Meeting artists from Iran

Today I met two wonderful artists from Iran, one of whom has been in communication about this project since 2009. This is the first time we have had the chance to meet. I am reminded that a major challenge is communicating across geographical borders, cultural boundaries and language barriers. This project needs time, it can't be reduced to two lines on the back of a postage stamp and, contrary to popular belief, this is a major strength. There is great pleasure in meeting people very different from yourself and finding like minds, in creating space for interpretation and enabling free thought and expression. In Iran theatre groups are regularly stopped from performing and artists find it very difficult to travel. This role of the artist as brave rebel, prepared to take enormous risk in order to communicate and champion freedom of expression is alien here in England - for most of us anyway. And in explaining why I am doing this, why its important to encourage people to have an interest in and understanding of other cultures I found new friends. I hope these friendships continue to grow and multiply and more people get involved in this experiment. Pippa x