The First Supper was developed upon Hadieh Afshani’s arrival in New York City and emerged from a cross-border collaboration between two women artists from historically conflicted regions of the Middle East. Conceived as an installation and participatory project, the work uses the domestic dining table—a space traditionally shaped by women—as a symbolic and political site for dialogue, gathering, and shared presence.
Referencing the cultural resonance of the “Last Supper,” the project reimagines the table not as a moment of finality, but as a beginning: a space where difference, disagreement, and care coexist. Painted tableware, textiles, and objects form the physical installation, while facilitated conversations and gatherings activate the table as a living roundtable rather than a static display.
Rather than proposing solutions, The First Supper asks a speculative question: how might social and political realities shift if values associated with listening, care, and collective responsibility were centered in decision-making processes? Initiated in New York City—a place defined by multiplicity and exchange—the project positions intimacy, dialogue, and gathering as subtle yet radical gestures of possibility.
