Champion of change

"I’m proud that my efforts to ensure all people have access to their own creative capacity and the tools to tell their own stories is valued by the White House. I am thrilled my passion for putting art and creative expression as central to social justice work (is) highlighted in such a way,” commented Kayhan Irani, among the 10 individuals from across the US recognized as "White House Champions of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Art and Storytelling.” These 10 individuals were selected for their leadership and tireless work to raise the visibility of diverse AAPI experiences and create dialog around issues the community faces.

Kayhan Irani (above, far right) at The White House

Kayhan Irani with Noshir and Teshtar Irani, and Tamiru Mammo

Sharing her White House experience on May 4, 2016 with Parsiana, Irani stated, "It wasn’t a very formal affair… There were about 100 people gathered. The (function) was the kickoff event for AAPI Heritage month in the US. The day was structured as an opportunity to listen to and learn from the awardees. We spoke about how we came to the arts, our experiences as artists of Asian heritage, our family and community influences, and what we hope art can do in terms of changing society. I spoke on a panel moderated by Jeanny Kim, director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. In the evening we were invited to a gala dinner hosted by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies where President Obama gave the keynote address.” Taking pride in her success were her parents Teshtar and Noshir Irani, and domestic partner Tamiru Mammo.
A committed writer, socially engaged artist and a Theater of the Oppressed trainer and facilitator, Irani designs and directs projects for community based organizations, government agencies and international NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), notes her blog Artivista, the term artivism being a combination of art and activism. She facilitates workshops and training nationally and internationally in Afghanistan, India and Iraq. Her published work includes Telling Stories to Change the World: Global Voices on the Power of Narrative to Build Community and Make Social Justice Claims as also Culturally Relevant Arts Education for Social Justice: A Way Out of No Way.
Six years ago she won a New York Emmy Award in best writing for We Are New York, a nine-episode broadcast TV drama used as an English language and civic engagement tool for immigrant New Yorkers. She is currently producing Document cIRCA 86: Immigration Reform Turns Thirty, a multimedia oral history and public engagement project that celebrates the lives and accomplishments of immigrants who found a pathway to legalization through the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 passed by then President Ronald Reagan.
Over the last 10 years Irani has been involved with plays like Tree of Seeds; Jackie ‘n’ the Beanstalk; Seven Women, Seven Heavens. She has also given a one-woman solo performance in We’ve Come Undone on the effect of the Special Registration Program, detention, and deportation of the Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities in the US post 9/11. For over two years she served as participatory arts trainer and creative consultant at the United States Institute for Peace. Kabul, Afghanistan and Washington, DC. Her work has been supported by the BBC World Service Trust, The US Environmental Protection Agency, Bronx Council for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, The National Parks Service and the American Society for Muslim Advancement. She studied at the City University of New York (CUNY) — where she pursued the Baccalaureate Program, graduating in theater and social change in 2008, summa cum laud.
Born in Bombay in 1977, Kayhan was raised in New York from the age of four. She has an elder brother Jehangir. "The tenets of Zoroastrian religion is what spurs me to fight for justice and to use my talents to ensure that no human being is marginalized or left out of society. I am grateful to have had my monthly religious classes (conducted by the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York) as a child as I not only learned about the human struggle for righteousness via a spiritual path but I also learned about the history of the Persian empire, the cultural, technological, philosophical and historical significance of my people,” wrote Irani in response to Parsiana’s queries, adding, "This was especially important living as an immigrant in a place that — growing up — had no dignified images of Iranians, Parsis or Indians. Knowing my history and honoring my heritage gave me the backbone I needed to insert my story, and my people’s story, into this society.
"Who I am is rooted in a multi-layered, complex, important history — and I don’t mean the history of kings and colonial mercantile magnates — I mean in the history of being a refugee, of a family with multiple immigration stories, of moving from rural to urban, illiterate to literate. As a community we need to honor and complicate the story we tell of who we are and not hold up one example of success as the only story of success. My grandmothers fought harder than anyone I know. They had to fight to be educated, they had to fight for their children, and they weren’t always treated with dignity and respect. Despite their status, they raised children (10 between the two of them) all of whom graduated — and some with Master’s degrees. To me that is success to be celebrated.” In 2012-13 Irani had earned the Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship from India that enabled her to research Parsi embroidery traditions and textiles.
As she impresses on her website: "Speak kindly to the scared, uncertain and sometimes desperate voice inside yourself, but don’t listen to it. Listen to the voice that insists on having the biggest life possible.”