I AM; new exhibition challenges Arab women stereotypes

CAIRO – 26 July 2017: A Jordanian art exhibition titled 'I AM' brings women from all across the Arab world to challenge western stereotypes about their lives, aiming to show the diversity and strength of women in the Arab world.

'I AM' brings 31 female artists from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Bahrain, Lebanon, Tunisia, Iraq, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and the occupied Palestinian territories, celebrating their style and independence. I AM's primary aim is to bring peace between the Middle East and the Western world, hoping to do so via education and the destruction of negative stereotypes.

The exhibition is sponsored by the very queen of Jordan herself, Rania Al Abdullah, one of the most powerful women living in the Middle East. The National reports the Queen as saying “I am amazed by the misconceptions about Muslim women and the Arab world that I hear, and that really hurts me."

I AM opened in May in Amman, Jordan, and most recently in London at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, where it will run until August 20. The exhibition is expected to tour the USA in September and October.