As part of the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program celebrations worldwide in 2021, The Alumni and Outreach team has been working on many projects to reflect different themes that reflect the program. One of these events took place in June where we hosted an art workshop with a small group of our Jordanian alumnae in partnership with The Box
As part of the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program celebrations worldwide in 2021, The Alumni and Outreach team has been working on many projects to reflect different themes that reflect the program. One of these events took place in June where we hosted an art workshop with a small group of our Jordanian alumnae in partnership with The Box; an initiative founded by our Jordanian Fulbright alumna - Rand Abdul Nour (Foreign Student Scholarship 2013) who got her degree from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and her project partner, Laila Demashqieh.
The Box is a local grassroots initiative that hopes to make art more accessible to everyone; experts and non-experts, through simple, intuitive art kits and workshops. The Box was also awarded Amideast’s Community Action Grant a couple of years ago.
The workshop “Fulbright X The Box” was held at the Fulbright House with a number of alumnae who majored in Architecture, Graphic Design, and Urban Planning to draw and create postcards using a specialized kit provided by The Box. The theme of the workshop was “Nostalgia”. Each alum shared pictures of special memories they are fond of from their experience in the United States during their Fulbright grant. Through guided exercises, they incorporated these pictures with drawings and various materials to produce unique and reflective drawings telling a story of their Fulbright grant. The alumnae got to work with different art methods such as photo transfer, watercolors and collages to create their artworks which you can see examples of throughout this post.
In response to COVID-19, the workshop had been rescheduled in the Spring of 2021 until the following Summer, and followed safety measures and guidelines throughout, yet the alumni still had the chance to socialize with each other through tailored exercises that the team at The Box had prepared, which resulted in great new connections between alumni who some met that day for the very first time. Rand Gharaibeh (Foreign Student Scholarship 2010) who joined the workshop and got her MFA at Savannah College of Art and Design said:
Learning new things like the simplest art techniques is always uplifting, and what could better than enjoying it with fellow Fulbrighters while creating postcards celebrating the Fulbright Programs 75th Anniversary.
Mais Al-Azab (Foreign Student Scholarship 2009) who got her MArch from Harvard University added:
It was quite fun and I totally enjoyed flexing my art skills! It was also heartwarming being back in the Fulbright house as an older, wiser, and proud alumna.
Fulbright Jordan continues celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program throughout the year of 2021 by conducting various projects and events in hopes to involve more alumni and highlight the mission of the program worldwide.
More about the 75th-anniversary celebrations of the Fulbright Program across the world can be found at www.fulbright75.org.
