Rada Akbar
رادا اکبر
Born1988 (age 35–36)
Afghanistan
Occupation(s)Conceptual artist, photographer
AwardsBBC's 100 Women (2021)
Prince Claus Seed Award (2021)

Rada Akbar (Pashto: رادا اکبر; born 1988), is an Afghan-born conceptual artist, and photographer. The focus of her artwork has been to denounce the oppression of women, and ask the world to see the strength of Afghan women through her artwork and photographic portraits.[1][2] She was chosen as one of the BBC's 100 most influential women of 2021.[3][4]

Biography

Rada Akba was born on 1988 in Afghanistan, during the Soviet–Afghan War which lasted from 1978 to 1992.[5] She often spent her childhood in a basement to avoid bombs. The family lived in Pakistan for six years.

In 2013, she started working as a freelance photographer and setting up modern art shows in Kabul. From 2018 to 2021, Akbar organized the "Superwomen" (or "Abarzanan") exhibition, to commemorate International Women's Day, March 8.[5][6][7] The "Superwomen" project has featured artworks — including exquisitely crafted gowns — gowns that represent poets, mountain climbers, television presenters, royalty, politicians and musicians who rose to prominence within Afghanistan's patriarchal culture.[8][7]

In 2021, she received the Prince Claus Seed Award.[9] In September 2021, she was one of the people evacuated by the French government after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan and before the American military fled.[10] She was transferred by bus from the French embassy to the airport and arrived in Paris, where she had to quarantine due to COVID-19.[1][11]

Her work was part of the 2022 group exhibition, Before Silence: Afghan Artists in Exile by PEN America's Artists at Risk Connection and Art at a Time Like.[12][13][14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "La fuite de la photographe Rada Akbar face aux talibans". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  2. ↑ "Artful Resistance: How Afghan Women are Wielding Art Against the Taliban". Harvard International Review. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  3. ↑ "Quiénes son las 100 Mujeres elegidas por la BBC para 2021". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  4. ↑ Farnós, Andrea (2021-12-16). "A esta artista afgana la fueron a buscar para matarla: "Cada mañana mi país era la guerra"". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  5. 1 2 "Rada Akbar: la artista afgana que teme por su vida en un país en conflicto". EL PAIS (in Spanish). 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  6. ↑ "These women fled Afghanistan. What's at stake for those left behind?". Culture, National Geographic. 2021-08-27. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  7. 1 2 "'For the Taliban, art is a sin and artists are criminals': Afghan artists share tales of escape". ABC News. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  8. ↑ Zucchino, David (March 22, 2020). "From victims to superwomen: Honoring female strength in Afghanistan". Artdaily.cc. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  9. ↑ "O Superwomen: Artist Talk with Rada Akbar and Laurie Anderson". Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Lauren (2021-08-20). "Leaving a Life in Kabul". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  11. ↑ Avignolo, María Laura (2021-08-28). "'Si me quedaba, me llevaban presa': la odisea de una artista afgana que logró escapar de Kabul". Clarín (Chilean newspaper) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  12. ↑ Anania, Billie (2022-07-13). "Afghan Artists Speak Out Against Oppression". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  13. ↑ Cristi, A. A. "Artists At Risk Connection & Art At A Time Like This Present BEFORE SILENCE: AFGHAN ARTISTS IN EXILE". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  14. ↑ "'Assimilating Is Very Dehumanizing': How Afghanistan's Artists Are Making Their Way in Exile". Artnet News. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
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