Project Initiators
Partners
Key Research Questions
- What is the impact of Yazidi art and photography workshops on the mental wellbeing of Yazidi women survivors?
- What is the impact of creating an archive of Yazidi Culture on the emotional wellbeing of participating Yazidi women, trainers, and staff?
Yazidi Cultural Archives on UN Google Arts & Culture Page
Online Exhibit
The Art of Yazidi Survival
Online Exhibit
Nobody’s Listening: Justice for the Yazidi People
Project Press
Chatham house
Salvaging a culture
Project Story
The Yazidi Cultural Archives project aimed to improve the mental health of female Yazidi survivors of the 2014 Genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Northern Iraq. The project incorporated (i) the delivery of a series of artist-led workshops and (ii) the creation of a multi-media digital archive of Yazidi cultural heritage at-risk. The Yazidi Cultural Archives project aimed to improve the mental health of female Yazidi survivors of the 2014 Genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Northern Iraq. The project incorporated (i) the delivery of a series of artist-led workshops and (ii) the creation of a multi-media digital archive of Yazidi cultural heritage at-risk.
Project Trailer
Context
In August 2014, the so-called Islamic State (“ISIS”) committed genocide in northern Iraq. ISIS targeted the minority communities in the country, especially the Yazidis. This systematic persecution led to the summary killing of an estimated 5,000 Yazidis, the abduction of an estimated 6,800 Yazidis, primarily women and children, and the forced conversion of countless Yazidis. This genocidal campaign saw the destruction of 68 Yazidi religious and cultural sites, and the forced displacement of an estimated 400,000 Yazidis from the Sinjar district alone.
Project impact
This Yazidi Cultural Archives report lays the foundation for a more rigorous evaluation, to be undertaken by the newly established Jameel Arts & Health Lab, to assess the impact of the published archive on the mental health of female Yazidi survivors. Key research questions were integrated into phase 1 and 2 of the project in order to collect data for use in the final evaluation which will be published on the Jameel Arts & Health Lab website in December 2023. The JAHL Yazidi Cultural Archives evaluation aims to build on previous WHO reports exploring the measurable health benefits of the arts, and will draw upon two previous WHO reports exploring the evidence base for the health benefits of the arts:
The Survivors
16 Women Survivors were selected to participate….
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Workshops
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Art Workshops
Participants were taught basic skills for using a variety of mediums. To start, each was given a sketchbook for drawing with a pencil on paper. Later, they worked with oil paints, mixing colours and applying these to canvas.. In response to requests to depict personal experiences, the art trainer supported survivors in painting and drawing their experiences and emotional responses to ISIS captivity.
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Photography Workshops
Technical and theoretical photography lessons were designed to teach participants how to handle a camera and develop their photographic eye, including composition and lighting their subjects. During the lessons, the trainer explained key points about holding and operating a camera – ISO, shutter speed, aperture, white balance, adjusting colours, angle of view, focus, and zoom – and Photoshop basics. These skill-based lessons lay the foundation for on-site workshops that were conducted during a series of field trips.
Featured Film
Nobody's Listening – VR exhibition advocates for support of the Yazidi community after the Sinjar massacre.
3 August 2021 marked the seventh anniversary of the Sinjar massacre. Islamic State (also known as ISIS or Da’esh) systematically targeted ethno-religious minorities residing in Sinjar and on the Nineveh Plains. Seven years on, much still needs to be done to support the Yazidi community’s recovery
Project Outreach
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Yazidi Cultural Archive Launch Poster
The poster for the launch of the Yazidi Cultural Archive.
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Malaeen
Yazidi survivor Malaeen addressing the audience at the Yazidi Cultural Archive launch at the Institut du Monde Arabe for Healing Arts Paris
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Nobody's Listening VR exhibition at YCA Launch
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Arab News: UN publishes digital archives created by Yazidi genocide survivors
Online exhibitions reveal role of art in psychological recovery of people suffering effects of conflict-induced trauma
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The Art Newspaper article on the Yazidi Cultural Archive launch
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Creative Brain Week Trinity College Dublin
As part of the Jameel Arts and Health Lab’s 2023 Healing Arts Program, the Yazidi Cultural Archives were presented during Creative Brain Week at Trinity College Dublin.
Testimonials
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