Storytellers
August 10-September 30
Curated by Svetlana Zwetkof and Lisa DeAbreu
Al-Mutanabbi Street is the bookseller’s street in Baghdad, named for the infamous 10th century poet, al-Mutanabbi (which means “the would-be prophet”). Al-Mutanabbi Street was car bombed on March 5, 2007. 30 people were killed and over 100 were injured.
The Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here project was founded by San Francisco bookseller Beau Beausoleil as a response to the bombing. It features artists’ books, prints, and broadsides, as well as a book of poetry and writing about the event and its impact.
“Storytellers” serves as a digital extension of the physical exhibition Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here installed in the Hampshire College Art Gallery. The video on the Magic Board and a website interact to explore different narratives about the work of the exhibition and the event of the al-Mutanabbi Street bombing. “Storytellers” was created with the belief in mind that the way a story is told dramatically alters its meaning.