12-14-22banner.png

Dialogue: Niloufar Talebi and Kija Lucas in conversation

Self-Portrait in Bloom
Wednesday, 12/14/2022
7:00 - 8:00
Virtual Library

United States

Register

San Francisco-based Iranian-American author Niloufar Talebi discusses her search for HOME, a subject she began exploring in her 2019 hybrid memoir, Self-Portrait in Bloom, and continuing to address in her new fiction and nonfiction projects. This presentation is a peek into historical research from afar, shifting notions of self, nationhood, and authorship as Talebi turns the tables on those who interrogate immigrants about their home and identity. Talebi will be in conversation with Kija Lucas, whose photo exhibit, The Taxonomy of Belonging that traces her ancestry is currently on exhibit at SF CAMERAWORK. 

Watch on YouTube.

The work of British-born, Iranian-American artist Niloufar Talebi appears in a variety of media, often inspired by Iranian culture while taking great leaps into Western art forms. The vision driving her work is to address the invisibility and erasure of non-dominant voices through projects of cultural translation. Foundational to her projects are literary texts that she authors, translates, curates and remixes. 

 

Talebi is the author of Self-Portrait in Bloom (l’Aleph, March 28, 2019), called “A hybrid wonder” by The Rumpus and “A brutally honest memoir of a life built by words, destroyed by words, rebuilt by words” by New York Times bestselling author Firoozeh Dumas. It breaks with the memoir form and presents a portrait of the Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou and his poetry in her award-winning translation.

 

Lucas is an artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She uses photography to explore ideas of home, heritage and inheritance. She is interested in how ideas are passed down and seemingly inconsequential moments create changes that last generations.

 

Her work has been exhibited at Oakland Museum of California, Anglim Gilbert Gallery, Headlands Center for the Arts, San Francico Arts Commission Galleries, California Institute of Integral Studies, Palo Alto Arts Center, Intersection for the Arts, Mission Cultural Center and Root Division, as well as Venice Arts in Los Angeles, CA, La Sala d’Ercole/Hercules Hall in Bologna Italy, and Casa Escorsa in Guadalajara, Mexico. Lucas has been an Artist in Residence at Montalvo Center for the Arts, Grin City Collective and The Wassaic Artist Residency. She is a member of 3.9 Art Collective and the Curatorial Council at Southern Exposure. Lucas received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and her MFA from Mills College.

 

Connect 

Niloufar Talebi - Website | Niloufar Talebi - Instagram | Niloufar Talebi - Twitter | Niloufar Talebi - YouTube


Kija Lucas - Website | Kija Lucas - Instagram

Author Readings & Lectures

Engage with your favorite writers and discover your next read.

Women's Interest

Programs spotlighting women's history, rights and current issues.

HERstory is SFPL's celebration of Women's History Month, spotlighting authors, thinkers, visionaries and artists during the month of March. Program offerings are for all ages. 
sfpl.org/herstory

Spotlight

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.