The Project:

"Hall of Reflections" is a visual archive of the personal history as well as migration, displacement and assimilation stories of the Iranian immigrants living in the Northern California, made possible by Taraneh Hemami, an Iranian born San Francisco based visual artist and in collaboration with Persian Center. The project hopes to create a voice and a sense of community for all Iranian-Americans through its process and presentation. It also hopes to create a better understanding of and a dialogue between Iranian immigrants and the larger community. Hall of Reflections will immortalize the memories and images of the Iranian immigrant community and create a space where they can be shared with the future generations.

The project is currently seeking contributors. Share your family photographs and memories!

Presentation:

In the spirit of the mirrored Talars (gathering halls) of historic buildings in Iran, and inspired by Persian patterns and designs, the collected material will be printed on mirrors and will cover the floor to ceilings of the permanent public spaces and the exhibition spaces that they will occupy. The personal stories and photographs will share a layered and interwoven narrative, a collective memory of a common experience gazing through the reflections and the patterns of the mirrors. To make these silent stories available to a wider audience and give them a lasting life this visual archive will also find a home on the Internet.

Exhibition & Funding :

The materials will be exhibited in San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in September of 2002 where there will be panel discussions and presentations to enhance the dialogue created by these personal stories. The SFAC Equity Grant has funded this portion of the project.

The social hall of Persian Center's newly acquired building in Berkeley's downtown area will be the final home of the stories and images of the community of people that it serves. This portion of the project is funded by Creative Work Fund 2000, and is slated for installation in April of 2003.

In order to enhance the scope of the project, we are now seeking additional funding. If you are interested to make financial contributions towards this project, please contact Taraneh Hemami or Persian Center to arrange for your tax deductible donations.