How Hannah is bringing Afghan women’s stories to life

Ipswich artist Hannah Aria is launching a new immersive storytelling exhibition, ‘Window to the Soul Afghanistan’, created with women and girls from Afghanistan and funded by Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants. Here, Hannah explains more

Window to the Soul Afghanistan, a new storytelling arts project created by Suffolk artist Hannah Aria, will share untold stories of life before and after the Taliban, using virtual reality headsets and augmented reality technology along with visual art, when it launches at DanceEast in Ipswich on Friday (February 28, 2025). The event will celebrate the project’s initial milestones and reveal everything that has been achieved so far, from the immersive technology experience to a live art exhibition in the Whistler Gallery.

It will represent the culmination of extensive work with the Almas group (a free support group in Ipswich for women from Afghanistan and their children), as well as collaborations with local organisations such as The Hive (a multi-cultural community space in Ipswich), Future Female Society (which inspires, educates and supports women and girls across Suffolk), and two international organisations offering women’s education, support and campaigning for rights and equality, Voicesunveiled.org and rightolearn.ca.

The “Window to the Soul” project team has also spent the last year creating a secure platform for 11 women who are still in Afghanistan to share their own stories. It combines innovative technology with artistic expression, while maintaining the highest standards of privacy and security. The project required intense scrutiny of digital security to convey each participant’s stories and artwork safely, using secure communication protocols.

Hannah Aria said: “The women and girls in Afghanistan wanted to participate, to protest at such expressions of creativity, opinions or lived experience being forbidden under the Taliban regime. Our digital storytelling platform represents a breakthrough in how we can preserve cultural heritage while amplifying marginalised voices safely. This project is about using art for social justice and human rights advocacy. What makes it particularly interesting is that it uses deep fake technology as a force for good; to humanise the imagery of our AI characters so that you can make a deeper emotional connection with each person’s stories, whilst protecting identities and locations.” 

Visitors to the launch event will be able to meet some of the women from the Almas group and other local people who helped to get this project running. Visitors can hear other stories from women still based in Afghanistan, by exploring this immersive technology:

• An 360° virtual gallery of artwork created by women and girls who are still in Afghanistan.
• A virtual reality installation that replicates a rural Afghan home environment.
• Augmented portraits of women and girls in Afghanistan, featuring AI-generated voices. 

The project began with ideas generated by Hannah Aria, Rona Panjsheri and Ramin Sayadi. The Almas group, initially seed funded by Suffolk Archives, was involved in consultations throughout, with some of its members going on to join the project team professionally.

Future Female Society and The Hive also actively contributed to the development of ideas, and local musician Caswell generously provided a brilliantly evocative soundtrack for the virtual reality installation. 

It is the wish and intention of the project team that this project becomes an intergenerational experience that reaches people across the East of England, as well as touring major arts venues.  

The project has already been shortlisted for the finals of the Unlimited UK Partner Award. If successful, it would win £15k for further Research and Development. The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto is currently evaluating the project with a view to collaboration.   

Window to the Soul Afghanistan Art Exhibition and Immersive Technology Project, Amplifying the Voices of Women and Girls from Afghanistan, launches at DanceEast, Jerwood DanceHouse, Ipswich IP4 1FT on Friday 28 February 2025, from 10.30am to 1pm. The event is open to the public but they will need to register interest by emailing oliver@theartistwingman.com by 4pm on Wednesday February 26, 2025. The exhibition will remain on display for 4 weeks. More information about Window to the Soul Afghanistan can be found at windowtothesoulafghanistan.com. You can also book VR tours after the launch event date by emailing hannah@windowtothesoulafghanistan.com

Featured image of Hannah Aria supplied by Affinity PR