{"id":737,"date":"2023-12-13T15:55:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tinaplokarz.com\/?page_id=737"},"modified":"2026-06-01T11:18:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:18:28","slug":"al-mudhif-a-confluence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.tinaplokarz.com\/?page_id=737","title":{"rendered":"Al Mudhif \u2013 A Confluence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Curator \/ Program Director: Tina Plokarz
<\/strong>May 30, 2021 \u2013 May 30, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Mudhif \u2013 A Confluence<\/em> was an outdoor art installation by environmental artist Sarah Kavage<\/a> & designer Yaroub Al-Obaidi with an accompanying gallery exhibition at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Philadelphia. The monumental Iraqi guesthouse Al Mudhif<\/em> was part of the tri-state public art initiative Lenapehoking~Watershed<\/em><\/a>, commissioned by The Alliance for Watershed Education<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outdoor art installation <\/em><\/strong>was the first of such structures built outside of Iraq and in North America. Typically, mudhifs are entirely made out of phragmites, a perennial wetland grass, that is culturally and environmentally important to the marshlands in Southern Iraq. Yet this abundant reed is considered invasive throughout the US. Made of bundles of these invasive reeds from the region, Al Mudhif<\/em> became a confluence of waters and voices \u2013<\/em> metaphorically connecting the marshlands of Iraq with the Delaware River watershed and literally bringing together Iraqi, American, and Native American communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Mudhif<\/em> created both a springboard for environmental education that challenged bias concepts of nature and vegetable geographies, and a communal space for intercultural dialogue about belonging and healing of plants and people in times of crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accompanying group exhibition<\/strong> in the gallery reflected on the concepts of belonging and sanctuary. Through the lenses of creative voices of art and activism, war experience, and indigenous resilience, the exhibition offered a place for reconciliation across cultures and countries. It featured artworks by Drew Cameron of Combat Paper, Meridel Rubenstein, art collective Justseeds, Tailinh Agoyo, Tchin; audio recordings by U.S. veterans, Iraqis, and Native Americans reflecting on war and sanctuary (including Moral Injury of War project); and documentary photography by Rob Zverina, Sarah Kavage, and Raad Habeeb Al Asadi, and other participants during Al Mudhif<\/em>\u2019s construction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A publication<\/strong> was published in 2024, capturing the <\/strong>diverse voices of the project and its unique journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead funding <\/strong>for\u00a0Lenapehoking~Watershed\u00a0<\/em>was provided by the William Penn Foundation (administered by the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education).\u00a0Al-Mudhif \u2013 A Confluence<\/em>\u00a0was further supported by the Knight Foundation, the Barra Foundation, the\u00a0National\u00a0Wildlife\u00a0Federation and the Velocity Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As curator of the Environmental Art program at the Schuylkill Center and Senior Project Strategist for the art initiative, I lead the project’s curatorial, financial and logistical efforts, including also the development and implementation of the event series Sowing Seeds<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Information on the exhibition and its events here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photographs by Bastiaan Slabbers, Ricky Yanas, Robert Zerner, and Tina Plokarz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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