Sheikh Arif Bulbon :
The Goethe-Institut in partnership with HerStory Foundation hosted a pop-up of the Sister Library a travelling feminist library by indigenous artist Aqui Thami at the library of Goethe-Institut in the capital’s Dhanmondi area from February 12 to 15.
During this time several interventions took place. The Sister Library, based in Mumbai, is the first community-run feminist library in the South-Asia. The visiting collection comprised of 100 books written by women from Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“The Sister Library is a safe space to celebrate women and be your true self, you are not asked to sit in a certain way or behave in a certain way. We read one of the most important works that have come from South Asia. It has shaped the feminist movement in the region and world over. It’s really special to read it in a community in Bangladesh, it is very different to reading alone it’s always nice to come together and talk it over. It was such a special moment,” said Aqui Thami.
To host the visiting books, the Goethe-Institut transformed one of the library shelves into a local chapter of the signature fluorescent pink Sister Library. On February 12, Aqui Thami led a collective reading of the iconic sci-fi short story by Rokeya Shakawat Hosein, Sultana’s Dream. “What is more important than imagining what Sultana’s Dream would be like today, is realising the dream of 1905. Women are still suffering injustice; there is rape, and female infanticide. There is a lot of work to be done,” Aqui Thami also said.
On February 14, the Sister Library hosted a bi-lingual reading of Neelima Ibrahim’s A War Heroine, I Speak on the pink carpet of the library. A small group of visitors read from the Birangona testimonies collected by the activist and shared their reflections on the text.
The final event of the Sister Library visit to Dhaka was the ‘ZINE WITH US’ workshop on February 15 during which participants were instructed to collectively create a zine. A zine is a hand-made, self-published, self-distributed publication which questions the status quo. The topic of the zine created was ‘Silencing Female Voices in Bangladesh.’ Once participants created their contributions, they were collected, copied and handed-out to the zine-makers.
Powered by female excellence – it is a space to celebrate female creativity. The library holds one thousand works of women writers, artists and zine makers. It is an evolving and generative artwork that engages with an in-depth reflection on the visual and reading cultures of our times. The goal of the project is to bring together readers, to explore literary contributions, showcase artistic quality and celebrate women in the creative world as well as to foster interests and understanding of the accomplishments of female writers and artists.
Founded by Aqui Thami, an indigenous artist based Mummbai, the Sister Library is the first community-owned feminist library in South Asia. Centred in the culture of DIY, self-publishing and guerrilla poster making, she believes in creating art that is grounded in the act of ‘doing’ and addresses political/ social issues.
The core of her art practice is healing as she works with experiences of marginalisation and resilience, her own and the people she works in collaboration with.
The Goethe-Institut in partnership with HerStory Foundation hosted a pop-up of the Sister Library a travelling feminist library by indigenous artist Aqui Thami at the library of Goethe-Institut in the capital’s Dhanmondi area from February 12 to 15.
During this time several interventions took place. The Sister Library, based in Mumbai, is the first community-run feminist library in the South-Asia. The visiting collection comprised of 100 books written by women from Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“The Sister Library is a safe space to celebrate women and be your true self, you are not asked to sit in a certain way or behave in a certain way. We read one of the most important works that have come from South Asia. It has shaped the feminist movement in the region and world over. It’s really special to read it in a community in Bangladesh, it is very different to reading alone it’s always nice to come together and talk it over. It was such a special moment,” said Aqui Thami.
To host the visiting books, the Goethe-Institut transformed one of the library shelves into a local chapter of the signature fluorescent pink Sister Library. On February 12, Aqui Thami led a collective reading of the iconic sci-fi short story by Rokeya Shakawat Hosein, Sultana’s Dream. “What is more important than imagining what Sultana’s Dream would be like today, is realising the dream of 1905. Women are still suffering injustice; there is rape, and female infanticide. There is a lot of work to be done,” Aqui Thami also said.
On February 14, the Sister Library hosted a bi-lingual reading of Neelima Ibrahim’s A War Heroine, I Speak on the pink carpet of the library. A small group of visitors read from the Birangona testimonies collected by the activist and shared their reflections on the text.
The final event of the Sister Library visit to Dhaka was the ‘ZINE WITH US’ workshop on February 15 during which participants were instructed to collectively create a zine. A zine is a hand-made, self-published, self-distributed publication which questions the status quo. The topic of the zine created was ‘Silencing Female Voices in Bangladesh.’ Once participants created their contributions, they were collected, copied and handed-out to the zine-makers.
Powered by female excellence – it is a space to celebrate female creativity. The library holds one thousand works of women writers, artists and zine makers. It is an evolving and generative artwork that engages with an in-depth reflection on the visual and reading cultures of our times. The goal of the project is to bring together readers, to explore literary contributions, showcase artistic quality and celebrate women in the creative world as well as to foster interests and understanding of the accomplishments of female writers and artists.
Founded by Aqui Thami, an indigenous artist based Mummbai, the Sister Library is the first community-owned feminist library in South Asia. Centred in the culture of DIY, self-publishing and guerrilla poster making, she believes in creating art that is grounded in the act of ‘doing’ and addresses political/ social issues.
The core of her art practice is healing as she works with experiences of marginalisation and resilience, her own and the people she works in collaboration with.
