Emergent Archives of Afghan Diasporic Memory

In Emergent Archives of Afghan Diasporic Memory, a panel discussion hosted at UC Berkeley’s Department of Art on October 20, 2022, artist Zelikha Shoja and writer Hawa Arsala discussed the power of storytelling in transforming and reimagining community identity. Moderated by AAAWA member Helena Zeweri, the panel examined how visual art and writing serve as unique mediums to engage with themes of ancestral identity, diasporic memory, and oral traditions of storytelling. In doing so, the discussion explored how written and visual stories can create counter-archives to dominant representations of Afghan life. In situating these narratives as emergent, this discussion also reference recent events in Afghanistan and their resonance for visual artists and writers in the diaspora, including the new forms of political consciousness they inspire.