Join us for a timely conversation and participatory panel on the Woman, Life, Freedom revolutionary feminist movement, featuring Iranian women artists and scholars, including members of the Hamdel Collaborative and digital performance artivist (artist+activist) Dr. Sahar Sajadieh.

This panel will highlight the powerful intersection of art and activism, exploring creative strategies of civil disobedience and the vital role of art in amplifying feminist and political movements across borders.

Featuring artists whose work merges digital media, performance, poetry, and activism, the panel will delve into the use of creative technologies, artificial intelligence, and extended reality to craft counter-narratives that resist dominant systems and advocate for women’s rights.

The Hamdel Collaborative will share their recent work centered on the Woman, Life, Freedom Archive—a living, expansive repository of daily acts of resistance and socio-political performance in Iran. This conversation underscores how art preserves cultural memory, sustains feminist solidarity, and fuels cross-border resistance. 

Sahar Sajadieh will present her video artwork, Tales of the Hair (قصه های گیسو)—her artistic response to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran, her personal-political dance in a dialogue with the wisdom of Persian mythology, and her poetic therapeutic co-creation with generative AI. This work tells the tales of the hair—intertwined in every wave—the tales of resistance inspired by the mythical symbolism of the renowned Persian Sufi poet Attar Nishabouri. Tales of the Hair strives to decolonize and reclaim the narratives of the Iranian movement while creating a universal visual poetry about obtaining one’s power as a community.

Together, the panelists offer powerful insight into the resilience, creativity, and collective defiance of Iranian women in their ongoing struggle for freedom, revealing how emerging media and artistic expression can catalyze lasting social change.

Artists talks and panel Discussion: Hamdel Collaborative and MIT Open Documentary Fellow Dr. Sahar Sajadieh.