Arts & Culture Center

Now On View

Louder Than Hearts

Women Photographers from the Arab World and Iran

May 9, 2024 - January 10, 2025

Curated by Rania Matar
In partnership with Tribe

Farah (2020), from the series 50 Years Later, Courtesy of Rania Matar

Louder Than Hearts features the work of ten women artists from the Arab World and Iran who capture the resilience, strength, beauty, and creativity of women in the region, often in the face of great adversity. 

The Egyptian, Iranian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Saudi, and Yemeni photographers represented in the show explore the diversity of experiences and personal narratives told by women across a vast geographic area. Each project showcased is deeply personal, each story distinct. Yet together, these works underscore the shared humanity of women, weaving together the threads of personal and collective life experiences while providing insights into the artists' perspectives and realities, as well as their strengths and vulnerabilities. 

The exhibition reveals the role of both the photographers and their protagonists as trailblazers and catalysts for change in their communities, providing a portrait of women in the Middle East as voices of peace, courage, and hope. 

The title is adopted from a poetry collection on love  and loss by Lebanese poet Zeina Hashem Beck. The  exhibition is presented by the Middle East Institute (MEI) in partnership with Tribe, a non-profit publication and platform focused on documenting photography, film, and video from the Arab world. 

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