Satellite Geography

7:00 – 9:30 pm Free public presentation by UFI fellows Nasrin Tabatabai and Babak Afrassiabi For their UFI project, Nasrin Tabatabai and Babak Afrassiabi will examine translation as a mediation and representation of geography, culture and politics. They will research how Los Angeles’ Iranian community uses media such as satellite television, video and the Internet to maintain its cultural and political identity, and how this contributes to a cross-geographical community. For example, they will consider how television programming intended for the Iranian audience in Los Angeles affects a middle class audience in Tehran, and whether the media serve as a geopolitical space for an ambivalent sense of community and identity. With their research in Los Angeles, Tabatabai and Afrassiabi will expand their ongoing exploration of translation as a space of cultural and socio-political practice. This space may be found between languages or among cultures; in urban spatial arrangements and political management; in communal expressions and representations through the media; and finally, in the artistic practice itself. www.makcenter.org