2023 Artist in Residence, Feda Eid
July 6, 2023
We’re excited to welcome our 2023 Artist in Residence, Feda Eid! Check out Feda’s work and some behind the scenes shots from our first Artist in Residence workshop this spring!
Diaspora, for صنع في أمريكا (Made in USA), 2019
Feda is a Lebanese-American artist living on the occupied, unceded territory of the Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Massachusett People (Quincy,MA). Her current body of work, صنع في أمريكا (Made in USA), explores her upbringing as Arab, Lebanese, and Muslim in America, in the context of the American "melting pot" of assimilation, discrimination, orientalism, and dominating negative stereotypes perpetuated by art, politics, and the media. The series of self-portraits and still lives reimagines what it means to "make yourself" using vintage, upcycled, and nostalgic domestic garments, textiles, objects, and pop cultural references from both SWANA (South West Asian and North African/Middle Eastern) and American cultures. This blend of symbols invites viewers to reflect on the historical and ongoing violence committed under the banner of American nationalism, and to ask questions about how we can work to transform the complex materials of our pasts into a future of collective liberation.
This summer, Feda will work with young artists from The Eliot School’s Teen Bridge program, sharing practices of photography, portraiture, and visual storytelling. Teen artists will craft self-portraits exploring themes of home, pride, borders, and the creation of all things made in the USA, drawing inspiration from their own experiences. Joining together with Boston Public Library (BPL), teen artists will also create portraits of community members alongside oral history interviews. BPL Community History will teach teens the basics of oral history, using the BPL Oral History Backpacks to complement their visual storytelling. The project will be exhibited at Piano Craft Gallery from August 18 to August 26, 2023 and displayed in the BPL’s gallery space in Fall 2023.
Interested in becoming an Artist in Residence? Find more information here and sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop. Applications for our 2025 Artist in Residence Program will be released in the Fall of 2023.