“The Names We Change” Interview

The Names We Change is a series of video interviews by artist Katayoun Amjadi. These videos investigate the myriad ways in which first names are created, kept or changed, specifically by marginalized individuals, such as immigrants, diasporas, and LGBTQ communities, who experience a transformation of their name in real time. Amjadi describes the project: “These stories about how we change, modify or hold on to our names can be seen as erasures or disclosures, as sites of rebellion or acceptance. This project is interested in discovering both coherence and fracture; of how our names gather our sense of belonging, yet can also become a source of tension, contradiction and rupture, or humor and creative negotiation.” 

On the following Saturdays, Katayoun invites the members of the public and the Rochester Art Center community to share their name stories. These video interviews will become part of the next iteration of The Names We Change project. “The intention,” the artist explains, “is to begin to build bridges where gaps and rifts may be the norm. These are small, but not insignificant, gestures of community and conviviality.”

The artist will both facilitate and record interviews of participants virtually via Zoom. The Zoom Link will be emailed a day before the scheduled date. Participants can take the video call in the gallery or from one’s own location of their choosing.