Identity: What Color are You? Workshop with Siona Benjamin

Join visiting artist Siona Benjamin for a hands-on workshop that explores identity. Siona will start off the workshop by telling participants the story of how she became blue and also about growing Jewish in India. This will be accompanied with a short PowerPoint presentation that includes pictures of different colored gods in India and also the different colored Taras in Buddhism (Green Tara, Red Tara, etc.). Participants will then be asked to think about what color they see themselves. They will be encouraged to create a self-portrait in any color skin they see themselves in, and to tell a story about themselves in this role. The final step will be to create a mask in that same skin color and wear it to become the character they have created. 

Advanced registration is encouarged. Please register here.

If you require assistance to fill out this form or prefer to share your registration information via email or phone, please email ejs421@lehigh.edu or call 610-758-6882. Questions, concerns, and any accessibility needs can also be directed to Elise at ejs421@lehigh.edu or call 610-758-6882.

This event is offered in celebration of the Berman Center's 40th Anniversary, The Year of Jews and the Arts, and is co-sponsored by the Berman Center for Jewish Studies and the Marcon Institute. 

Siona Benjamin is a painter from Mumbai, now living in the US. Her work reflects her background of being brought up Jewish in a Hindu and Muslim India. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship 2011 to India and a second Fulbright 2017 to Israel. Her work is featured in: The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Forward, The Jewish Week, The Boston Globe, Art New England, ArtNews, The Times of India, The Jerusalem Post and others. Learn more about Siona Benjamin and her artwork on her website.

Image credit: Siona Benjamin. Finding Home #74 (Fereshteh) “Lilith". 2006. Gouache on wood panel.