CMEIS was honored to welcome artist Maryam Safajoo to mark the conclusion of her incredible installation at the FedEx Global Education Center. Titled My Bitter Childhood Window, Safajoo’s series of miniature oil paintings narrates true stories of persecution, resilience, and identity, drawn from the lived experiences of the Baháʼís of Iran following the 1979 revolution.

Walking the audience through her creation process, Maryam described how each piece is created through constant collaboration with the subject in question. Grounded in qualitative interviews, archival records, and historical memory, her work seeks to transform personal testimony into intimate visual narratives. Many of the incidents she portrays previously existed only in the memory of those who experienced them, making her paintings the first time these painful events have taken visual form.

We would like to sincerely thank Ms. Safajoo for sharing the testimonies of her community and providing us an opportunity to bear witness to their experiences.