Shahrzad Nazarpour (Iran) and Julia Bugram (Austria) use their crafts as a compelling tool in the fight for women’s safety and women’s rights. Contributing to a transformative conversation, both artists unravel the stories behind their different expressions of art, sharing the inspirations that led them to use their creativity against the backdrop of societal challenges. They create a vivid image of change in the pursuit of equality and justice, and exemplify the dynamic intersection of art and activism as a form of resistance and empowerment for a brighter, more equal world.
“Art is very important in my life, because it is like the only way that I can show my resistance. Art is like a base that we can use to speak about societal problems loud, and we can speak out and we can show our resistance,” says Shahrzad Nazarpour.
Shahrzad Nazarpour grew up and studied theatre and art in Iran. Since 2020, she has been studying Transmedia Art at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. Her solo performance, ‘Hijab Offline,’ was featured in the first edition of Skin, a performance festival for young adults at Dschungel Wien. She received the ‘in the field’ scholarship from Wiener Festwochen and currently works as a member of ‘Parasol,’ a dance-performance company for young artists at TQW.
“I feel like we should not settle with an ok-ish situation in society, and I feel like art has the chance to give us alternative ways of living. We really need to stand up for our rights, empower each other and continue to smash the patriarchy,” says Julia Bugram.
Julia Bugram is an interdisciplinary artist who works with graphics, installations and objects. She lives and works in Lower Austria and Vienna. In terms of content, she often works at the interface between art and society. She is a co-founder of the initiative JOMO – Joy of Missing Out and is one of the board members of the feminist art network IntAkt – internationale Aktionsgemeinschaft bildender Künstlerinnen, founded in 1977.
