Yasaman Moussavi

2.41 Making, Healing, Becoming: Process-Based Artmaking in Precarious Diasporic Experience (Paper) – virtual

Yasaman Moussavi – University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Abstract:

This presentation explores the uncertain territories of living a precarious life and how this uncertainty could be explored through unexpected territories of tangible process-based art making such as textile and papermaking. These material practices serve as pathways for transforming a state of “stuckness”, an in-between condition marked by uncertainty (Hage, 2009; Cangia, 2021), into a space of wondering and possibility. This research navigates the territory where tangible materials meet intangible emotions, particularly within the context of diasporic trauma triggered by unstable life situations such as immigration, war, revolution, and displacement. Experiencing Women, Life, Freedom uprising in Iran, I map how the unpredictable nature of material processes, particularly in papermaking and textile art, creates unexpected spaces of agency and connection. These artistic territories, while inherently uncertain in their outcome, paradoxically offer concrete paths for processing trauma and displacement. The uncertainty of material transformation, the breaking down and reconstituting of paper fibres, the weaving and unweaving of textiles, mirrors and mediates the experience of witnessing homeland upheaval from afar. The methodology of a/r/tography provides a framework for inhabiting these uncertain material territories, integrating artistic practice, research, and teaching. This approach acknowledges how the unpredictable nature of working with materials generates spaces of questioning and exploration, even within precarious conditions. A/r/tography’s emphasis on lived experience through material engagement reveals how artistic process becomes a territory of possibility. Beyond personal narrative, this presentation charts how material engagement in artmaking opens unexpected territories for collective healing within diasporic communities. The research illuminates how the very uncertainty of process-based art practice, its mutations, failures, and discoveries, creates active spaces for transformation. Through the convergence of material exploration and scholarly inquiry, this work unfolds how the tangible, yet unpredictable nature of artistic processes becomes a powerful territory for navigating and transforming diasporic experiences.

2.42 Learning Through Material: Hand Papermaking as a Medium for Artistic and Educational Growth (Paper) – virtual

Yasaman Moussavi – University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Abstract:

Drawing from experiences teaching grades 1–4 across three different schools in Vancouver, Canada, this research proposal explores the transformative potential of hand papermaking as both an artistic medium and a pedagogical tool. Hand papermaking opens new possibilities within craft, art, and education, offering unique opportunities for learning through tactile engagement and material sensitivity. This research, based on a series of workshops and classroom observations, explores how students learn and develop artistically through their hands-on engagement with papermaking materials. The study examines how material-based learning fosters patience, attentiveness, and creative resilience while building community through collaborative artmaking. A crucial dimension involves the use of recycled materials collected from the schools themselves. By transforming discarded classroom paper into new artistic materials, students gain tangible insight into paper consumption patterns in their immediate environment, making recycling a lived experience rather than an abstract concept. Initial findings reveal a fascinating paradox unique to papermaking: while the process follows basic procedural steps, each session unfolds as a distinctive dialogue between maker and material. Unlike conventional craft activities that prioritize reproducible outcomes, papermaking emerges as a dynamic practice where unexpected moments become valuable learning opportunities. Students learn to embrace these unpredictable elements not as mistakes but as invitations for creative adaptation and material understanding. Through photographic documentation, field notes, and student reflections, this research demonstrates how hand papermaking creates unique spaces for embodied learning, fosters collaborative skills, and develops material awareness. Most significantly, it reveals how the medium’s inherent unpredictability teaches students valuable lessons about adaptability, presence, and letting go of rigid expectations, while nurturing ecological consciousness and creative resilience.

Yasaman Moussavi – Learning Through Material: Hand Papermaking as a Medium for Artistic and Educational Growth (Paper) – virtual