My name is Assal Alinejad.
I am a political refugee currently based in Italy. I work, write, and organize storytelling events that explore migration, justice, and everyday activism.
If you searched my name and arrived here, this page is meant to orient you.
Why this blog exists
This blog is not a finished project or a polished portfolio. It is a working space that accompanies my ongoing work across different places and contexts.
I use it to think through questions that come from lived experience:
How do people who speak about justice reproduce injustice in everyday life?
What happens when someone is understood, but still remains “other”?
Can storytelling create a shared sense of “us” where politics often fails?
Some texts are reflective, some are experimental, and some are fragments of larger projects. Together, they trace a process rather than a conclusion.
A short timeline
- 2014 — Ecuador. I began a series of illustrations later titled “A osuras, scavando tunnel”, exploring personal experiences of displacement and isolation.
- 2016–2017 — Southern Tuscany, Italy. I held small storytelling events in cultural spaces, where I started narrating my illustrations in front of an audience.
2019 — I traveled by bicycle across Italy, France, and Spain, organizing illustrated storytelling events called "Those Little Things Everybody Knows" about migration and power dynamics within activist communities.
2020–2024 — I lived and worked in different collective and rural environments in Italy, often under “vitto e alloggio” arrangements, while continuing to write and develop my ideas.
2025 — I participated in the Democratic Odyssey gatherings in Florence and Vienna, engaging with deliberative democracy and civic processes.
January 2026 — Oberhausen, Germany Presented storytelling work in a public event called "Echoes of Separation, Recognition, Co-existence", continuing the development of my narrative-based practice.
Now — I am preparing a PhD proposal that brings together storytelling, migrant narratives, and political theory through a practice-led method.
What you will find here
Personal narratives of displacement and adaptation
Reflections on activism, democracy, and everyday behavior
Experiments with storytelling inspired by the Persian tradition of Naqqali
Visual and written work that attempts to bridge different languages and experiences
Where to begin
If you are new, you might start with:
Contact
If you found me and would like to get in touch—for a conversation, a collaboration, or to invite me to share my work—you can write to:
assal_alinejad@yahoo.com
I usually respond within a few days.
A note
This space is part of an ongoing process.
It is shaped by movement, by constraints, and by encounters with different people and contexts.
If something here resonates with you, you are welcome to reach out.
No comments:
Post a Comment