The Art Persists Podcast

In this episode, we speak to artist eL Seed about his phenomenal career creating immense works in public spaces; from a mural on a minaret in his hometown of Gabes in Tunisia, to a vast mural across the neighbourhood of Manshiyat Nasr in Cairo. We talk about his practice and how he uses art as a way of challenging perceptions and creating unity amongst people.

If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

eL Seed uses Arabic calligraphy and a distinctive style to spread messages of peace, unity and to underline the commonalities of human existence. His artwork can be found all over the world and consistently aim at unifying communities and redressing stereotypes. His work has been shown in exhibitions and in public places all over the world including most notably on the façade of L’Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, in the favelas of Rio di Janeiro, on the DMZ in between North and South Korea, in the slums of Cape Town and in the heart of Cairo’s garbage collectors neighbourhood. In 2017, he won the UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture. He was named a Global Thinker in 2016 by Foreign Policy for his project ‘Perception’ in Cairo. In 2013, he collaborated with Louis Vuitton on their famous ‘Foulard d’Artiste’.

The Art Persists Podcast listeners can get 15% off Bosla Arts’ 1st magazine, In Defiance, with the code: TAPP.

Learn more about his work:

https://elseed-art.com/

In this episode, we speak to Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist Jelili Atiku. We discuss his performance work that highlights social issues in Nigeria and beyond including political assassinations, the devasting impact of Boko Haram, and the destruction of traditional values by the British during colonialism.

Thank you to Jelili for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Jelili Atiku is a Nigerian multimedia artist with political concerns for human rights and justice. Through drawing, installation sculpture, photography, video and live art performance; he strives to help viewers understand the world and expanding their understanding and experiences, so that they can activate and renew their lives and environments.

The Art Persists Podcast listeners can get 15% off Bosla Arts’ 1st magazine, In Defiance, with the code: TAPP.

Learn more about his work:

https://jeliliatiku.webs.com/

In this episode, we speak to Iranian visual artist Soheila Sokhanvari. We chat about her experience leaving Iran to the UK as a young woman, the road accident that caused her to leave her career as a biochemist and pursue her dream of becoming an artist, and her current exhibition Rebel Rebel, honouring 28 Iranian female artists who were forced to abandon their careers after the Iranian Revolution in the 70s.

Thank you to Soheila for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

The Art Persists Podcast listeners can get 15% off Bosla Arts’ 1st magazine, In Defiance, with the code: TAPP.

Learn more about Soheila's work.

In this episode, we speak to Syrian activist and filmmaker Waad al-Kateab. We discuss her early life growing up in Syria and her experience of the Syrian Revolution in 2011 which soon descended into war. Waad describes her life during the war as a young mother, filmmaker, and human being, and her experience of fame after the release of For Sama.

Thank you to Waad for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Waad al-Kateab is a Syrian activist and award-winning filmmaker, whose debut feature film, For Sama, won a BAFTA for Best Documentary and received a nomination at the Academy Awards 2020. Waad, who lives in London with her family, is currently working on a new documentary covering the Olympic Refugee Team, commissioned by the IOC for XTR, working alongside Oscar-winning producer Joanna Natasegara. Waad also dedicates time to her advocacy campaign, Action For Sama.

The Art Persists Podcast listeners can get 15% off Bosla Arts’ 1st magazine, In Defiance, with the code: TAPP.

In this episode, we speak to Fredrik Elg and Laura Kauer Garcia from Safe Havens Freedom Talks. We discuss their work, which provides open platforms for artists, activists, and human rights defenders from all around the world, and the state of artistic freedom today.

Thank you to Fredrik and Laura for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of artists at risk and artistic freedom. It develops meeting places for various organisations, groups, institutions (non-governmental and state), individuals and artists who defend the rights of the persecuted creatives and academics.

The Art Persists Podcast listeners can get 15% off Bosla Arts’ 1st magazine, In Defiance, with the code: TAPP.

In the first episode of Season 2, we speak to British-Egyptian photographer, Laura El-Tantawy. We discuss Laura’s expansive career as a photographer, from her moving images of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, exploring her experience as both a photographer and an Egyptian, to the challenges photographers face today, and how she maintains the dignity of her subjects.

Thank you to Laura for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Laura El-Tantawy is an award winning British/Egyptian documentary photographer, artful book maker & mentor. She is a Canon Ambassador, representing the global camera giant’s vision & passion for visual storytelling.

The Art Persists Podcast listeners can get 15% off Bosla Arts’ 1st magazine, In Defiance, with the code: TAPP.

Learn more about Laura’s work:

Discover her website: https://www.lauraeltantawy.com/

Follow Laura on Instagram: @laura_el_tantawy

In the Season 1 finale, we speak to Sudanese political cartoonist, Khalid Albaih. Khalid talks about his political cartoons, responding to global events including the so-called Refugee Crisis in Europe, to the revolutions that erupted across the Middle East during the Arab Spring, and the more recent revolution in Sudan. Khalid also describes the risk associated with his work, along with shadow banning on Instagram, and Sudan Retold, an artbook he created featuring 31 Sudanese artists who tell stories from their homeland.

Thank you to Khalid for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Khalid Albaih is a political cartoonist from Sudan. His work, a confluence of journalism and art, first came to prominence during the Arab Spring. As one of the most influential Arab cartoonists of his generation, Khalid champions freedom of expression around the world, commenting on subjects such as immigration, race, power, conflict, and identity. He is also founder of sudanartistfund.com, getfadaa.com, Sudanartanddesignlibrary.com, and @dohafahionfridays.

Learn more about his work:

Follow Khalid on Instagram: @khalidalbaih

Discover his Facebook page: @Khartoon!

In this episode, we speak to creative duo Sai and K, who tell us about their work in arts and culture in Myanmar and the 2021 military coup that changed their lives forever - leading to Sai’s father being imprisoned by the military and the couple fleeing the country for their lives.

Thank you to both Sai and K for sharing their story. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Sai is a Burmese multidisciplinary artist. His ongoing work follows the political turmoil that has engulfed Myanmar since the coup of 2021 and specifically the trauma inflicted on his own family, exploring the unjust narrative of the relationship between his father, who has been held as a political prisoner by the Burmese junta since the coup, and his mother, who lives under 24 hour surveillance and in constant fear for her own safety. Sai himself has been in hiding for almost a year. His name is an alias for his safety.

K is a curator, creative director and a leading change maker fellows of the Asia pacific leadership program from the East-West Center, learning how system changes are shaped and formed. As an ethnic minority in Myanmar with global citizenship spirit, K has embraced and has been a driving force in shaping the harmonious and diverse societies and communities of Myanmar through the arts and culture. She envisions the arts not only as healing agents in communities, but also as a bridge of heritages from the past towards the contemporary and the unforeseeable future.

Learn more about their work:

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/myanmar-artist-london-exhibition-2086796 https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/myanmar-sai-artist-junta/ https://time.com/6149413/myanmar-coup-art-sai/

In this episode, we speak to Uyghur activist, singer, and translator Rahima Mahmut. Rahima describes the history of persecution against the Uyghur people in China and the genocide happening to them today. She also talks about the rich Uyghur culture, traditions, and music and how singing has acted as a relief amongst her round-the-clock campaigning for Uyghur rights in the UK.

Thank you to Rahima for sharing her story, work, and music. Featured songs (in order of appearance): Leven Yarla, Yighla Shamal, My Dear Son When Will You Return.

Rahima is an Uyghur singer, human rights activist, and award-winning translator of the poignant prison memoir The Land Drenched in Tears by Soyungul Chanisheff. She translated the testimonies of survivors during the Uyghur Tribunal, and is a prominent voice for Uyghurs in the UK. In 2018, Rahima co-founded the SOAS Silk Road Collective, who she is currently the vocalist for. She has performed at music venues and festivals within the UK and worldwide, becoming well-known in Central Asian musical circles. She is currently UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress, Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide, and Advisor to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Find out more about Rahima’s work here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahima-mahmut-80977823/?originalSubdomain=uk

Follow her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/MahmutRahima?s=20&t=SeEp5vdw_gwEKfrkK0OLkw

And listen to her music here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVbhMf1IUjxc1G5k984LHA

In this episode, we chat to Ukrainian artist Zhenya Oliinyk about her life and work. In the interview, Zhenya talks about how art provides a platform in which she expresses herself and her experience of living in a country under attack. She also describes her decision to stop speaking Russian altogether, and the “internalised Ukrainophobia” she and her peers overcome through language.

Zhenya Oliinyk is an illustrator and cartoonist from Kyiv, Ukraine. She's also a former journalist and a cultural critic. Whatever her occupation is, Zhenya mostly works with human rights related topics. Ever since Russian full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February, he's been creating graphic stories about her experience of living in a country under attack.

If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.

Find out more about Zhenya’s work here: https://zhenyaoliinyk.com/

And follow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/evilpinkpics/