RADA AKBAR
- Conceptual Artist -

A Speech for the Deceased

On March 8, 2021, I stood in an empty hall in Kabul to launch my third yearly annual exhibition titled Abarzanan—Superwomen. The exhibition remembered and celebrated another eight women human rights defenders, artists, and activists killed for their work. The security situation in Kabul was so tumultuous at the time that I couldn’t risk opening my exhibition to the public. I didn’t want people to die in a terrorist attack while looking at my art. So, unlike in previous years, it was an invitation-only event. I delivered my speech to the victims of terrorist attacks, our lost lights, to honor and remember them.