"Bilquis Ghani has a long history of bringing the joy of art to vulnerable people. This sophisticated, sensitive and timely study shows how art can also be a subtle source of dignity and empowerment. Highly recommended." (William Maley, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University and author of "The Afghanistan Wars") "Bilquis Ghani's powerful study centers the voices of artists in Kabul, providing both an essential resource for academics in the field of cultural studies but also a deeply inspiring example of what cultural production does best -- which is to imagine a world in which colonised or marginalised people have a say and stake in their futures. This book opens an intellectually curious and sympathetic vista onto the sociological worldview of young Afghans who forged their own cultural movement. In doing so it provides a much needed antidote to the demeaning Orientalist tropes that so often dominate contemporary news coverage and media analysis of Afghan society." (Safdar Ahmed, Scholar and multi-award winning artist, writer, musician, cultural worker and creative producer, Australia) "Afghanistan is still very much in the news, sadly so often for tragic reasons. This richly tapestried book takes us deeply into another and neglected dimension - that of the art world of Kabul in the years preceding the Taliban's takeover, profoundly demonstrating the resilience of art and artists in a situation of generations of violence and conflict, illustrating the ability of engaged art to assist in the reclaiming of culture, community and identity, while producing work of quality and depth under the most difficult conditions.

A truly landmark study." (John Clammer, Professor, Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, India and author of "Vision and Society: Towards a Sociology and Anthropology from Art") "Bilquis Ghani's work is methodologically and conceptually original in its innovative discussion of the histories and lived experiences of subaltern and non-subaltern actors in the arts communities in Kabul. It is a compelling and engaging book that illuminates the way in which creative expression and resistance is mediated through public and private artistic practice in precarious and unsettled political and social conditions and at the cusp of religion, society and history." (Devleena Ghosh, Emeritus Professor, University of Technology Sydney, Australia) "In a period where the political world seems to be spiraling into a binary us vs them, abyssal mode of thought, Bilquis Ghani reminds us of a different perspective, of the different histories on which cultures and collaborations are built; of the different stories told by groups and individuals about what it means to be a person among other people. Her account traces the work of art and artists of Afghanistan; how it functions as a voice for those who are otherwise not voiceless but rarely listened to; as a record that stands as a counter-discourse for both the palimpsest of history in that region, and the dynamic tensions of fear, and of hope, that animates the present." (Jen Webb, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Creative Practice, University of Canberra, Australia).