Talks & Seminars
Futures Forum #3: Is Art Tied to Our Identities?
Join us for the next Futures Forum hosted by Mahshid Alavi, as the group discusses art and whether it is tied to our identities.
About this event
How does your culture influence your work and as you create work what are your concerns? In this talk Mahshid will discuss their experience of trying to share their history and culture with arts audiences through their work, the fear of being judged and pose the question ’in order to reach your audience, are you willing to compromise?’
About the Host
Mahshid is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist based in Leeds. They began their creative journey with dance at a young age and have performed in Iran, Cyprus, and the UK.
In 2017, Mahshid moved to London to pursue a master's degree in media, where they developed skills in using moving image for dance art creation. Mahshid continues to develop their camera skills for film and photography to create more content. As a practitioner their main interests are immigration and identity. In all of their creative work, they have explored these subjects. In this context, this event will discuss belonging and identity in art.
"My concern as an immigrant artist has always been communication and culture. It takes courage to bring one's culture and background into the workplace. I was sometimes hesitant to share my history and culture with the audience. It worried me that I would go too far and it wouldn't be easy to understand. At times, I was afraid of being judged. It would be interesting to hear other creatives' experiences on this subject."
About Futures Forum
Futures Forum looks to create a safe, supportive environment for global majority artists at all stages of their careers. In creating this space we recognise that there is currently a serious imbalance in the representation of global majority artists in Southampton’s cultural offer as well as further afield. Futures Forum was created to address this imbalance and provide a space for artists of all disciplines to share ideas, meet other creative people and hear from sector leaders. This space exists to serve the needs, ambitions and aspirations of its members.
How does your culture influence your work and as you create work what are your concerns? In this talk Mahshid will discuss their experience of trying to share their history and culture with arts audiences through their work, the fear of being judged and pose the question ’in order to reach your audience, are you willing to compromise?’
About the Host
Mahshid is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist based in Leeds. They began their creative journey with dance at a young age and have performed in Iran, Cyprus, and the UK.
In 2017, Mahshid moved to London to pursue a master's degree in media, where they developed skills in using moving image for dance art creation. Mahshid continues to develop their camera skills for film and photography to create more content. As a practitioner their main interests are immigration and identity. In all of their creative work, they have explored these subjects. In this context, this event will discuss belonging and identity in art.
"My concern as an immigrant artist has always been communication and culture. It takes courage to bring one's culture and background into the workplace. I was sometimes hesitant to share my history and culture with the audience. It worried me that I would go too far and it wouldn't be easy to understand. At times, I was afraid of being judged. It would be interesting to hear other creatives' experiences on this subject."
About Futures Forum
Futures Forum looks to create a safe, supportive environment for global majority artists at all stages of their careers. In creating this space we recognise that there is currently a serious imbalance in the representation of global majority artists in Southampton’s cultural offer as well as further afield. Futures Forum was created to address this imbalance and provide a space for artists of all disciplines to share ideas, meet other creative people and hear from sector leaders. This space exists to serve the needs, ambitions and aspirations of its members.
