FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 10, 2016

Media Contact:
Steve Cavendish, 202-650-6939
scavendish@washingtoncitypaper.com
Editor: Washington City Paper
Contact:
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National Museum of Women in the Arts Presents
She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World
April 8-July31, 2016
WASHINGTON- The National Museum of Women in the Arts has an upcoming
exhibition running from April 8 through July 31. The exhibit is called She Who Tells a Story:
Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World.
The idea of a woman storyteller is a significant theme. They contest the traditional ideas
of Orientalism. It consists of more than 80 photographs that exposes Orientalism and how the
Western world has created stereotypes regarding the people, landscapes, and cultures of Iran and
the Arab world. She Who Tells a Story contests the conventional idea that Iranian and Arab
women are powerless and oppressed, showing that these women are creating important pieces of
art that have a compelling message.
Many of the images in this series are from a first-hand perspective and create captivating
stories about feminine identity, war, occupation and protest. The title of this exhibit is inspired by
the Arabic word rawiya, which means she who tells a story. The purpose of this exhibition is to

demonstrate that the work of women photographers is important because they challenge the
conventional stereotypes that have been created by the Western world. The works produced by
the artists range in genre from portraiture to documentary to staged narratives.
Each artists gives a vision of the world that she has witnessed and each image tells a story
in a different way. The artists invite us to stand in their shoes and see the complexities they have
to face. The images presented in this exhibit invite the audience to reassess their own
preconceptions about the nature of politics, family, and personal identity in the Middle East.
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