"Turning Our Tongues" is a project initiated by 6+ in collaboration with a group of 18 young women aged 16 -19 from the Deheisheh Refugee Camp, Palestine. It foregrounds different ways of journaling, of reflecting on daily life - from the very literal or informational, to the evocative and expressive. The project developed through a series of workshops, combining the use of intimate journals (writing, sketching and so forth) and the creative interpretation of the journals through short audio works. The audio recordings began as journal entries but progressed through various stages of transformation and interpretation, to include a combination of text and sound. The resulting audio works are recordings of live, choreographed performances ranging from stories and poems, to songs, and fragmented personal narratives. The young artists worked together in small group collaborations to support the performance of each narrative. This project explores the possibilities of working together to develop the power of one's own voice.

6+: a women's art collective would like to thank:
Naji Owdah, Haneen Owdah, Suhair Faraj Owdah, Rawan Gedeon and Joseph Farbrook

This project is partially funded by:
Creative Research Grant, University of South Florida College of Visual and Performing Arts, Pima Arts Council and generous contributions of several artists and friends.

view project audio page

view project video page


venues

- Middle Eastern Studies Association Annual Conference, Boston, USA, 2006
- The Nobel Women's Initiative International Conference, Galway, Ireland, 2007
- Submerged Entropy: Recovering Cultural Voice, Michigan, USA, 2007
- Invent-L Conference 2007: Imaging Place, Gainesville, USA, 2007
- Exit Art, “Sultana’s Dream”: SWACC’s 10th Anniversary Exhibition, NYC, NY, 2007 ,
-Al-Kahf Gallery, International Center, Bethlehem, Occupied Territories of Palestine, 2009
-(Dis)covering the Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, 2011
- Side Effects May Include, Arts Student League, Denver, CO USA, 2013