The 1700% Project

The 1700% Project is conceived as a collaborative project utilizing art as intervention. Specifically, the 1700% Project strategically intervenes against the racial profiling and rise of violence and hate directed at Muslims in a post 9/11 era. The project challenges monolithic stereotypes of a "Muslim" identity while acknowledging the significance of historical persecution.

The number 1700% refers to the exponential percentage increase of hate crimes against Arabs, Muslims and those perceived to be Arab or Muslim since the events of September 11, 2001.

The text, a performance poem titled 1700% by Anida Yoeu Ali, is an unapologetic response to injustices directed at the Muslim community. The poem is a Cento (100 lines of found writings) based on filed reports of hate and bias crimes against “Arabs” and “Muslims” since 9/11. The narrative-based poem is the original text to which all other iterations of this project is created upon.

Currently The 1700% Project includes a poem, video, audio recording, performances, and installation. Each facet implements a medium specific to the ways in which access operates within various communities. Each iteration of the text becomes its own unique work of art with a particular site of engagement. These multi-faceted artistic approaches serve to educate the wider public about the diversity within the Muslim community and the dangers of racially-motivated fears.