Storytelling Project
About the Workshop
In this DukeCreate hands-on workshop, co-hosted by the Muslim Student Association and Center for Muslim Life, multimedia artist and grassroots educator Alison Kysia shares a socially engaged art project she created called 99 Clay Vessels: The Muslim Women Storytelling Project. After a prolonged experience of anti-Muslim bigotry, she created a series of 99 pinch pots that represent the 99 names of God in Islam, symbolizing the diversity of all encapsulated in the One.
Alison will describe how and why she created the 99 pots, including some discussion of the firing technique she used to capture the fire marks on the clay. We will discuss the healing resources inherent in Islamic traditions (like the 99 names) and how the project amplifies perspectives that challenge two decades of power abuses against Muslims at home and abroad. We will also reflect on how the 99 Clay Vessels inspire us to think about our passion and purpose in life, and who we want to be as vessels in the world.
Throughout the workshop, participants will make similar clay pinch pots, which Alison will use to build a larger memorial for the project. Participants can take their pinch pots with them after the workshop and/or donate some of them for the memorial.
About the Instructor
Alison Kysia is a multimedia artist whose work centers Muslims, Islam, and Islamophobia. As a resident artist at Red Dirt Studio in Mt. Rainier, Maryland, she is creating a series of artwork about the impacts of the 9/11 era on Muslims and other targeted communities. Previously, Alison was the director of the Challenge Islamophobia Project at Teaching for Change, where she wrote lesson plans and taught them in teacher professional development workshops throughout the country. She has written curricula and facilitated workshops for the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, Zinn Education Project, Amnesty International, Unity Production Films, Qatar Foundation International, and the Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University.
About the Location
This workshop will meet in the Duke Arts Annex: get directions.
Address: 404 Gattis St, Durham, NC 27701