Creative Tensions HOME at Live Ideas 2016, March 26th The Studio at New York Live Arts 219 W 19th Street, NYC

Shirin Neshat is an Iranian-born artist and filmmaker living in New York. Neshat’s early photographic works include the Women of Allah series (1993–1997), which explored the question of gender in relation to Islamic fundamentalism and militancy. Her subsequent video works departed from overtly political content or critique in favor of more poetic imagery and narratives. In 2009, Neshat directed her first feature-length film, Women Without Men, which received the Silver Lion Award for Best Director in the 66th Venice International Film Festival. Neshat’s recent photographic series include The Book of Kings (2012), Our House Is on Fire (2013), and The Home of My Eyes (2015). Neshat has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at galleries and museums internationally, including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Serpentine Gallery, London; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She was awarded the Grand Prix of the Gwangju Biennial (2000), the Golden Lion Award, the First International Prize at the 48th Venice Biennial (1999), the Hiroshima Freedom Prize (2005), and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2006). Neshat is currently working on her second feature-length film, based on the life and art of the legendary Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum.

Daniel Wordsworth serves as President & CEO of the American Refugee Committee, an international humanitarian aid agency that works with refugees around the world to help them take back control of their lives. During his tenure the organization has expanded its programming into Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Syria. In 2012 the organization was awarded the Peter F. Drucker award for Non-Profit Innovation in recognition of its work with the Somali Diaspora globally. Wordsworth joined the American Refugee Committee in 2009, after 12 years with the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF), where he most recently served as Vice President of the Asia Region, based in Thailand. During his tenure, he built the foundation of CCF’s emergency response programs in East Timor, Sierra Leone, India, Afghanistan, and Northern Uganda. Prior to joining the American Refugee Committee, Wordsworth led a team engaged in for-profit business start-ups in China. He has also lived and worked with the urban poor in Australia and Hong Kong. Over the last 15 years, Wordsworth has lived in China, India, Vietnam, and Thailand. He has written numerous publications on children and poverty. He started his career in the Royal Australian Navy.