Rawsht Twana is a photographer and archivist. He started taking photos in 2006 following in his father’s footsteps. In 2009, he started working as a photojournalist for Metrography – an independent photography agency based in Iraq – documenting social events through intimate and long-term projects in Iraqi Kurdistan. His images have been published in many international magazines and media outlets.
Heba Hage-Felder is the outgoing director of the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut. She joined the foundation in September 2020 and as of January 2023, she continues her engagement as a general assembly member. She has over twenty-five years of experience in institutional building and management of cultural and developmental initiatives, and holds a Master in International Relations. Born in Ghana, she grew up between West Africa and Lebanon. She currently oscillates between Bern and Beirut and is pursuing writing and visual storytelling.
The Twana Archive
Archive Berlin
Saturday
25.02.2023
7–9 pm (CET)
Public program
With contributions by Rawsht Twana,
Caterina Erica Shanta, Heba Hage-Felder,
and Nazand Begikhani
The Twana Archive project consists of the study, indexing, digitization, and documentation of Twana Abdullah’s photographic archive. Twana Abdullah was a photographer active in Iraqi Kurdistan between 1974–1992, and was killed on June 22nd. The archive, contains around 20.000 images and is currently under the care of his son, Rawsht Twana.
The public program will provide an introduction to the research process, the content of the archive, and the recent archival residency at the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut. The participants will reflect about the importance of such a photographic archive in illustrating the history of a community and the photographer’s practice in his particular social and political context.
The Twana Archive project is initiated and led by the Kurdish photographer and archivist Rawsht Twana, the Italian artist and film director Caterina Erica Shanta, and is coordinated by Grazia Sechi