Could you say a bit more about how your experience on GPISH has influenced your practice and vice versa?听
Nabila Walji is a second-year student on the听Graduate Programme听in Islamic Studies听and Humanities听(GPISH)听and听has recently opened her first exhibition鈥擴nBelonging听in my Fatherland鈥攚ith Calgary鈥檚 Arts Commons.听Here she talks about her听combined academic-artistic photographic and writing practice, which听explores听identity, culture, discrimination and community, with a focus on her听partly听East African heritage.听
Please could听you tell听us听a bit about your exhibition听UnBelonging听in听my听Fatherland and the subject matter it covers?听
The exhibition is听about evoking that sense that I think everyone feels to differing degrees,听of听not belonging in a place that they’re from, or that they live in听鈥撎齛nd about that universal search for a home.听But on a more specific level, it’s about my own journey of being a Canadian,听who always grew up thinking that they’re part South Asian and part East African, but in听going to听my听East African fatherland听finding that un-belonging could be found in the place that听I听thought was听my听homeland as well.听I think, for any diasporic or migratory peoples, including IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor., there’s a huge resonance, in terms of the story that the exhibition is telling, because many of us have been migratory or have had to move.
What prompted you to start the project or start asking those questions?听
It comes partly from my youth, of听being a person of colour in a Canadian society, where many people are told听鈥撎齱hether they’re born there, they’re first, second, third听or听fourth generation听鈥撎齮hey’re still told:听go back to where you came from. And听so听I guess for me, subtly听or not so subtly, it made me听ask:听where is that place? And I found that it is kind of elusive, that there’s no actual origin point.听The next layer then comes from my own experiences living and working in East Africa and reflecting on my positionality听in that society听when I was there. And the complexity of being what they call Asian, or what they call Indian, in that society and finding that, even if we’re fifth generation there, we still don’t really belong there either.听The last part of this question would be just having an interest in documenting my family history in the area.听Once I lived in Nairobi, I discovered that there’s this very vibrant, creative community that isn’t stuck in silos, where art belongs in one category and social impact belongs in another.听They’re engaged with their society听through their creativity. Through them, I was able to learn how to document these places.
Could you say a bit about your combined academic, artistic, photographic and writing practice?听
I always was a writer, and I did photography as a hobby. I got more into street photography during my undergraduate studies living in the very vibrant city of Montreal. I integrated these to some extent in my anthropological studies, because it provided that space to do visual anthropology and explore the image, and combine art and academics in writing through ethnography. It started to more concretely bridge in my internship with听Aga Khan听Foundation (East Africa)听in Nairobi, because I was put in a communications position and听was听required to take pictures听and听write. And then听I听met a lot of these creatives听there,听that I mentioned听earlier.听Through GPISH, I realised听I enjoyed the intellectual rigour of the academic world, and the ability to really research an issue.听I’ve realised that there’s space to combine听my artistic practice听with academic听approaches, and听do applied research.听That’s hopefully what I’ll be听pursuing more in my third year,听because I’ve chosen an anthropology programme听at Oxford听that has a lot of experience in visual,听material听and听museum听anthropology. And听so听I’m hoping through engagement with that programme, I’ll be able to find that space and more deeply engage with issues听of听identity and听racism I鈥檓 interested in.
This idea of applied practice or听applied听research has influenced a lot of my GPISH experience. And a lot of my papers have been about the visual or art.听I’m trying to think of ways to practice听in听this field and to challenge my thinking on it too. GPISH has given me the space to听better听understand racism and discrimination as they relate to the wider questions of culture, identity and development.听Through it, I have gained a much better understanding of the roots of Islamophobia and the systemic听factors听that underlie a lot of the issues in Muslim majority areas. I think I didn’t even appreciate coming in how much more depth I was going to get.听I鈥檝e now got听a different layer of understanding on听colonialism and its impact.听I’m looking forward to taking that learning forward with other projects.
My GPISH research听project is听focusing on the idea of place, memory and identity in Nairobi听using my family’s restaurant, which was听an iconic听establishment in听the city.听I鈥檓听looking at how,听through people’s memory,听the restaurant represents听cultural heritage in the city.听There鈥檚 an image of it in the exhibition:听it’s directly across from the听iconic town听Jamatkhana听in Nairobi.
What do you hope visitors take away from your exhibition?听
UnBelonging听in my Fatherland听is kind of an ode to the Ismaili community and is reflective of many of our experiences. And听so听in that sense, I’m hoping that for people who might have roots in East Africa, they’re looking at it critically.听The exhibition does tell stories about听recognisable听places,听but there is commentary throughout,听on colonialism, racism听and some political issues that challenged me as a Canadian outsider who also was kind of an insider.听I hope听people whose families are from the region or who have heard about it and identify with the region,听also听get to learn about what everyday life is听like, rather than just be too caught up in the nostalgic element of it.听Part of the goal is听also听to counterpoint the ways in which Africa as a continent is usually represented by showing its internal diversity,听focused on this region.听More broadly, I think it is about reflecting on听your own positionality in your societies and thinking through un-belonging, which听stems from racism.
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