Heard And Not Seen is a collaboration between Mitra Memarzia, Sandra Hall and Friction Arts.  Commissioned for the PVE programme (Preventing Violent Extremism), the project seeks to create a safe space for discussion whilst providing sensory stimulation for that discussion to occur.  It is specifically focused on demystifying prevailing attitudes towards Islam from western society and vise versa.

The exhibtion takes the form of a series of installations, some using interactive media to provoke thoughts and questions relating to musilm people living in the UK. alongside the exhibition run a series of discussions, facilitated by the artists with people from differing backgrounds and communities.

The exhibition opened at the Mailbox, Birmingham and had several thousand visitors, as well as hundreds of people engaged in conversation, including representatives from Women’s groups, the Police, the BBC and other stakeholders as well as members of the public.  Many questions were raised, which will inform future developments of the project. In 2010, the exhibition had an extended run at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, where thousands more people got a chance to experience the work.

The next outing for Heard And Not Seen will be at Washwood Heath Library in May 2011, watch this space and the news page for information.

See www.heardandnotseen.com for full details of this project.

Be Seen

Responsive video projection from Heard and Not Seen