Morehshin Allahyari - Your Night/My Day Project

Your Night / My Day Project (2011-2013)

Your Night/My Day is an online and digital intercultural collaborative art project between artists in Iran and the U.S. which began in the Fall of 2010. Curated by Morehshin Allahyari and Eden Ünlüata, this project explores the process of cultural exchange- or lack thereof – between Iran and the United States. The project employs digital media and online collaboration and serves as a bridge to create an intercultural dialogue and exhibition.

In Your Night/My Day, the process of art making is based on a series of invitations from the curators, called Inspiration Notes featuring topics that are commonly referenced in discussions about culture. Through the Inspiration Notes, teams in each country write instructions in their native language for the opposite team to perform and document. However, before the opposite team receives the instructions, they are sent electronically through an artist/editor from Turkey who put them through Google Translate (Farsi>Turkish>English / English>Turkish>Farsi) and edits them as she sees fit. The translated works then follow the same path back with the Turkish artist editing the artwork at will. Using this multi-part series, we are not only deciphering and depicting the nature of the dysfunctional dialogue between Iranian and American cultures, but through art, we are seeking to fnd paths that may lead to a better understanding of each other as human beings. Your Night/My Day presents the fruit of these two-years; a collection of intercultural pieces designed to celebrate cultural differences and find harmony through art. Participating artists are: Andrew Blanton, Negin Ehtesabian, Zeren Göktan, Patrick Lichty, Vana Nabipour, and Allie Pohl.

For the first time at the University of North Texas, Your Night/My Day displayed the result of this collaboration to the public, beginning March 22 until April 3 at UNT on the Square. Your Night/My Day will be on a travelling tour for the next one year. More info soon. For more information about this project please contact: morehshin@gmail.com or uneden@gmail.com.

***Your Night/ My Day has been brought to UNT by The Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Institute (CAMCSI). For more information about CAMCSI please visit the CAMCSI website or contact Tiffany Floyd.