Shatha Altowai and Saber Bamatraf, former Artist Protection Fund Fellows at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), share their experience of coming to Edinburgh, becoming part of the city’s artistic community, and exploring through art what it means to be in a place and belong to a place.
When Saber first found out that he had been awarded an Artist-at-Risk fellowship at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), he was hiding under a table.
His wife, Shatha, was having a call with the Artist Protection Fund, the American Foundation who had offered her a fellowship, and had just announced to her that she would be hosted by IASH.
When they asked where Saber was, Shatha hesitated, then pointed underneath the table. As always when she was on an online call, he was hiding there, encouraging and prompting Shatha and giving her little hints when she got stuck. But once he had crawled, laughingly, out from under the table and heard the final piece of news from the Artist Protection Fund, it was Saber who was lost for words. Not only would Shatha be travelling to Edinburgh, he, too, had been offered a fellowship with IASH.
Though neither of them knew much about Edinburgh or Scotland, the couple was overjoyed. As Shatha explains, “the fact that Saber could come with me, that was my celebration. I didn’t care where, as long as Saber was with me”.
You can read the whole interview here: https://global.ed.ac.uk/stories/finding-home-through-art
This piece is part of the University's new initiative, Education Beyond Borders, featuring stories from our global community.