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Stories of Belonging

2022

Narges Mohammadi, collective artwork as part of Stories of Belonging, wood, model plaster, pencils, and crayons, 2022. Collectively made with Beyda, Donovan, Hajar, Oumaima, Safae, Yahya, David, and Fouad. Exhibited at de Appel (Amsterdam), part of the exhibition Stories of Belonging, curated by Fouad Lakbir and David Smeulders. Photography by Jimena Gabriela Gauna. Permanent collection of the Comenius Lyceum Amsterdam (donation). Courtesy of Narges Mohammadi & Copperfield, London.



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INFO

Stories of Belonging, an exhibition made by 36 students from the Comenius Lyceum in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, was launched at de Appel by Fouad Lakbir (programmer and poet) and David Smeulders (de Appel’s former curator of education). Every Saturday for two months, David, Fouad and me got to work with six students: Beyda, Donovan, Hajar, Oumaima, Safae, and Yahya. Together, we shaped the public programme with artworks and artistic contributions from the artists Mehraneh Atashi, Gershwin Bonevacia, Mark Nieuwenhuis, and Bonnie Ogilvie. We made a 'tree of life', in which the past, present and future are central. By making the tree of life, we grew closer. More and more, we added personal objects to the exhibition, such as pillows, cuddly toys, and board games. Throughout the sessions of the public programme, we exchanged and wrote down ideas about the feeling of belonging and what it means to feel at home somewhere. During the exhibition, these ideas could be read on the windows of the space.

As a team, we quickly discovered something important: sharing stories and adding them physically into the exhibition space made us feel more at home. We created audio fragments out of our personal stories so the visitors could listen to them via QR codes. Additionally, we wanted to encourage our visitors to share their stories and add them to the exhibition. Therefore, we made a collective artwork that took the form of two benches and a table made of plaster. Personal memories and overlooked histories were eternalised on the surface of the artwork. It became a place that reminded both ourselves and the audience that everyone is welcome and every story is valued.

Photography by Jimena Gabriella Gauna

Many thanks to

Teen curators/artists: Beyda, Donovan, Hajar, Oumaima, Safae, Yahya
Team De Appel: David Smeulders and Fouad Lakbir
Highschool: Comenius Lyceum Amsterdam
Photography: Jimena Gabriela Gauna

Made possible by

De Appel