“She Stood Anyway”
Performance created for the event “Girls of the Iranian Diaspora” at @momuantwerp
A woman tries again and again to rise while unseen hands keep pulling her back, covering her in sand, watching her fall.
But persistence remembers what fear wants to erase.
Nothing can hold someone down forever.
Thank you @sachli_gholamalizad for inviting me and creating such a meaningful space
Thank you @sussandeyhim for the powerful music
And thank you @gabi8rene for creating the costume and bringing this vision to life
Photos by @shahrnaz__ and @yoyodivers
And here’s finally….Part 2 of
Girls of the Iranian Diaspora: Reimagining Joy, Rage & the Politics of Beauty 🖤
At a time when many of us Iranians -in the diaspora and in Iran- are quietly holding our breath, I wholeheartedly invite you to gather with us on the final night of the GIRLS exhibition at MoMu on January 31.
This second evening brings together another round of artists whose work I deeply admire and can’t wait to share with you. Like myself, they move between places and languages, between closeness and distance, between longing and belonging. Through their performances, they open up space, invite us into their worlds, and reveal the many ways of being Iranian in the diaspora 🫀
Each performance is followed by a conversation with me, with each other, and with the audience.
Truly very excited to welcome you into these worlds 🤍
🖤 31 January 2026
📍 MoMu — Fashion Museum Antwerp
🕖 From 19:30
🎟 Tickets via link in bio!
Artists - January 31:
▪️ANTONEAN DIAZ
Antonean Diaz, a multidisciplinary artist of Belizean and Persian heritage, works across painting, sculpture, and performance. Raised in Iran and now living in Paris, they explore personal history, cultural duality, and diasporic memory. Their work combines classical techniques with experimental, symbolic imagery that is intimate, dreamlike, and reflective.
▪️OZI OZAR
Ozi Ozar, born in Tehran, is a queer theatre-maker and professional, living in Berlin and Frankfurt. They studied theatre and film directing in Tehran and dramaturgy in Frankfurt. Ozi’s work combines comedy, interactive theatre, and social media platforms as a stage, exploring identity, queerness, and political discourses.
▪️MESHCUT
Meshcut comes from the underground scene of Tehran and is now active in Paris. They blend vocals and synthesizers into dreamy, raw electronic soundscapes. Their performances are intimate, hypnotic, and charged with a subtle tension that slowly seeps under the skin.
▪️ SADAF MALYAR
Sadaf Malyar, an artist from the Afghan diaspora, uses food to explore memory, care and collective experience. Creating evening rituals that invite the audience to slow down, connect and be present.
