MoMA PS1 debuts an intergenerational storytelling project with Malikah, a global feminist grassroots collective committed to building safety and power through healing justice, self-defense, and financial literacy. The presentation follows Malikah’s eight-month residency at PS1, in which the group held intergenerational artmaking classes, hosted workshops on personal accounting, and recorded oral histories for a documentary film directed by Mohammed Abdelhamid (Egyptian-American, b. 1994) that will premiere in the exhibition. Imagined specifically for Homeroom—our dedicated exhibition space for activations by community partners— the installation is co-designed with twelve women from Little Egypt and the North African communities in Astoria, Queens who weave together stories of migration and belonging in portraits by photographer Sandy Ismail (Lebanese-American, b. 1995). In these documentary works, the women of Malikah recount their journeys to Queens, reflecting upon the struggles and triumphs of building lives in a new country for themselves and future generations. Together, they reclaim North African and Egyptian narratives—often framed in institutions as bygone cultures—by giving voice to their enduring cultural production.
Malikah (est. 2010) is a global collective of women committed to building safety and power for themselves and their communities. Over the past ten years, they have created healing spaces and trained over 20,000 women in 20 cities across the globe in self-defense, economic empowerment, and organizing. Together, they are building a global grassroots movement to amplify every woman’s power.
Organized by Elena Ketelsen González, Assistant Curator, MoMA PS1, with Janggo Mahmud, Public Programs and Community Engagement Fellow, MoMA PS1, in collaboration with Rana Abdelhamid, Executive Director, Malikah.