Southampton Arts Center is excited to announce an exclusive screening of RETURN TO SENDER: WOMEN OF COLOR IN COLONIAL POSTCARDS & THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION, a new film by Mara Ahmed.
RETURN TO SENDER pushes the documentary medium in unexpected ways by opening with three contemporary South Asian American women who recreate British colonial postcards from the early 20th century. Dressed in lavish traditional attire and jewelry and shot exquisitely in a darkened studio, the women emulate the awkward poses of the postcard women, only to subvert the colonial male gaze and acquire autonomy by choosing an action of their own. This symbolic ‘returning’ of the Orientalist gaze is layered with discussions about Eurocentric beauty standards, representations of South Asian women in media and culture, stereotypes, othering, identity and belonging. The film hopes to create community by facilitating conversations about erasure and the politics of representation. Learn more about this NYSCA-funded project at MaraAhmedStudio.com
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion that delves into some of the themes explored in the film, e.g. the colonial male gaze, women of color as figures of a phantasm, and ways to resist such objectification.
The post-screening panelists include Jeremy Dennis (Fine art photographer, Lead Artist & President of Ma's House & BIPOC Art Studio), Minerva Perez (Executive Director of Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island), and Brenda Simmons (Executive Director and Founder of Southampton African American Museum). They will be in conversation with filmmaker Mara Ahmed and the audience.
▪️FILM SCREENING & PANEL DISCUSSION:
Sunday, November 19, 2:00-4:00 PM
▪️This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please register at southamptonartscenter.org
▪️RETURN TO SENDER is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The Huntington Arts Council, Inc.
For more information and events, visit southamptonartscenter.org
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