Poetic Portraits of a Revolution

Mashriq & Mahjar 3, no. 2 (2016), 168–173 ISSN 2169–4435 Kane Smego is a poet and hip hop artist; Will McInerney is a poet, journalist, and educator; Sameer Abdel-Khalek is a photographer, videographer, graphic designer, and founder of fisdj.foto; and Mohammad Moussa is a spoken word poet and computer engineer. Contact information for the artists can be found at their website: https://ppr2011.wordpress.com/. Email: pprcontact@gmail.com Kane Smego, Will McInerney, Mohammad Moussa, and Sameer Abdel-Khalek POETIC PORTRAITS OF A REVOLUTION Poetic Portraits of a Revolution, produced by the Academy Awardwinning organization Empowerment Project, sent nationally recognized spoken word poets and youth educators Will Mclnerney and Kane Smego, project translator and poet Mohammad Moussa, and photographer and videographer Sameer Abdel-Khalek to Egypt and Tunisia in 2011. The team conducted oral interviews, captured photos, and recorded videos of people from all walks of life. Based on their experiences, they wrote poetic reflections that depicted the sights, sounds, and emotions of life in both countries during a time of transformation. The project powerfully conveys what it is like to experience in person one of the most significant social movements of the new millennium through the stories of the people themselves and the art that they inspire. Poetic Portraits of a Revolution 169 The goal of the project was to provide a glimpse into lives of the Egyptian and Tunisian people in order to shed light on the stories that aren’t being told in the mainstream media. The team also wanted to raise international awareness of the human element behind these movements towards self-determination. They wanted to bring back home the knowledge and experiences gained during the study of these movements with the hopes of transforming our own communities. All the material gathered during the trip was used to create a radio series, photo installations, video snippets, campus talks performances, and a theatrical production. In addition to video selections from their work, Mashriq & Mahjar is pleased to present a digital exhibit of photography from the 2011 Poetic Portraits of a Revolution project. 170 Smego, McInerney, Moussa, and Abdel-Khalek Cairo–Tahrir, July, 2011 Poetic Portraits of a Revolution 171 Cairo–Tahrir, “The people want the removal of the system,” July, 2011 Cairo–Tahrir, July, 2011 172 Smego, McInerney, Moussa, and Abdel-Khalek Cairo–Zamalek, July, 2011 Poetic Portraits of a Revolution 173 Cairo, June, 2011 ...