Mahyar Nili’s passion for the connection between art and
feminism brought her to UCLA from Santa Monica College three years
ago.
Since then, the fifth-year art student has scoured the campus
for every opportunity for academic growth. She said she has grown
personally and academically in her time at UCLA and is now looking
to share what she has learned with other students.
Nili said she drew when she was younger but stopped. After
leaving art untouched for a long time, she rediscovered her love
for the craft at Santa Monica College. In a beginning drawing class
Nili began experimenting with art that expressed her identity as an
Iranian American woman.
“It was freeing to put whatever you were interested in
into a piece,” she said.
Nili arrived at UCLA knowing she wanted to pursue a double major
in women’s studies and art. Specifically, Nili said she
wanted to explore the expression of feminism within art, especially
modern feminism, which addresses feminism in other contexts.
“My idea of feminism includes the social, political,
economic equality and/or equity of all humans, considering
intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality and
religion,” Nili said.
After entering UCLA, Nili looked for a group on campus focusing
on the connection between art and feminism, but said she
couldn’t find one at UCLA or other local universities or art
schools.
But then discussions with Barbara Drucker, a professor in the
art department, helped her find a way to further explore her
interest in the relationship between art and feminism.
“Barbara asked me, “˜Why don’t you put the word
out there?'” Nili said. “And I did.”
In the spring of 2005, Nili founded femӢbull;inӢbull;art, a
student group with about eight to 10 students who meet to talk
about art and its relation to feminism.
“We wanted to get artist lectures and mostly just be able
to talk about our work with others, to talk about how feminism and
art connected in our work and lives,” Nili said.
“There wasn’t really any group within the art
department like this,” said Alexis Disselkoen, a fifth-year
art student and member of the group since last year.
“There wasn’t a place to sit down and talk about
issues pertaining to the students within the group,” she
said.
Last year, Nili came up with the idea of having a symposium
focusing on art informed by feminism at UCLA, echoing a wave of
other symposiums across Southern California.
“I was thinking there were so many other feminist artists
the group wanted to see and talk with, so I thought, what if we had
some sort of panel?” Nili said.
Soon after, Nili heard about an opportunity with the
Undergraduate Research Center to do a research project where a UCLA
professor would act as her mentor and help her plan the
symposium.
Nili’s interest in the connection between art and feminism
goes beyond getting a grade or being a departmental honors
student.
“I asked my mentor for more books to read about this topic
and she asked, “˜Is this for the project or your life’s
work?'” Nili said. “It’s both.”
Nili said the knowledge she has gained is a tool she will use
for the rest of her life.
“Even if I am not teaching classes specifically about
feminism in art, feminism informs my perspective on art,” she
said. “It’s one lens to look at (art)
though.”
By using the resources of the women’s studies and art
departments, UCLA’s research opportunities, and observing
current feminist art movements, Nili now has a comprehensive idea
of what feminism is and how it currently is being expressed through
art.
“I now have a stronger foundation,” she said.
“I can listen to what another person thinks about feminism in
art and know enough to discern what parts of their understanding I
agree with and what parts I don’t.”
Nili’s professors in both the art and women’s
studies departments cite her as an example of how students can make
their undergraduate education their own.
“She is doing what every UCLA student should do,”
Drucker said. “She’s using the resources of the whole
university, using different departments to obtain an
interdisciplinary perspective and get the richest education
possible.”