Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project

(Cover Illustration by Somya Singh)

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to Heartbeats: The IZZAT Project Comic Book Launch at the Art Gallery of Ontario this Tuesday, December 4th. The book is written by South Asian young women in Toronto about resiliency in the face of family violence. 

There will be a showcase of visual arts, dance, theatre, and poetry which include: 

~ The IZZAT Collective “A Open Letter” (theatre)
~ Kumari (dance)
~ Aisha & Fatima (spoken word)
~ N. Gitanjali Lena (poetry)
~ Rosina Kazi http://lalforest.bandcamp.com/ (music)
~ Somya Sigh visual art www.somyasingh.ca (visual art)
~ Subtle Vigilance Collective - The Besetting of Reena Virk, a theatrical exploration of the murder of 14 year-old Reena Virk and this crime’s haunting implications about life in our peaceable land.https://www.facebook.com/SubtleVigilance (theatre)
and more!

I am incredibly honoured to have been involved in The IZZAT Project. My illustrations will be published alongside six incredible stories created by seven young South Asian women as will as the many beautiful illustrations by artist Somya Singh. 

Thus on December 4th, we will begin the afternoon with a hands on illustration workshop which I will be a part of (4:00PM to 5:30PM), immediately followed by the exciting book launch and many anticipated performances (5:30PM to 7:00PM). 

"The IZZAT Project: Young South Asian women’s bodies and hearts are often the battleground of patriarchs, media and governments. Tired of our voices being left out of the dialogue about violence in our lives, we formed the IZZAT project. The project uses the word “izzat”, which refers to the honor or reputation of a person, family or institution. We want to challenge the way in which “honor” has been used against women to rationalize control, abuse, violence against us and instead focus on ways we can honour our right to safety. Throughout 2012, we collectively wrote six stories which were illustrated by artist Somya Singh and Selena Wong into a graphic novella, Heartbeats: the IZZAT project."

For more information or to order a copy of the book, email pomegranatetreegroup@gmail.com