WORKSHOPS
Introduction
Conducting workshops is one of Hoda’s ongoing activities. She has taught or organized numerous workshops for both children and adults. These workshops focus on teaching both technical skills and intellectual abilities. In many of Hoda’s workshops, she poses questions that challenge the participants, leading to the creation of content, which, through various techniques, culminates in artistic works.
Hoda states that when she takes on the role of a workshop instructor, she learns more than she teaches. She shares a story: “Once in Tehran, I held a workshop for Afghan refugee children, where they were to illustrate the story ‘The Boy, the Goat, and the King’ using monoprint and collage techniques. The story is about fighting cruelty in an intelligent way. A little girl came and drew a woman in a splendid dress. I asked her which character in the story this was—was it the boy, the goat, or the king? The girl replied, ‘Every king must have a queen, and I drew the queen!’
From that girl, I learned how an illustrator should depict parts of the story that are not narrated in the text. How to give voice to those who are voiceless in our texts and stories! How to go beyond the story and narrate its untold dimensions. This was a lesson I could never have learned in any other way or from any other teacher.”
3 Notable workshops:
1. A travelling mountain
The book “The Mountain who wanted to go to a better Place” or “The Traveling Mountain,” known in Danish as “Bjerget der ville rejse,” is written and illustrated by Hoda Haddadi. Was published in Denmark in 2018 by Uro and received five stars from the Politiken newspaper. This is a story about a mountain who decide to go to a better place but she is a mountain and a mountain cannot walk! A mountain should stay in one place forever! However, this funny mountain can pull out her thousand round stony feet from the earth and start her travel!
The most significant achievement of this book, which is about a voluntary migration from homeland to a better place, was the positive feedback it received from Danish schools and Education centers. Around 40 workshops for children were conducted based on this book, supported by Bibiana Denmark (The Danish branch of BIB) and the (åben skole) program of the Ministry of Education. The central idea of these workshops, designed by Hoda Haddadi, was to pose two important questions to the children: 1. how does migration happen? 2. Where is a better place? In first 45 minutes of the workshop children makes a new homeland for our mountain, which is a city of mountains and at the end of the workshops they discuss and ask the questions on this topic. These process Made this event highly welcomed. Hoda designed and lead 3 of them and then BIB continues it from 2018 to 2019.
The book is still read by teachers in some Danish schools in the first grades; Children make Paper Mountains and talk about it. This workshop also travelled to Athens and Tehran in next years.
Title: A Traveling mountain
Purpose: To talk about migration and new home.
Place and Date: Copenhagen/Athens/Tehran 2018-2020
Content: storytelling and collage
Conclusion: An exhibition for children
2. Chelchraq
In 2023, a workshop was held for Iranian illustrators to engage with different Danish books. These books covered themes such as death, fear, loneliness, and absurdity. This workshop was based on a proposal by Hoda Hadadi, managed by her, and supported by the Danish Embassy in Tehran. Additionally, IBBY Denmark was responsible for selecting, Translating to English and sending the books to Iran. Planning for this workshop took a year, but the result was satisfactory for Hoda.
Hoda named this workshop “ Chelcheraq” which is a kind of Persian chandelier with 40 lights.
Twenty brilliant Iranian illustrators, selected by Hoda, were invited to this workshop. Over three days, they engaged with twenty selected Danish books that significantly differed from the common definition of children’s literature. Iranian illustrators encountered themes in children’s books they had never thought could be the basis of such literature.
This workshop was filled with unusual emotions and new thoughts, and the illustrators created works based on their experiences. The illustrators’ works were displayed on the final day, and in 2024, these works were exhibited at a cultural center in Copenhagen.
Title: Chelcheraq
Purpose: Conversation between Iranian Illustrators and different Danish books.
De-familiarization of Children’s books.
Place and Date: Tehran-2023
Content: reading and illustrating
Conclusion: display in Tehran and Copenhagen
3. Workshops for Children with Special Conditions
These workshops, suggested by Hoda, are held in Iran and other countries for children who do not have ordinary conditions. Refugee children, child laborers, children with abusive or no parents, war-affected children, and children who belong to minority groups, whether religious, social, or economic, are all included.
For example, even children of diplomats, who have to move from one country to another with their parents throughout their lives , constantly changing friends and schools, are considered special children by Hoda, despite not having economic difficulties.
Gifted children are also among the minorities who need special attention as much as refugees do. Because they suffer from not being understood or the slow pace of education.
Children in juvenile detention centers, nomadic children, children who have never attended school, and in summary, any group of children with special conditions benefit from Hoda’s workshops. Hoda sees it as her duty to teach these children the language of art, even if only for a few hours of a day, so that they also can express themselves.
Hoda also believes that by organizing workshops for children with special conditions, their family or guardians are also engaged in a new dialogue. In these workshops, Hoda also learns a lot from the children and their bright minds.
Title: different
Purpose: Giving a new voice of Art to the children with special conditions
Content: storytelling and illustrating
Place and Date: different places and dates
Conclusion: having an artwork to carry to home
Album of some other workshops:
Title: Litte Red riding hood
Participants: Children/
Purpose: Making a pop-up collage
Content: reading and illustrating
Place and date: 2024 Freising/Germany
Conclusion: A pop-up post card
Title: The pomegranate Daughter (A Persian story)
Participants: Illustrators
Purpose: practicing silk papers for illustrating a story
Content: Illustrating
Place and date: 2022 Athens/Greece
Conclusion: A finalize Artwork
Title: What is your Favorite childhood story? Are you telling it to your grandchild?
Participants: Grandmothers
Purpose: remembering childhood and illustrating a character
Content: Conversation, storytelling and practicing collage
Place and date: 2024 Hvidovre/Denmark
Conclusion: A narrative artwork
