Francesca Recchia (Kabul)
Afghanistan Untitled
Performative Talk
Synopsis: Entangled in the constraints of a war economy and inescapable geopolitics, Afghan contemporary artists strive to gather and develop new meanings in relation to the Self, to their practice, to their community, to their national and ethnic belonging, and to their history and heritage. Francesca Recchia’s performative talk addresses these issues in a collection of thoughts that aim to disentangle the complexity of being Afghan by looking at the role that different actors play, the importance of mentorship, education and dialogue, and the urgent need to de-exoticize Afghan art and artists.
Francesca Recchia’s FIELD MEETING participation is supported by Turquoise Mountain (Kabul).
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Francesca Recchia is a researcher and writer based in Kabul, where she is currently working as the acting Director of the Institute of Afghan Arts and Architecture at Turquoise Mountain. Her work is grounded on an interdisciplinary approach that combines Urban, Visual and Cultural Studies specifically through her research in the geopolitical dimension of cultural processes and the creative practices and intangible heritage of countries in conflict. Recchia has authored the books The Little Book of Kabul, Picnic in A Minefield, and Devices of Political Action. In the past, Recchia has been a Research Associate at the Centre of South Asian Studies (SOAS) in London. She received her PhD in Cultural Studies at the Oriental Institute in Naples followed by a position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Bartlett School of Planning at the University College London.