AWW Free School: Embodied Narratives

Co-presented with Ken Moffatt, The Jack Layton Chair, and Melanie Panitch, The Director of The Office of Social Innovation, Ryerson University

Inspired by the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Unbroken, this unique series in collaboration with Ryerson University will transform the exhibition into a site for social action. Four interdisciplinary workshops, focused on documentary media, spoken word, performance, and online journalism, will be offered free with registration. These workshops, co-led by artists, facilitators, and writers, will activate the exhibition by connecting its themes to the practice of public citizenship.

March 5: Embodied Narratives
March 19: Documenting Dissent
April 2: Fake News
April 16: Extreme Music Therapy
June 4: AWW Free School Final: 6/4/89

FREE REGISTRATION

Writer and researcher Tara Farahani (Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Community Services Artist-in-Residence at Ryerson) leads an in-gallery spoken word exercise followed by a contemplative clay session led by ceramic artist and community educator Zahra Komeylian.

Tara Farahani is a Toronto-based writer, researcher, and creative visionary. Informed by her lived-experience as an Iranian-Canadian Diaspora, she carries an inherent desire to challenge norms, ignite thoughtful dialogues, and engage in continuous learning in all walks of her professional and personal life. In 2018-2019, Tara Farahani has been appointed the Jack Layton and John C. Eaton Chair’s newest Artist-in-Residence, exploring what it means to honour our lived experience through the writing form in her project From Under the Rug. 

Zahra Komeylian is a ceramics artist, educator, and social justice advocate. She holds a Master’s of Psychology in Education from Columbia University and has written and presented on the intersection of contemplative claywork and embodiment from an anti-oppressive practice lens. Zahra’s interdisciplinary art practice encompasses process-based engagement with ceramic sculpture, installation, video, and performance art.

About the exhibition

Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most influential artists and human rights activists, as well as one of China’s most formidable critics. Known for smashing conventions—and ceramics—with iconic works like Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, he upends the cultural traditions and materials of his native China.

This highly-anticipated and timely exhibition explores the breaking of boundaries, both physical and symbolic, and considers how the artist’s ceramic works form a basis for his ongoing exploration of urgent social justice themes, including immigration, freedom of speech, and the repression of dissent. Learn more

Presenting Sponsor

Exhibition Partners

PHIL LIND & ELLEN ROLAND

THE ROONEY FAMILY FOUNDATION

Media Partner

Programs Sponsor

ELEANOR & FRANCIS SHEN

AWW Free School Partners

Zahra Komeylian, ASABI IV: Untitled (2018)