This is a project we designed for the cultural association Kulturstorm in Umeå which we co-founded. The project aimed to encourage reading among children by paring them with an older book buddy. Our inspiration came from similar projects in New Zealand/Aotearoa.
Children in lower elementary classes were paired with children in junior high. They met once or twice a week to read together for about 20-30 minutes.
The project was funded among others by Swedish Arts Council, Umeå municipality and The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society.
Once the Breaking Noon project was carried through in Iran, the media collective LoreDoor travelled around the county of Västerbotten in search of traditional recipes. The stories we heard in the wooden bakery cottages in northern Sweden were similar to those we were told during our field trip in Iran. Many of the women we met had worked hard to be able to give their children better chances in life than they had had themselves. To find out more please visit Loredoor’s blog.
This project was funded by the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten.
Here is a list of publications and reports we have complied on request from different organisations such as Region Västerbotten, a co-operative body which is responsible for regional development in Västerbotten County in Sweden.
Zadissa, Elmira. 2012. آرزوهای دیگر. Avaye Zan. 2012:74. Article on the situation of women in rural Iran in Persian.
Zadissa, Ramona. På jakt efter visdom om gåtan om Identitetsskapande. Vasaplan, 13:2012.
Article on the process of creating an identity outside the norms based on interviews with young queer activists.
Zadissa, Elmira. Zadissa, Ramona. 2011. Västerbotten i världen – Att tillgängliggöra kulturarv för utlandsfödda, uppdragsgivare länsstyrelsen i Västerbotten. Report in Swedish (Västerbotten in the world – On making cultural heritage accessible for migrants)
Where is Nora’s sledge is a picture book that we wrote and illustrated in 2008. It is available in twelve different languages. Click on the links to open the book.
Visit Polarbibblo to read the book in other languages. This project was funded among others by Norrbotten County Council, Västerbotten County Council and Swedish Arts Council.
Breaking Noon was a project about baking bread in Iran. In 2011 we travelled to Iran as members of the media collective LoreDoor and spent three months there visiting villages and meeting women who baked bread. To read more about the project visit Loredoor’s blog.
This project was funded by Iran Heritage and through scholarships from Umeå municipality and Västerbotten County Council.
The pictures in the gallery were exhibited at the city library in Umeå. The pictures are available for sale, printed on canvas. For inquires please contact elmira(at)zadissa(dot)com
Untitled.In-Equality, Elmira Zadissa & Ramona Zadissa, Collage with embroidery, paper and rope, 35cmx75cm, 2020.
Inequality in beautiful Cambridge
Untitled.In.Equality is a collage by Zadissa sisters about inequality in Cambridge. It is a commissioned piece for the True Tales of Change project initiated by The Cambridge Commons and Pivotal. Five Cambridge based artists and a songwriter were commissioned to create works inspired by conversations with Cambridge people who have experienced inequality.
Mrs B.
We had a conversation with Mrs B.
Mrs B. is in her 90s. English is our common language. None of us has it as our first language. Like Mrs B. we’re migrants in this country. And like her, we are born in a country with a long history of political upheaval. We seldom talk about our birth countries or politics. Our political views are very different. Yet we have good conversations over a cup of tea. Sometimes we laugh about which one of us sports the largest bruise. Mrs B often wins. She talks of the tree roots outside her yellow bricked council flat. They make her fall, hidden by fallen leaves, unmowed grass and deteriorating vision. When darkness falls the day has come to an end.
You shouldn’t put the security chain on, we advise helpfully, what if there is an accident and the nurse needs to come in? Mrs B sighs and says, But darlings I am terrified. I don’t see what’s outside my window. Some days she wakes up well-rested and opens her eyes just to remember that she has no living relatives in this country, her sight is gone and with it a major part of her independence. All that awaits is another day of choosing to stay in a dark damp flat or going out; braving the unwelcoming path rolled outside her flat. The only path that would take her to a brief conversation. Navigating a polite English.
