Outdoor Storytelling

The sun casts its rays on a photo of a young woman; she is looking calmly into the camera, holding the gaze of people passing by on their way to get groceries or going to school. Throughout March, you can find the photo of Hajar al-Beltaji here, in the public square of Kalundborg and the high school Vejen Gymnasium in Vejen, located in the Southern part of Denmark.

By Agnete Flyger

This is the setting for the outdoor photography exhibition Arabian Dreams, where Hajar and 11 additional young people from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, and Tunisia are sharing their experiences of growing up in the past decade of drastic political changes, as well as their dreams, hopes, and ambitions for the future.

The importance of diversity

Hajar, who came for a coffee at the DEDI office to discuss the exhibition, currently being shown for the second time in Denmark, reflects upon why an exhibition like Arabian Dreams is important. “I guess it can be challenging to relate to people coming from a different background than yourself,” she says, adding that she thinks storytelling through photography can help convey the nuances of people’s lives in the Middle East and the challenges they face to a Danish audience.

Hajar’s curiosity towards people and interest in their diversity is reflected in everything she does. She is an architect, researcher, and urban activist who is dedicating her energy to protecting the cultural heritage of Cairo as well as her hometown Mansoura, a city in the Delta region about 120 km northeast of Cairo.

Exhibiting in public spaces

About 250,000 people have seen the first part of Arabian Dreams in 2021 when it toured Denmark from May to October. According to the photographer behind the project, Martin Thaulow, the high interest in the exhibition, notably in a country of 6 million people, demonstrates how using the public space can be a tool to engage the passersby in something they might not otherwise have been exposed to.

Martin tapped into his earlier work as a photojournalist to drive the project forward. Since 2014, he has been documenting the lives of refugees, which brought him to the MENA region several times. “Arabian Dreams focuses on the positive stories of these young pioneers that are fighting to make a difference in their countries. So, I thought it would be more interesting to highlight the positive stories to the Danish people who are so used to listening to the stereotypes and stigmatizing narratives about people coming from this region,” Martin says, reflecting on why he decided to take part in the project.

Returning to Vejen Gymnasium, where Hajar and her fellow entrepreneurs, activists, and visionaries are standing in front of the school, people are walking through and getting to know these young people through Martin’s lens. This is exactly why Martin has chosen outdoor exhibitions as his preferred format for showing his work. He is one of the few photographers in Denmark who specializes in outdoor photo exhibitions.

“It allows me to interact with people running their daily errands, going to work, or getting groceries in the supermarket. These are the grandparents who are taking their grandchildren to or from school and the children are asking them “who is that woman?” and then they will have to read the context of the photos to answer their questions,” he elaborates.

For Martin, the exhibition is about understanding that we all are not so different from each other. “I want to show people with dignity and the strength that they represent as part of humanity.”

Arabian Dreams أحلام عربية  is a traveling photo exhibition that between 2021 and 2022 is touring all around Denmark with the support of the Danish-Arabic Partnership Programme (DAPP). Arabian Dreams will be exhibited at schools, high schools, libraries, cultural places, and public spaces from March to mid-June 2022.

Read more from DEDI:

Documenting lives

Tell it as it is

Catching a feeling