Tara Abdullah in Conversation with Sue Grayson Ford

Tara Abdulla is an artist from Sulaimaniah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She uses art to raise awareness and promote resistance towards violence against women and environmental conservation. Her projects "The Feminine Project" and "The Voice Project" aim to shed light on the harsh realities faced by women in my region and encourage non-violent resistance. As an independent artist and freelancer, she uses a range of mediums, including paintings, installations, performances, sculptures, videos, and designs, to deliver her messages.
Her art reflects her thoughts and experiences and she uses an abstract and expressionist style to express her innermost feelings and questions about the world. She is inspired by artists like the Corbe Group, C. Tombley, and Children's World, and she likes to incorporate recycled materials into her pieces. Her paintings often explore themes of childhood, family, and suppressed identity.
She has faced backlash for her work, but remains committed to using her art to raise awareness and inspire change on important issues. Through her works, she touches upon my own experiences in educational institutions and collections and she uses bold, heavy colors and textures to express her desire to be seen and heard. Her Kurdish heritage is also reflected in her paintings through the use of Kurdish ornaments.
Learn more about Tara: www.taraabdulla.com/
Sue Grayson Ford - MBE has enjoyed a 40 year career in arts administration since founding and directing the Serpentine Gallery as a platform for emerging artists. Later, she expanded the programme with exhibitions of international artists such as Giacometti, Saul Steinberg, De Kooning and Henry Moore. She has been Sculpture Director for the Liverpool International Garden Festival, Exhibitions Director at Manchester’s Cornerhouse, Director of Wakefield’s Centenary Festival and of London’s Photographers’ Gallery. Sue initiated the Campaign for Drawing, and ensured that it’s flagship, The Big Draw, grew into an international phenomenon with over 1000 events annually across the UK and 20 other countries.
This video was filmed live at the Alpine Fellowship 2023 Symposium in Fjallnas, Sweden. The event was held in partnership with Bard College through the Open Society University Network and supported in part by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.

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