Ariana Delawari
Ariana Delawari | |
|---|---|
| Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Afghan-American |
| Genres | Folk rock, world music, avant-garde pop, electronic |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, filmmaker, photographer, actress, activist |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Website | arianadelawari |
Ariana Delawari is an Afghan-American musician, filmmaker, photographer, actress, and activist. Her work integrates music, visual storytelling, and social engagement, addressing themes such as identity, displacement, animal rights, environmental justice, and the cultural resilience of Afghanistan.[1][2]
Early life and background
Delawari was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Setara Delawari, was the child of an Afghan father and Sicilian mother and was born in New Jersey. Her father, Noor Delawari, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. She grew up among extended family members who had fled Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion. She studied at the USC School of Cinema-Television.[1][3]
Career
Music
In 2002, Delawari traveled to Afghanistan for the first time,[4] documenting her experiences through art and film. Her debut album, Lion of Panjshir, was recorded in Kabul with both Afghan and American musicians. The album combined Afghan folk and classical rhythms with Laurel Canyon–style rock. It featured contributions from master Afghan musicians, including Ustad Muhammad Wali (tabla), Ustad Ghulam Hussain (rabab), and Ustad Almrudin (dilrubah). These musicians had risked persecution under Taliban rule, often concealing their instruments to preserve cultural traditions.[5]
Delawari became one of the first Afghan women in more than three decades to perform live rock music in Afghanistan, a symbolic reclaiming of culture and resilience.[citation needed]
Experimental projects
Her second album, Entelechy (split into Entelechy I and Entelechy II), marked a shift toward avant-garde pop and electronic music. Entelechy I was produced with Butchy Fuego (San Gabriel) and leaned electronic, while Entelechy II featured acoustic versions with tabla player Salar Nader. Alongside the album, Delawari created an experimental docu-musical short film, also titled Entelechy, which explored themes of transformation and the environment. It premiered at the Cleveland International Film Festival and screened at the Marfa Film Festival.[2]
I Will Remember
In 2023, Delawari released I Will Remember, featuring collaborations with Farmer Dave Scher, Devendra Banhart, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The album explored themes of grief, including the death of her mother in 2020, the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021, and issues of social and environmental justice. Songs such as "Cloak of Lies," "With You," and "Each Step" addressed personal mourning, resistance to patriarchal narratives, and remembrance.[citation needed]
Documentaries and acting
Her documentary film We Came Home (2013) chronicles her family’s history, travels in Afghanistan, and the making of Lion of Panjshir.[4] The film received awards at international film festivals.[citation needed]
Delawari has appeared in film and television roles, often portraying characters reflecting her cross-cultural background. She trained in theater and improvisation in Los Angeles and participated in performance art and hybrid film-music projects, including Entelechy, where she performed as both narrator and symbolic protagonist.[citation needed]
Photography and writing
Delawari’s photography, often focused on Afghanistan, has been recognized by the International Photography Awards and the Korean Times New York.[2] Her writing has appeared in One Story Thirty Stories: An Anthology of Contemporary Afghan American Literature, which won the Independent Publishing Awards’ silver medal for Best Anthology of 2012.[2]
Activism
- Featured performer and speaker at the inaugural TEDx Kabul.[6]
- Featured speaker at TEDx Delthorne Women.[7]
- Founder of Inspire Peace, an arts and activism campaign for Afghan youth.[citation needed]
- Co-creator of Afghanistan Connect, a mobile app built with Code to Inspire (the first coding school for girls in Afghanistan), highlighting grassroots NGOs and coded by female students.[8]
- Released cover tracks such as Madonna’s "Crazy for You" and David Bowie’s "Ziggy Stardust," and contributed to the LA Ladies Choir’s album.[2]
- Delawari is also an ambassador for The Voice Project, an international nonprofit advocating for freedom of expression and creative resistance.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Meet Ariana Delawari". Voyage LA. 2019-04-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 [1]
- ↑ "Ariana Delawari talks new album, 'I Will Remember'". 90.3 KAZU. 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://time.com/6206423/ariana-delawari-we-came-home-afghanistan-interview/. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Free Music Archive – Ariana Delawari
- ↑ TEDx Kabul – Speakers
- ↑ "TEDxDelthorneWomen | TED".
- ↑ Code to Inspire – Afghanistan Connect
- ↑ The Voice Project – Ambassadors
External links
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