kabul kids

Opening night – CHINA HEIGHTS GALLERY
Time: 6 – 9pm
Date: Friday 18th November
Address: 3/ 16-28 Foster Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010

Panel discussion w/YALDA HAKIM @ ICE
Time: 6:30 pm
Exhibition open from 6 – 9pm
Date: Friday 25th November
Address: 8 Victoria Road (Switch Digital Arts Centre)
Parramatta NSW 2150

Bookings essential.
For general enquiries and bookings write to shutterseed@gmail.com.

Kabul Kids is the result of a photography project that was undertaken in 2009 by Sydney-based freelance photographer Palwesha Yusaf, aiming to shed light on the perspectives of children in conflict situations while providing a creative outlet to the children of war-ravaged Afghanistan.

A group of children (three female, three male) between the ages of nine and eighteen years from Hope House, a Kabul orphanage run by Australian aid organisation Mahboba’s Promise, took part in several photography workshops covering composition, light, subject and technique. They were then handed a camera with which to document their life and explore their creativity both within and outside of the orphanage enclave.

The result is a series of images that depict intimate scenes of friendship and communal living at the orphanage, creating something akin to an ‘orphan’s family album’. Other images depict honest and compelling street scenes from the centre of Kabul and its surrounding environment, with some of the most raw coming from the eldest participant, Ibrahim, who has since gone on to enrol with the AINA photo media agency in Kabul.

On the evening of Friday 25th November, a panel discussion comprising a selection of public spokespersons will take place at ICE; covering topics including the universal experience of the child, representations of trauma and questioning the media-bred illusion of the hostile male. The date of the discussion falls on the International day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which will be covered by the panel. ShutterSeed Director Palwesha Yusaf will take the stage for this one-off event, which will be moderated by Kabul Kids curator Alex Bellemore.

Artworks will be available for sale during the course of the exhibition, with all proceeds to be donated to Hope House Orphanage via ACFID accredited Non-Government Organisation Mahoba’s Promise.

Don’t miss this eye-opening exhibition, which promises to deliver an alternate, insightful and ultimately optimistic perspective on one of the world’s most war-torn regions.

Sponsored by High Res Digital Imaging-Giclee Australia, ArtWhatsOn, FMN and the generosity of individual donations.

www.artwhatson.com.au/kabulkids