The Foreign Service Journal, January 2013

54 JANUARY 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS ACT I VE AFTER ACT I VE- DUTY: A Bengali Woman’s Art: Cause for Liberation When I retired from the Foreign Service in 2008, my wife, Cathy Stevulak, and I had ideas about what the future held. Something with an international focus, to be sure. We were open to a lot of possibilities, but never thought we would be where we are today: immersed in making a documentary film about a Bangladeshi Mus- lim woman who overcomes social and economic hard- ships and liberates herself and hundreds of other women by creating timeless works of art. Cathy and I first saw Surayia Rahman’s artwork when we were posted in Dhaka. Like many, we admired the range of sub- jects and the fine execu- tion of her “ nakshi kantha” tapestries. These told vivid stories of the lives of village women, the British Raj, and illustrated works of the great Bengali poets. Inspired by a household tradition of Bengal involving quilting and embroi- dery, called kantha, In Dhaka’s vibrant visual arts scene her work stood out, not because of promo- tion or hype, but because of its clarity of vision and quality. When a mutual friend offered to introduce Cathy to Surayia she jumped at the chance. We were both struck by Surayia’s quiet dignity and commitment to excellence. We were not surprised BY LEONARD HILL, FOREIGN SERVICE RETIRED to learn—much later, for Surayia was too modest to tell us this herself—that her work was in museums as well as royal, official and private collections around the world. We kept in touch with Surayia after leaving Dhaka. Knowing that all of her imme- diate family had immigrated to Canada, we commissioned a piece from her and donated it to the Textile Museum in Toronto. A few years later she sent us one of the last pieces she worked on before health problems ended her ability. At that point our involve- ment in Surayia’s life prob- ably would have faded, had I not taken a WAE assignment in Halifax. An art professor there who was familiar with Surayia’s work suggested that Cathy do something to document the stories of these elaborate embroidered artworks before Surayia died. The idea kept tugging at us, and we knew we did not have a lot to time to decide if we should start filming or not. “How hard,” we asked each other, “could making a documentary film about Surayia and her art be?” Three years later, with multiple filming sessions in Bangladesh and Canada behind us, we have a better answer to that question. I still take When Actually Employed assignments, but work on the film has become an unexpected full time job for both of us. Neither of us are film school graduates, but we have brought to the project experience and skills learned during our first careers. We have also met a lot of inter- esting new people, many of whom have mentored us as we have learned how to get around in a new and unfa- miliar landscape, culture and language—not unlike landing at a new post. Most importantly, we have been able to delve deeper into Surayia’s remarkable story and learn more about the hundreds of destitute young women who found a path to economic self- sufficiency for themselves and their families through their exquisite work and their dedication to art. Telling the story of Surayia and the women who worked with her, and being able to bring the art they created to a wider audience, is not at all what Cathy and I expected to be doing now. But, like our time in the Foreign Service, we would not trade the expe- rience for anything. n References: FilmWeb site, which has a four-minute trailer for the film: kanthathreads.com International Documentary Association (a 501(c)3 nonprofit) page for the film: www.documentary. org/community/sponsorship/ donate?film_id=3732 Surayia’s work at the Textile Museum of Canada: www.textilemuseum.ca/ apps/index.cfm?page=collection. detail&catid=14041&row=1 Article about Surayia in Hand/Eye Magazine : http://handeyemagazine. com/content/accidental-saint Surayia Rahman, center, with some of the women she has mentored and worked with for more than 25 years. These formerly destitute single mothers now own land in their own names and have sent their children to college as a result of the art they created with Surayia. ©ANILADVANI,KANTHAPRODUCTIONSLLC