Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival 2019: Official Selection
"the spinning wheel of illumination" - a reflective crystal house - in collaboration with set designer carmine palmentieri - was selected for Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival 2019 to be housed in the main room of the museum.
"the spinning wheel of illumination" is the visual narrative of samina's text "the game of shifting mirrors" alluding to the sufi sema and the hexagon as a geometric shape that evokes illumination.
april 2020: naples, italy : "the art of remembering"
through her collective, the rabbit hole, samina creates and directs its first global residency program, in collaboration with fondazione morra, "the art of remembering."
https://www.101010n.com/the-art-of-remembering
https://www.101010n.com/the-art-of-remembering
7 pilgrims board a vessel, voyaging from barcelona travelling east, stopping in 7 port cities around the mediterranean.
the poem, which is the video trailer to this upcoming project, alludes to two trajectories of a journey: the inward and the outward.
the plight of the inner mystical journey, what can most be articulated by the persian notion of longing; with the outer journey propagated by nomadic migration patterns across lands and seas.
who is the wanderer? the sufi, the sephardic, alice?
the poem and subsequent project explores "the deconstruction of the sublime" by retracing these two trajectories.
the poem and subsequent project explores "the deconstruction of the sublime" by retracing these two trajectories.
written in english, and translated into farsi, then translated again into the soundscape of the voice over artist, neda zahraie, the poem is simply an invitation to enter, partake, and observe the tale as it unfolds.
read the poem below:
read the poem below:
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august, 2018, london, uk: the prince's foundation school of traditional arts
"dancing hexagons, whirling scripts, shifting bass lines"
samina studies "geometry and the golden ratio" at the prince's foundation school of traditional arts, under the direction of tom bree.
as part of her exploration, she deconstructs musical scores, scripts and geometric formations. in this series, she decodes symbols and storytelling to arrive at the venus pentagram, the fibonacci sequence and the formation for the installation concept for her "1001 gazes" project.
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april 2017: "1001 gazes"
samina is awarded a scholarship from the anglo israel association to continue the research part of her project: 1001 gazes. from this award she was able to complete her study course at bezalel academy of fine arts, jerusalem, and subsequent final paper "deconstructing the gaze."
samina is awarded a scholarship from the anglo israel association to continue the research part of her project: 1001 gazes. from this award she was able to complete her study course at bezalel academy of fine arts, jerusalem, and subsequent final paper "deconstructing the gaze."
- article written about her scholarship and project.
- samina's final paper "deconstructing the gaze" written during her semester at bezalel academy of arts, master of fine arts program, jerusalem. email samina for the full version.
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july 2018 // london, uk: “the cocktail games”
commissioned by the century club, london to create an immersive dinner series exploring masks, urban identities and role plays around food and cocktails. casting actors chloé doherty and alex fil freeborn, samina creates a script to deconstruct and unmask each of the 12 participant’s identity, through mysterious riddles and play.
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july 2018 // milan, italy:
invited to lecture at the institute of design, milan (ied) applying her theory on deconstruction, work in sensory theatre, while extracting from her extensive travel projects, she devised a research methodology workshop for the master brand class.
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june 2017 // london : become become residency
selected as one of 12 international participants to attend the become become residency - a nomadic residency for artists and researchers - in london. during the 10 days, samina first explored notions of gazing by conducting an interactive workshop for all the participants, then created a small immersive experience for the group exhibition, inviting the public to journey into a self-encounter of white light, in response to the residency’s theme “the hidden, the mysteries.”
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october 2016 – march 2017 : "1001 gazes"
invited as a visiting artist by the bezalel academy of arts MFA program, israel to research her project "1001 gazes" - involving kaleidoscopic interventions, mirrors and reflections of the self. samina attended 1 semester of studio practise and critiques, and completed 4 theory classes including a philosophy course called “the gaze.”
invited as a visiting artist by the bezalel academy of arts MFA program, israel to research her project "1001 gazes" - involving kaleidoscopic interventions, mirrors and reflections of the self. samina attended 1 semester of studio practise and critiques, and completed 4 theory classes including a philosophy course called “the gaze.”
april 2016 // barcelona, spain
"dissolving the gaze,
within, without;
the dissolution of the self,
the longing, the becoming;
the vesica piscis, the magical portal,
the looking glass."
"dissolving the gaze,
within, without;
the dissolution of the self,
the longing, the becoming;
the vesica piscis, the magical portal,
the looking glass."
april 2016 // paris, france
samina is awarded 2nd place for the georgia fee residency program in paris. selected from over 300 applicants, her project "a philosophical inquiry into gazing in paris" is shortlisted for the 2 month program.
samina is awarded 2nd place for the georgia fee residency program in paris. selected from over 300 applicants, her project "a philosophical inquiry into gazing in paris" is shortlisted for the 2 month program.
september - december 2015 // berlin, germany
in an apprenticeship at bkk kultur werk, samina studies welding and metalwork under the direction of martin wellmer. she translates her conceptual drawings - gazing, and the image of the self in its multiple reflections, geometrical mutterings - into a series of hexagonal kaleidoscopes. the aluminum structures are lined with various plexi-glass mirrored surfaces and light projections.
in an apprenticeship at bkk kultur werk, samina studies welding and metalwork under the direction of martin wellmer. she translates her conceptual drawings - gazing, and the image of the self in its multiple reflections, geometrical mutterings - into a series of hexagonal kaleidoscopes. the aluminum structures are lined with various plexi-glass mirrored surfaces and light projections.
november - december 2014 // berlin, germany:
in a guest residency at the tu buhnenbild, berlin, samina studies stage design, scenography and dramaturgy under the mentorship of professor albert lang.
september - november 2014 // ithaca, greece:
in her residency at the ionion center for art and culture, samina continues her work "deconstructing the pilgrimage;" this time exploring a journey through the notion of poiesis. while walking the island of ithaca in 7 days, she remains at the port, sami in kefalonia for 33 days. gazing one at the other. through this process, she investigates mystical states of poiesis and how this experience locates us in understanding the image of the self in its multiple reflections. relating this to the sufi sema ritual, she explores the journey of one’s own transformations, using the metaphor of the mirror, the silent gaze of oneself in relation to the universal.
june 2014 //
invited to lecture at bezalel academy of art and design. applying her theory on deconstruction, work in sensory theater, while extracting from her extensive travel projects, she devised the workshop “deconstructing the pilgrimage.”
february 2014 // new york, usa:
“the crystal ball" show
directs “the crystal ball" show, reconstructing a dramaturgy of the crystal express train project. at the intersection of performance, visual art and interactive theater, samina designs a journey capturing some of the sensations, stories and stimulus from the crystal express journey. to provoke the ephemeral narrative, she creates an application process to enter the crystal ball, aimed at triggering self-introspection about connectivity. 300 accepted applicants then entered her deconstructed world, a mysterious journey which began at the pier 11 port and lead them via boat to a secret location.
january 2014 // berlin, germany:
"the crystal express" film
release of “the crystal express” short film - a collaboration between samina virani and gandja monteiro - on adidas’ global platforms. the film was awarded full sponsorship by adidas global.
release of “the crystal express” short film - a collaboration between samina virani and gandja monteiro - on adidas’ global platforms. the film was awarded full sponsorship by adidas global.
june 2012 // barcelona, spain:
“the crystal ball” show
co-creates a script of live theater with producer of theater of the senses, carlos calvo, to mark the launch of the crystal express train project. underneath a foundation of festivity and a celebration of disruption, the crystal ball – involving performances, a ceremony, audience participation and a mysterious invitation process - seeked to stimulate new ideas about myth and pilgrimages, and to challenge culturally constructed limits and borders. held at the estacion de francia, the duo created a scenario of play and provocation to enchant its 250 attendees into wonderland.
april 2012 // barcelona, paris, berlin, gyoma, bucharest, istanbul: "the crystal express" train
samina's train project “the crystal express” is awarded sponsorship by adidas. “the crystal express” was a 14 day train journey investigating the nature of connectivity amongst 7 artists, as they travelled across western and eastern europe, starting in barcelona.
samina's train project “the crystal express” is awarded sponsorship by adidas. “the crystal express” was a 14 day train journey investigating the nature of connectivity amongst 7 artists, as they travelled across western and eastern europe, starting in barcelona.
june 2011 // barcelona, spain:
participates in “taller intensive” a 10 day workshop at the theater of the senses company, exploring corporal and sensorial communication, the poetics of play and silence and theatrical creation.
participates in “taller intensive” a 10 day workshop at the theater of the senses company, exploring corporal and sensorial communication, the poetics of play and silence and theatrical creation.
june 2011 // barcelona, spain:
invited to lecture at the IED in barcelona about deconstruction, myth and storytelling, and her various research practises.
january 2011 // new york, usa: "smoke"
presented a one night narrative exhibition "smoke" at the chelsea art museum. based directly on the conclusions of samina's investigations about time in project “060609,” the show seeked to provoke new conceptions about time, and to challenge the discourses surrounding the way “time keeps us”, and the way “we keep time”. 300 people were allowed to enter “smoke” an interactive experience that induced each attendee to become a time traveler.
presented a one night narrative exhibition "smoke" at the chelsea art museum. based directly on the conclusions of samina's investigations about time in project “060609,” the show seeked to provoke new conceptions about time, and to challenge the discourses surrounding the way “time keeps us”, and the way “we keep time”. 300 people were allowed to enter “smoke” an interactive experience that induced each attendee to become a time traveler.