(Photo by JR)
On November 28, the artist collective For Freedoms and the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership launched the #EyesOnIran project in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park on Roosevelt Island in New York. The collection of multimedia art called for solidarity with Iranian women in the current uprising in Iran.
One interactive installation occurring on December 4, by French street artist JR, depicts Nika Shahkarami, a 16-year-old from Tehran who was filmed in September standing on an overturned trash bin waving her burning headscarf. She was found dead just over a week later—her mother believes Iranian security forces killed her during its crackdown on the protests.
More than 300 demonstrators participated in the installation. They came together and configured Shahkarami’s flowing hair behind a cotton-canvas print of the profile of her face while chanting “Freedom for Iran” and “Women, life, freedom” in both English and Farsi.
Read more stories by Marcie Bianco.