JAHAN ARA RAFI : SUN GIRLS

MARCH 8 – MAY 3, 2023
Founders Gallery @ Mason Square

About the Exhibition

Jahan Ara Rafi *incomplete text* 2022 Mixed media on canvas

Girls of Kaaj Educational Centre; girls of hope, strength and dreams! Kaaj Girls, the lost dreams, hopes, ideas and thoughts …

On one sunny Friday afternoon, while Kaaj Girls were busy studying, dreaming and thriving amidst all the existing chaos in Kabul, a massive explosion shake the earth and skies, shattering those hopes and dreams for good!

Kaaj Girls were symbols of a bright future, however all those precious lives and their beautiful dreams were lost in a split of a second.

This exhibition is in partnership with Mason Exhibitions, Artistic Freedom Initiative, and Arts Management Department, GMU

https://artisticfreedominitiative.org

https://artsmanagement.gmu.edu

About the Artist

Jahan Ara Rafi is a champion for female Afghan artists and provides new opportunities for women. She is one of the co-founders of Shamama Arts Gallery and the Centre for Women Artists in Kabul, one of the first of its kind in Afghanistan. The Shamama Arts Gallery’s focus is on displaying art and fostering a community for female Afghan artists while the Centre for Women Artists provides workshops and training for budding women artists. Rafi’s work has been displayed in international exhibitions in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the UAE, Germany, Canada, and the United States. Her art speaks on the global issues of the way women are perceived in society, their societal roles, and the limits imposed on them, as well as representing her internal struggle to embellish with small movements these social and personal themes. She promotes social change through her art and is a women’s rights activist continuing to paint her story in America.

Artist Website: https://www.jahanart.com/