This text was submitted as a proposal to the apexart NYC25 Open Call
After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, artists were immediately stripped of their space and freedom to create, facing an abrupt and harsh new reality. Under Taliban rule, censorship and suppression of artistic expression have become the new reality. Severe restrictions on music and performing arts, destruction of cultural heritage, and threats to artists' safety now define daily life. Public cultural spaces have vanished, stripping artists of venues to share their work.
In this hostile environment, artistic creation has become a double-edged sword: while it offers a liberating means of expression, it also brings significant risks. Artists and their communities face heightened danger as their work and identities are exposed to public scrutiny.
In response, many artists and cultural workers have fled to places like Germany, France, and the USA, often bringing only fragments of their art with them. Many others, however, remain in Afghanistan. Despite overwhelming obstacles, Afghan artists continue to use art as a powerful form of protest. They display resilience and determination as they communicate personal and collective experiences of hope, identity, and resistance in a context where self-expression is life-threatening.
For some, survival has meant destroying their own work to protect themselves and their families, fearing that the presence of such pieces could lead to severe punishment or even endanger their lives. Others lost their pieces to looting or deliberate destruction during house searches, while some works were abandoned in haste as artists fled. Yet, art endures. Some pieces remain hidden within Afghanistan, while others survive only in documentary form.
Curated by an Afghan artist, curator, and cultural worker, this exhibition presents images of pieces that were destroyed, artworks that remain in Afghanistan, art smuggled out of the country, and creations of Afghan artists in exile. It includes text, photographs, painting, Videos and personal testimonies gathered during artists' evacuations.
This exhibition is more than a showcase—it forms a vital part of an evolving archive of contemporary Afghan art. This archive testifies to the resilience of Afghan artists, preserving their creative struggle and documenting their ongoing resistance. It ensures that, even in exile or under Taliban rule, their voices will endure.
Beyond highlighting oppression, this exhibition illuminates how political upheaval has reshaped the lives of artists, exploring their survival strategies and the new realities they face. Ultimately, it celebrates resilience and hope, honoring both those who remain and those who have left Afghanistan, while building a legacy for future generations to understand the contemporary Afghan artistic landscape.
After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, artists were immediately stripped of their space and freedom to create, facing an abrupt and harsh new reality. Under Taliban rule, censorship and suppression of artistic expression have become the new reality. Severe restrictions on music and performing arts, destruction of cultural heritage, and threats to artists' safety now define daily life. Public cultural spaces have vanished, stripping artists of venues to share their work.
In this hostile environment, artistic creation has become a double-edged sword: while it offers a liberating means of expression, it also brings significant risks. Artists and their communities face heightened danger as their work and identities are exposed to public scrutiny.
In response, many artists and cultural workers have fled to places like Germany, France, and the USA, often bringing only fragments of their art with them. Many others, however, remain in Afghanistan. Despite overwhelming obstacles, Afghan artists continue to use art as a powerful form of protest. They display resilience and determination as they communicate personal and collective experiences of hope, identity, and resistance in a context where self-expression is life-threatening.
For some, survival has meant destroying their own work to protect themselves and their families, fearing that the presence of such pieces could lead to severe punishment or even endanger their lives. Others lost their pieces to looting or deliberate destruction during house searches, while some works were abandoned in haste as artists fled. Yet, art endures. Some pieces remain hidden within Afghanistan, while others survive only in documentary form.
Curated by an Afghan artist, curator, and cultural worker, this exhibition presents images of pieces that were destroyed, artworks that remain in Afghanistan, art smuggled out of the country, and creations of Afghan artists in exile. It includes text, photographs, painting, Videos and personal testimonies gathered during artists' evacuations.
This exhibition is more than a showcase—it forms a vital part of an evolving archive of contemporary Afghan art. This archive testifies to the resilience of Afghan artists, preserving their creative struggle and documenting their ongoing resistance. It ensures that, even in exile or under Taliban rule, their voices will endure.
Beyond highlighting oppression, this exhibition illuminates how political upheaval has reshaped the lives of artists, exploring their survival strategies and the new realities they face. Ultimately, it celebrates resilience and hope, honoring both those who remain and those who have left Afghanistan, while building a legacy for future generations to understand the contemporary Afghan artistic landscape.
Yama Rahimi, artist, curator, and activist, specializes in experimental films, exhibiting globally in 25+ shows, including Whitechapel-London, Venice Biennale, and UCLA.
apexart’s program supporters past and present include the National Endowment for the Arts, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Kettering Family Foundation, the Buhl Foundation, The Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Spencer Brownstone, the Kenneth A. Cowin Foundation, Epstein Teicher Philanthropies, The Greenwich Collection Ltd., William Talbott Hillman Foundation/Affirmation Arts Fund, the Fifth Floor Foundation, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, The Puffin Foundation, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and administered by LMCC, funds from NYSCA Electronic Media/Film in Partnership with Wave Farm: Media Arts Assistance Fund, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.