Theory of Survival: Fabrications

During a four-month residence at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), artist Taraneh Hemami will conduct research to inform the creation of Theory of Survival: Fabrications, an exhibition and publication project that will make visible intentionally erased histories of dissent in Iran. Working in an interdisciplinary mode with two graduate students in the CIIS Anthropology and Social Change program, Hemami will conduct research on the relationship between the activism of the Iranian Students Association of Northern California and regional movements for change that were political, social, and philosophical in nature. This project is part of Hemami's ongoing investigation into an archive of books, pamphlets, newspapers, and essays collected by the Iranian Students Association of Northern California (ISANC) during the 1960s and '70s, as well as interviews with ISANC members.

In May 2013, in conjunction with a co-created exhibition making visible the work that emerges from the residency, The Arts at CIIS will host a public panel discussion on both Iranian student activism and the relationship between that movement and the contemporaneous dissident culture of the San Francisco Renaissance. This collaborative residency offers an expansive opportunity to bring international scholars into the Institute, and partner with other local arts organizations-The Luggage Store and Southern Exposure among them-with whom Hemami is also engaged.