Yemeni Threads at NYU's Kevorkian Center - New York, 2/8/2016

The International Yemeni Film & Arts Festival returns to New York City in April, starting with this special presentation by textile and jewelry expert Marjorie Ransom: Yemeni Threads textile1The mountainous terrain of northern Yemen and the vast expanses of desert in the southern part of the country have long separated Yemenis into discrete communities, each with their own designs and motifs. Marjorie Ransom will introduce you to this remote and beautiful country and its weavings with a richly illustrated presentation. Her book on Yemeni jewelry, Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba, will also be on display. In addition to silver-work, the book also presents twenty-six costumes and six textiles.

Ms. Ransom will display two rare textiles she is researching, as well as an example of tablet weaving that was the work of Yemeni Jews. The costumes on display will highlight the indigo-dyed fabric worn in the cooler northern climate and the densely embroidered costumes of the flat Tihamah coastal plain that borders the Red Sea. Her costumes from the south display Syrian and Indian fabrics of silk and cotton, and feature couched, twisted silver thread embroidery.

Marjorie Ransom lived twice as a US diplomat in Yemen in a career that also took her to India, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Egypt. She and her late husband David Ransom assembled a large collection of jewelry and costumes during their postings. Since retirement, Ms. Ransom has lectured widely about Middle East jewelry and wrote several articles. The Bead Museum in Washington, DC hosted an exhibit of her jewelry, Silver Speaks: Traditional Jewelry of the Middle East in 2002-3; the exhibit traveled to locations in New York and Michigan in 2005-7. In 2006-7, Ms. Ransom lent 78 pieces from her collection to the exhibit, Symbols of Identity — Jewelry of Five Continents, at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego. In 2008 she co-curated an exhibit of her jewelry, Female Adornment from Bilad al-Sham (Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria), at the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC. With research grants, Marjorie Ransom spent a year in Yemen during the years 2004-9 studying traditional silver jewelry and crafts. The American University in Cairo Press published a book of her findings, Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba: Yemeni Regional Jewelry, in June 2014; through the end of last March they had sold 1500 copies.

Details: Friday, April 8th. Presentation starts at 6:00pm. This event is free, but seats are limited. Click here to RSVP. Hosted by The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at NYU, and the Yemen Peace Project.

After the presentation, head upstairs to the Richard Ettinghausen Library for the YPP's reception and exhibition of contemporary Yemeni art.

Yemeni Threads at The Textile Museum - Washington DC, 2/1/2016

Our 2016 International Yemeni Film & Arts Festival kicks off with this special presentation by textile and jewelry expert Marjorie Ransom: Yemeni Threads textile1The mountainous terrain of northern Yemen and the vast expanses of desert in the southern part of the country have long separated Yemenis into discrete communities, each with their own designs and motifs. Marjorie Ransom will introduce you to this remote and beautiful country and its weavings with a richly illustrated presentation. Her book on Yemeni jewelry, Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba, will also be on display. In addition to silver-work, the book also presents twenty-six costumes and six textiles.

Ms. Ransom will display two rare textiles she is researching, as well as an example of tablet weaving that was the work of Yemeni Jews. The costumes on display will highlight the indigo-dyed fabric worn in the cooler northern climate and the densely embroidered costumes of the flat Tihamah coastal plain that borders the Red Sea. Her costumes from the south display Syrian and Indian fabrics of silk and cotton, and feature couched, twisted silver thread embroidery.

Marjorie Ransom lived twice as a US diplomat in Yemen in a career that also took her to India, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Egypt. She and her late husband David Ransom assembled a large collection of jewelry and costumes during their postings. Since retirement, Ms. Ransom has lectured widely about Middle East jewelry and wrote several articles. The Bead Museum in Washington, DC hosted an exhibit of her jewelry, Silver Speaks: Traditional Jewelry of the Middle East in 2002-3; the exhibit traveled to locations in New York and Michigan in 2005-7. In 2006-7, Ms. Ransom lent 78 pieces from her collection to the exhibit, Symbols of Identity — Jewelry of Five Continents, at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego. In 2008 she co-curated an exhibit of her jewelry, Female Adornment from Bilad al-Sham (Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria), at the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC. With research grants, Marjorie Ransom spent a year in Yemen during the years 2004-9 studying traditional silver jewelry and crafts. The American University in Cairo Press published a book of her findings, Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba: Yemeni Regional Jewelry, in June 2014; through the end of last March they had sold 1500 copies.

Details: Friday, April 1st. Textile display opens at 2:00pm; presentation starts at 4:00pm. This event is free, but registration is required. Click here to register. Hosted by The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, on the campus of George Washington University. This event is co-sponsored by the Yemen Peace Project.

T-shirt design contest

To celebrate our upcoming second International Yemeni Film & Arts Festival, the YPP is holding a t-shirt design contest! We're looking for creative designs that relate in some way to Yemen and the YPP's mission. T-shirts featuring the winning design will be sold at the 2016 Festival and on the YPP website. The winning designer will receive a cash prize of $100 and recognition on the website.

[big_text]Submissions will be accepted through February 7, 2016.[/big_text]

Details:

  • Designs must be your own original work.
  • Designs may include line art, text, and photographs.
  • Designs may include the words "The Yemen Peace Project" or "International Yemeni Film & Arts Festival," or may be without text.
  • Designs may use a maximum of three colors (not including background).
  • You may submit no more than three designs per person.
  • We reserve the right to make changes to submissions, such as image size and colors.
  • By submitting a design, you grant us permission to use your design on the YPP website and promotional materials.

Submit your designs here!

October 28: Washington, DC: Yemen networking happy hour

Are you a DC-area professional, intern, student, activist, or artist with an interest in Yemen and/or the Arabian Peninsula? If so, you’re invited to join the Yemen Peace Project for a casual networking happy hour on 10/28! The DC area is home to lots of people working on issues related to Southwest Asia and North Africa, across a range of sectors and specialties. Whether we work in foreign policy, security, humanitarian relief, economic development, or arts and culture, we can all do our own jobs better by building connections with people in other fields. So let’s get together, have some food and some drinks, talk about Yemen, and get to know each other.

Location: St. Arnold's on Jefferson

5:30 - 7:30 p.m., 10/28. RSVP in the comments or on Facebook.

Director's Forum: Yemen, US Policy, and You - Brooklyn, NY 3/21/2015

Join YPP executive director William Picard for a presentation on America’s role in the ongoing upheaval in Yemen, an overview of the work of the Yemen Peace Project, and a discussion about how Americans--and members of the Yemeni-American community in particular--can get involved. The discussion will touch on all three of the YPP’s current program areas, with a special focus on our new Advocacy program. This program is intended to amplify the voices of activists and experts in Yemen and the Yemeni diaspora, and to ensure that the views of Yemenis are represented in policy discussions in the US and the international community.

This event is free and open to the public; all are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Download flier We're looking for a few volunteers to help us with this event. Click the "RSVP Now" button for details. Thanks!

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[column size="1/2"]Saturday 3/21, 2:00pm-3:30pm Arab-American Family Support Center 150 Court Street, 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11201[/column]

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Director's Forum: Yemen, US Policy, and You - Washington, DC 3/22/2015

Join YPP executive director William Picard for a presentation on America’s role in the ongoing upheaval in Yemen, an overview of the work of the Yemen Peace Project, and a discussion about how Americans--and members of the Yemeni-American community in particular--can get involved. The discussion will touch on all three of the YPP’s current program areas, with a special focus on our new Advocacy program. This program is intended to amplify the voices of activists and experts in Yemen and the Yemeni diaspora, and to ensure that the views of Yemenis are represented in policy discussions in the US and the international community.

This event is free and open to the public; all are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Download flier

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[column size="1/2"]Sunday 3/22, 2:00pm-3:30pm Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Room A-5 901 G St NW Washington, DC 20001[/column]

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Film Festival Preview, UCLA Library - Los Angeles, CA 1/12/2014

UCLA flier colorYPP director Will Picard and UCLA librarian David Hirsch host a screening of selected short films from the upcoming International Yemeni Film & Arts Festival. Following the screening, Picard and Hirsch will lead a discussion about the films' themes and their broader context in Yemeni society and the Yemeni diaspora.

Films will include:

Socotra: H’er wa Imshin, Felisa Jimenez. Yemen & Colombia, 2013, 36 minutes (World Premiere). This hauntingly beautiful documentary explores the social changes that have come to the remote Yemeni island of Socotra in recent years.

The Last Harvest, Jonathan Friedlander & Erik Friedl. USA, 2012, 23 minutes. This documentary, produced by UCLA researcher Jonathan Friedlander, explores the lives of Yemenis who settled in California’s San Joaquin Valley. At the peak of migration, some 5,000 Yemenis were employed in the fields of central California. Today only several hundred remain.

Karama Has No Walls, Sara Ishaq. Yemen, 2011, 30 minutes. Jumʻat al-Karama, the Friday of Dignity, on which pro-regime gunmen murdered over 50 revolutionary activists and wounded hundreds, marked a turning point in Yemen’s popular uprising of 2011. Filmmaker Sara Ishaq tells the story of the Karama massacre and its aftermath through the eyes of activists and their families. This film is currently on the short-list for an Academy Award nomination, the first such achievement for a Yemeni film.

A Stranger in Her Own City, Khadija al-Salami. Yemen, 2005, 29 minutes. In her first documentary, al-Salami shadows 13-year-old Nejmia, a girl who flouts custom by playing in the streets of Old Sanʻa “like a boy” and refusing to wear the hijab. Nejmia laughs off the taunts and curses of her neighbors, and captivates the viewer with her indomitable spirit.

The Big House, Musa Syeed. Yemen, 2013, 5 minutes. When a young boy finds a key to the empty mansion down the street, he lets himself and his imagination run wild in the big house.

Photo, Sawsan al-Areeqe. Yemen, 2012, 4 minutes. This simple but eloquent allegory celebrates the light women bring to Yemeni society despite all attempts at repression.

This event is free and open to the public, though UCLA charges for off-street parking. Light refreshments provided. Sponsored by the UCLA G.E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies.

Sunday 1/12, 3:00-6:00pm Charles E. Young Research Library, room 11360

Yemen and the US: developing alternatives to perpetual war - Pasadena, CA, 11/17/2013

Join YPP executive director Will Picard for a presentation on the failures of US foreign policy in Yemen, followed by a discussion about why Yemen matters to America, and what Americans can do to build a more peaceful and constructive relationship between the two countries.  At All Saints Church in Pasadena, 10:15am.


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Images from Yemen & the Middle East - Costa Mesa, CA, 6/8/2013

0608 flier YPP On June 8, the Yemen Peace Project will be co-hosting a photography event in Costa Mesa featuring images from Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, and elsewhere in the region. This event, a collaboration with the talented Jenny Lynn, is part of our organization's Artistic Outreach program, which uses art to promote understanding.

Alongside Jenny's outstanding work, we'll be showing stunning new photos by Alex Kay Potter, as well as images from our "Revolution in Their Eyes" collection, which was shown in DC, LA, and NYC in 2011-2012. This collection features photographs from Change Square, the heart of the 2011 popular uprising in San‘a, by AbdulRahman Jaber, Raja Althaibani, Atiaf Alwazir, Ghada al-Wazeer, and Benjamin Wiacek.

This event is free and open to the public; refreshments will be provided. We'll also be raising funds at this exhibition for our 2014 Film and Visual Arts Festival, so donations are encouraged. See you there!

When: June 8, 2013, 6:00 PM

Where: Location 1980 Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA

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US foreign policy and Yemen's tenuous transition - Los Angeles, CA, 7/22

  On Sunday, July 22, YPP director Will Picard will lead a public forum on Yemen and American foreign policy. The event is part of the Progressive Conversations series and is hosted by the Levantine Cultural Center.

The event is open to the public; a $5 donation is recommended. Seating is limited, so please call the Levantine Cultural Center to RSVP at (323) 413-2001.

More info available here.

Revolution in Their Eyes: New York edition, 1/27 - 6/30

This month the YPP will be bringing a selection of photographs from our exhibition "Revolution in Their Eyes" to the City University of New York (CUNY) in Manhattan.

The photographs will be displayed in the offices of CUNY's Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC) for the entire spring semester.

Please join us for the opening reception on January 27, from 6:30pm - 8:30pm, hosted by MEMEAC.

Following the reception, YPP director Will Picard will host an informal gathering of New York-area Yemeni-American activists to discuss the state of the Yemeni revolution and the future of cooperation between activists in the US and Yemen. All are invited to join. For more information, please email Will Picard at picard@yemenpeaceproject.org.

For more info about the event, and directions to the CUNY Graduate Center, visit MEMEAC's website. You can also view event info and invite your friends on Facebook.

 

Revolution in Their Eyes: Photography from Change Square - Los Angeles, CA, 9/16-10/9

The Yemen Peace Project and 118 WINSTON host a unique exhibition of revolutionary photography from San‘a, Yemen in Downtown LA. The exhibition features over one hundred photographs by participants in the ongoing revolution, documenting the reality--both brutal and beautiful--of daily life in Change Square, the heart of the revolution in Yemen's capital city.

Gallery hours are 11am-6pm Friday-Sunday, and by appointment. Opening reception will be Friday, September 16, 6-9pm. The gallery is located at 118 Winston St. 2nd floor, Los Angeles, CA  90013. Click here for gallery info.  Map & directions

Read more about this exhibition.

Proceeds from the exhibition will go toward humanitarian relief efforts underway in Yemen.

Founded in early 2010, the Yemen Peace Project is an international network of activists and scholars working to develop and promote peaceful solutions to the challenges facing the people of Yemen. Click here to learn more about us.

June 11-25: "Through Their Eyes": Revolutionary Photography from Yemen and Syria

The YPP is co-sponsoring an exhibition of photography from the Yemeni and Syrian revolutions at MOCA-DC gallery in Georgetown, Washington, DC. The show begins June 11 and runs through June 25. Learn more on Facebook.

From the event organizers:

The Arab Spring has swept across North Africa and the Middle East. The brutal regimes of Yemen and Syria have claimed the lives of hundreds, imprisoned thousands, and injured an untold number of peaceful protesters.

The Syrian government has banned all foreign media, and the Yemeni government has severely limited it. Internet and mobile communications are frequently disabled – in both countries – as a means of silencing the prote...sters. But freedom cannot silenced.

Please join us June 11 - June 25 as we give these protesters a voice. Their photos tell a compelling story of the ongoing journey towards freedom.

The exhibition explores the role of art with a political content, taking you to the streets of Syria and Yemen directly and experiencing the peaceful resistance of the protesters.

Photographs have been collected and submitted by people on the ground.

To learn more about the gallery, please visit: http://www.mocadc.org/

DIRECTIONS: http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=MOCA+DC&fb=1&gl=us&hq=MOCA&hnear=0x89b7c6de5af6e45b%3A0xd6e28ec00254a198%2CDistrict+of+Columbia&cid=0%2C0%2C16444047702709470220&ei=8ZnRTfmpLIHYgQeW_8zDDA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CB8QnwIwAQ

Solidarity with peaceful demonstrations

Like the rest of the world, the YPP is watching developments in Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain intently. As pro-democracy activists in San‘a, Ta‘iz, and all over Yemen prepare for a national day of protests on Thursday, February 3, we stand with all of those who struggle peacefully for positive change. We will do our best to bring our visitors the latest news and in-depth analysis from Yemen during these exciting times.