Living in a community created nearly a century ago by austere Methodists hasn’t stopped South Asian natives Fatima Sultan and Nahid Massoud from exposing Palisadians to the colorful cultures of Pakistan and Afghanistan, their respective homelands. Sultan arrived in Los Angeles from Pakistan in 1973, while Massoud left Afghanistan for Nebraska four years later and eventually settled in Pacific Palisades. Both women are involved in the arts: Massoud and her husband, Robert Rosenstone, own Sharq Gallery in the Palisades, and Sultan co-founded the nonprofit Zanbeel Art in 2007. Introduced by a mutual friend in 2011, the two women were struck by how their two organizations had similar missions. They now have joined forces for ‘Youth Art Express 2012,’ a Zanbeel Art exhibition that opens at ArtLA at Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station on Saturday, December 1, and runs through December 6. Artists exhibiting in the show vary in age from 18 to 32, and are from South Asia and America, including Santa Monica, Brentwood and Orange County. There are over 30 pieces in the show, created by 17 artists, who all identify with their bicultural heritage, which often can be seen in the art. The diverse group uses a wide range of mediums, including sculpture, graphic arts and filmmaking. ’One of the things that impressed me with the artists is that they’re using the media, the technology, their bicultural upbringing to bring a new voice,’ says Massoud. ‘You can sense their struggle with identity, race and issues of diaspora. And that’s what’s very powerful and comes out in the work, in every image.’ Sharq’s exhibit last spring featured young artists, including Saudi Arabia-born Khalid Hussein, whose work is included in ‘Youth Art Express.’ Sultan says, ‘These are the voices of the youth that came into being after 9/11. In 2010 we had a smaller exhibit of youth, and we saw a lot of fear.’ Now, two years later and with a different set of artists, Sultan sees how the perspective has changed. She speaks enthusiastically about Yasmine Suleiman, an artist who lives in West Los Angeles. Her ‘Ephemeral Landscape’ is ‘projecting life. And then the earth that is not quite there. It’s levitating. And these are such powerful images that transcend any religion.’ Other artists in the exhibit include photographer Farah Ahed; painter Sadaf Ahmed; video director and producer Kamal Khan; painter Irfan Mirza; painter and sculptor Khalid Hussein, and Mona Khan, whose image from her ‘Popistan’ series of the late Pakistani singer Noor Jehan is reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s ‘Marilyn.’ Ahed, 27, is based in Karachi, Pakistan. ‘I have an affinity for documenting the human condition,’ she says. ‘Feelings and emotions conveyed through expression are paramount in making a good portrait.’ The proceeds from ‘Youth Art Express’ will support Zanbeel Art’s South Asian Art and Literacy for Youth (SAALY). Currently, the beneficiaries of SAALY are the fifth graders at 112th Street Elementary School in Watts, where a nine-week program in South Asian arts recently began its second year. ‘These kids have been deprived of arts programs due to budget cuts,’ Sultan says, adding that in ‘the last five years they’ve had no art programs at all.’ This school year, the students will exchange handmade arts and crafts items with students in Karachi. Sixty kids each school year in Karachi and Watts participate in the cultural exchange program. Artists teach the 112th Street kids about South Asian culture via geography, social studies, drawing, calligraphy and even gardening. The children plant herbs and fruit that are common to both regions, such as mint, cilantro and pomegranate. Using calligraphy, they learn to write their names in both English and Arabic. They are taught that palm trees are prevalent in both Los Angeles and South Asia, and about endangered species and ways to raise money to help the animals of their choice. The Watts school had very low nationwide test scores, which have gone up since the program was implemented. ‘It’s just so gratifying,’ says Sultan, who discovered the school through Scott Clarkson, a U.S. Bankruptcy judge and avid photographer, who has shot extensively in South Asia. His guidance eventually led Sultan to Cal State Dominguez Hills instructor Cheryl Maletta Trujillo, who ended up developing the program that is taught at 112th Street. Sultan helped found the Pakistani Arts Council nearly 20 years ago. She spends about four months every year in Pakistan, looking after her elderly mother and working towards linking schools. ’Hillary Clinton has been to Pakistan and Afghanistan and has asked to link schools because the schools in the United States are deprived of global education,’ Sultan says. ‘It’s very important that we link our young students to the schools in Pakistan. That’s how they can gain more understanding. And tolerance is one of the biggest issues right now at schools.’ Zanbeel has previously mounted three separate exhibits in Santa Monica that focused on both South Asian and American artists. Massoud is helping spread the word out by sending e-mail invitations to everyone on Sharq’s extensive mailing list. ‘Through art we can bridge a gap,’ she says. When asked what they hope people will take away from the exhibit, Rosenstone says: ‘That there are creative people who are struggling to find, understand and express the world and their feelings about the world.’ Sultan sums it up. ‘It’s about peace, tolerance and understanding.’ The opening reception of ‘Youth Art Express 2012’ is on Saturday, December 1, from 2 to 7 p.m. All funds raised from art sales, a raffle and food sales will benefit SAALY. Contacts: Call ArtLA Gallery at (310) 586-9789 or visit zanbeelart.com.
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