Archival Studies in Arab Women's Essay Film: Róisín Tapponi of the Habibi Collective

In this talk, the London-based curator, writer and editor Róisín Tapponi will explore the role of the archive in Arab women's essay film, as a narrative subject, a structural form and a field underexplored in the region. Incorporating discussion of oral histories, found footage and material conditions, she asks what role the past has in the future of Arab women's cinema.

Róisín Tapponi is the founder of Habibi Collective, a digital archive and curatorial platform for MENA women’s filmmaking. She is currently developing the first independent streaming service for MENA cinema, SHASHA Movies Ltd.

Tapponi has directed four regional film festivals, including the Independent Iraqi Film Festival (IIFF). She has curated programmes on MENA filmmaking in galleries, academic institutions, festivals and cinemas across the world. Tapponi currently works at The Mosaic Rooms, a gallery in London dedicated to contemporary Arab art.

Tapponi is founder and editor-in-chief of ART WORK, a new critical art e-publication for cultural workers operating on the margins. She also works as a freelance journalist, having written features on art & culture for publications including The Guardian, Frieze, i-D and Vogue.

She is one of the curators of Liberating History: Arab Feminisms and Mediated Pasts, a series of screenings and discussions October 8 – 31 presented by The Block Museum of Art and co-sponsored by the Middle East and North African Studies Program.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the meeting. This program is presented by the program of Middle East and North African Studies in partnership with The Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University.