Naz̤ar is an audio-visual exploration of the public presence and inner worlds of South Asian Muslim migrant communities in their adopted cities. The project gathers the living, cultural archives of the community’s migrant presence, illuminating their backstories — what lies beneath the missing-person notice? What's the buzz in the community election gossip mill? What do the households speak of the new influencer Imam? And what about the kids who fell in love? — It asserts reclaiming the urban spaces against attempts at ghettoisation and the forced invisibility of migrant experiences.
The word Naz̤ar resonates with meanings such as 'glance,' 'behold,' and sometimes even extends to 'evil eye' in several South Asian languages, including Urdu, Punjabi, Bangla, and Hindi.
The project will be developed at The Onassis AiR Extended Research Residencies program in Athens, Greece.