Sadegh Hedayat’s Darkroom in London

THE RED ROOM – a portable opera for three voices. Set in 1930s Iran, The Red Room is an intimate drama with overtones of Gothic horror that explores nihilism and philosophic despair. It is based on a short story (The Darkroom) by the Iranian modernist master, Sadegh Hedayat, published almost 80 years ago in the collection of short stories called The Stray Dog. With a narrative that has echoes of Franz Kafka and Edgar Allan Poe, THE RED ROOM is an intense and disturbing drama about fear, isolation, and philosophical self-destruction.

In a provincial Persian town, an enigmatic stranger offers a stranded traveller a room. In a night of revelations, the traveller is drawn into the inner life of his Host and discovers the secret of the Red Room.

Iranian poet Houshang Ebtehaj (Sayeh) dies at 94

Iranian poet Amir Houshang Ebtehaj, known as Sayeh, died at 94 in Cologne, Germany on 10th August 2022.

Ebtehaj was born in Rasht, Iran. His first book of poetry was published when he was 19. ‘Sayeh’ was an ardent advocate of the poetry of social commitment. His early poetry reveals his concern with purposive literature. Ebtehaj has also written a collection of lyrical poems (ghazal) in the classical style. Here, he reveals an easy mastery of traditional forms—the lyrical ode, in particular—which he uses to celebrate both the sacred and the secular moments of life. Sayeh’s poetry, at times highly emotional, is always remarkable for its convincing directness and unconcealed sentiment. A number of his lyric poems, ballads and poems have been performed by famous Iranian vocalists and singers.

Kiarostami makes doc on Iran’s modern art pioneer Monir Farmanfarmaian

The documentary entitled “Monir” is scheduled to premiere on April 24 at Art Tomorrow, a major art education centre in Tehran, to commemorate the third anniversary of the death of the artist. In a press release published by the centre, Kiarostami said it took him a year and a half to make the documentary. Due to the anxiety Farmanfarmaian felt in front of the camera, Kiarostami recorded her voice for parts of the documentary. The film begins with her hesitation to appear in front of Kiarostami’s camera, asking him to be a voice for her to promote the ancient mirror mosaic art among modern artists.  

 

Farmanfarmaian died on April 20, 2019, at the age of 97.

Lady Kharrazi at Park University

Lady Jamil Kharrazi, the founder and current director of Toos Foundation, kicks off the new year by joining the Board of Trustees of Park University of Missouri. Park University is a private non-profit organisation which offers courses in the liberal arts accessible and affordable by all. The University’s international music department has consistently excelled throughout the United States since 1875. During a ceremony with a special concert last week, the University decorated lady Jamil with the badge of honour and announced her membership of the Board of Trustees.

 

Iranian chefs shine at 18th Istanbul Gastronomy Festival

Iranian cooks came in second place at the 18th Federation of International Cuisine Days in Istanbul Turkey after winning dozens of medals. The 18th international gastronomy festival was held in Istanbul with the participation of representatives from 77 countries.

At the end of the festival (Dec 2021), the Iranian cooks and chiefs came in second place after winning 23 gold, 15 silver and 12 bronze medals in the two categories of cooking and confectionery. The festival began on December 22nd and ended on December 25th. The following is video footage of the closing ceremony of the festival.

Iran: Five Millennia of Art and Culture

The cultural history of Iran – from the early civilisations through to the modern era – is the focus of a major art-historical survey exhibition in Berlin’s James-Simon-Gallery. The works on exhibit bear witness to the central role that Iran played as a site of innovation, as a melting pot and cultural powerhouse connecting Africa, Asia and Europe. Additionally, it presents a rich kaleidoscope of the cultural creativity of urban societies.It takes visitors on a journey through time and the country’s rich cultural heritage.

The exhibition – a must-see for lovers of painting and ceramics in particular – shows how, over the course of several thousand years, a specifically Iranian cultural identity emerged as a language of instruction and cultural production, an identity that was continuously transforming. The exhibition will end 20th March 2022.

Safarani Sisters exhibit their artwork at the Morris Museum

Since affiliating with the Smithsonian Institution in 2019, the Morris Museum has become a happening place. The stately walls of the former Frelinghuysen Twin Oaks Mansion in Morris Township now share space with artworks intended to challenge and enthrall visitors.

The latest example is Body Double: The Safarani Sisters, an exhibition of paintings on canvas superimposed with video. Ethereal and hypnotic, the paintings can stand alone. They are realistic and spare, often depicting a barely furnished room with large windows covered by sheer curtains and drapery. The lighting is dramatic, with sharp contrast between light and dark.

“Khoonab” wins at Universal Film Festival in USA

Directed by Mojtaba Ghasemi, “Khoonab” won the Best Director Award of the Universal Film Festival (Kansas, USA, Nov 2021). Last year, Ghasemi also won the Best Director Award of the Rome International Film Festival. The film’s synopsis read, “The distance from ascent to descent is a narrow line of choice, a choice between good and evil.”

The Universal Film Festival was founded in 2007 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, and each year it awards prizes in 14 categories including the best director.

Iranian movie ‘The Badger’ wins award at Italy festival

“The Badger”, directed by Mollaei was screened in the 17th Terni Film Festival of Italy alongside seven films from Switzerland, the US, Italy, Mexico, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, and finally the jury of this cinematic event presented its best director award to Mollaei for the film “The Badger”.

In this movie, Soodeh’s 11-year-old son is kidnapped before her second wedding and she is forced to ask her ex-husband for the ransom money. It features several well-known Iranian actors and actresses, including Vishka Asayesh, Hasan Majouni, Mehraveh Sharifi-nia, and Behnoush Bakhtiari.

Prominent Iranian artist Darroudi dies at 85

Iran Darroudi, well-known Iranian painter, film director, art critic and university professor, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 85 in Tehran.

Darrudi was an influential artist who had been active for more than 50 years in Iranian contemporary art. Her achievements include more than 60 individual exhibitions, art critiques published in various journals, and some 80 collaborative documentaries, the last one being an autobiography, “Distance Between Two Dots”.

A selection of her paintings: Iran Darroudi (toosfoundation.com)

The Days Tehran had Opera

Evlin Baghcheban’s played a crucial role in promoting opera and choral music in Iran. On the 10th anniversary of her death, her son, Kaveh Baghcheban, has published some of the recordings and documents from the family’s private archive. Many recordings and documents were destroyed in 1979 making any research into the history of opera and choral music in Iran rather difficult. Funded by Toos Foundation in London, the published collection includes an audio CD and more than 50 rare documents and photos. It is focused on Evlin Baghcheban’s career, but shedding light on the history of music in 20th-century Iran as well. Most of the materials were previously not accessible to the public. October 2020.

Hossein Azadi Sculptures at Etemad Gallery

An exhibition of sculptures by Hossein Azadi is currently underway at Etemad Gallery 1. The exhibition is titled “Crumpledness”. Hossein Azadi was born in 1979 in Hamedan, Iran and received his Painting B.A. from University of Art in Tehran in 1999. The exhibition will run until the end of September.

Siah Armajani, Sculptor of Communal Spaces, Dies at 81

Siah Armajani, an Iranian-born American artist whose architecturally scaled, politically inflected public sculptures have been internationally influential even as he kept a low profile in the art world, died on Aug. 27 at his home in Minneapolis, a city where he had lived and worked for 60 years. He was 81.

“I am interested in the nobility of usefulness,” Mr. Armajani was quoted as saying in a 1990 profile in The New Yorker. “My intention is to build open, available, useful, common, public gathering places. Gathering places that are neighborly.”

3 Designs from Iranian architects competing for Dezeen Awards 2020

Three projects by Iranian architects have been selected by the Dezeen Awards 2020 as the world’s most popular and influential architecture and design competition has announced its longlist.

The projects are Pardis Khaneh, the Kohan Ceram Central Office, and the Noor E Mobin Primary School, and a jury composed of Norman Foster, Joyce Wang, Michael Anastassiades and Paola Antonelli will be judging the designs.

City View Park public art commission

Hooman Mehdizadehjafari has been selected for the City View Park public art commission. Mehdizadehjafari’s artwork, Soar, will be installed in front of the new pavilion being constructed at City View Park (Burlington, Canada). Hooman Mehdizadehjafari, creator of Hoomanart is an award-winning Iranian-Canadian visual artist and designer born in Kerman and now based in Vancouver, Canada.

Shahnameh character fighting coronavirus monster

Ferdowsi’s masterpiece Shahnameh and its seven adventures have been the source of inspiration for Iranian graphic designer Yazdan Saadi’s new collection of paintings on face masks, which depict the mythical Iranian hero Rustam fighting coronavirus monsters. >>>

Omar Khayam’s Day

Omar Khayam the Persian poet and polymath was born on 18th May 1048:

 

The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

Parviz Tanavoli makes a medallion to help hospitals in Iran

Renowned Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli, has created a series of limited-edition medallions to raise funds for beleaguered hospitals in his homeland fighting the Covid-19 virus.

“I am extremely impressed by how Iranian healthcare workers are dealing with the Covid-19 crisis,” says Tanavoli, “And what they are accomplishing with the bare minimum of equipment”.

Medallions can be ordered by emailing pr@tanavolimuseum.com

Iran’s desert developments is captured by Manuel Alvarez Diestro

For his latest photography series, Manuel Alvarez Diestro transports us to the isolated landscape of Iran’s deserts. Amid the vast expanse of rolling land and mountain peaks, the images hone in on new housing developments. From afar the tower blocks appear as models in miniature, while closer up, the true scale of the buildings can be appreciated.

Winner of the Farhang Foundation’s 2020 Nowruz Banner Design

This year’s winning design was awarded to Iranian artist Setareh Feylizadeh from Paris, France. “Participating in a competition such as this, especially one which connects us to our roots, cultures, and traditions, has been so rewarding, ” said Feylizadeh. “The ultimate prize of winning this competition is the chance to connect with another community of Persians in another part of the world by spreading the message of Nowruz, which bonds us together and brings us closer to one another.”

Iranian musician wins the Global Music Awards

Dec 2019. Iranian musician Nima Delnavazi, teacher and tar player, has received the silver medal for his ‘Ray to Tisfound’ album in the latest edition of Global Music Awards in the US.

Delnavazi is considered one of the youngest talents in contemporary Persian music.

Iranian short animated piece ‘Pet Man’ wins top prize

Iranian short animated piece ‘Pet Man’ by Marzieh Abrar-Paydar has won the top prize at the 4th edition of Bogota International Animation Festival in Colombia. (Nov 16 2019).

‘Pet Man’ tells the story of an animal dealer who falls asleep in his shop and has a nightmare where he is trapped inside an animal cage. In his attempt to escape from the animals, he encounters various obstacles.

My Iran Exhibition at Smithsonian in Washington, DC

August 10, 2019-February 9, 2020
Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington, DC

My Iran: Six Women Photographers” will be on view at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Aug. 10 through Feb. 9, 2020. It is the latest in the museum’s ongoing exhibition series of contemporary Asian photography. Drawn from the museum’s growing collections, the works of these six female photographers, Hengameh Golestan, Newsha Tavakolian, Malekeh Nayiny, Shadi Ghadirian, Mitra Tabrizian and Gohar Dashti, present multiple visions of Iran that are largely unknown to American audiences.

Revitalizing traditional art of making wooden Girih artworks

Artists in Markazi province are trying to revive the traditional art of making wooden Girih artworks which has vast applications in Iranian architecture. One of the most eye-catching manifestations of this art is the formation of Orsi, or colourful, windows in different Iranian buildings.

Five Iranians named among 50 influential architects

Five Iranians have been named among the 50 most influential architects of the Middle East in 2019, according to a list published by the Middle East Architect (MEA) magazine. The magazine named Mohammad Khavarian, Kourosh Hajizadeh, Amir-Hossein Hajizadeh, Farshad Mehdizadeh and Arash G Tehrani as Iran’s influential architects in the Middle East region.

The Middle East Architect is a monthly magazine that delivers news, data, analysis and strategic insights for architects.

Aga Khan Museum in Toronto hosts an Exhibition of Qajar Art

The Toronto-based Aga Khan Museum has launched an exhibition of Persian art in Qajar era. The exhibition brings together rare paintings, lacquerware, lithographed manuscripts, photographs, musical instruments, and textiles from a host of prominent international and national collections. The exhibition features masterpieces from the Aga Khan Museum collection alongside a large number of exhibits on loan from the Louvre Museum and other institutions, including the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Textile Museum of Canada, McGill University Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections, and private collections.

The exhibition entitled “Transforming Traditions: The Arts of 19th-Century Iran” is curated by Ulrike Al-Khamis, Director of Collections and Public Programs and Bita Pourvash, Assistant Curator, both of the Aga Khan Museum. The exhibition ends in Feb 10, 2019.

Iranian architects nominated at 2018 MEA Awards

Twenty-one designs and architects from Iran are among the nominees for the 2018 Middle East Architect Awards, which were announced by the organizers last week.

The nominations include: Golshahr Mosque and Plaza by Arash G. Tehrani, Floating Island by Kamran Heirati Architects, and Persian Tehran Garden by Hooman Balazadeh and Mohammad Khavarian for the award in the Concept Design of the Year category and the Thirty-Pine Villa by Aleshtar Architectural Office and the City Hall Square Rehabilitation by Polsheer Architects in the Landscape Design of the Year category. Winners will be announced during a special ceremony in Dubai on November 21.

Persian abstracts on display at Turkey’s 7 Art Gallery

The collection, dedicated to abstract paintings, is showcasing about 30 works by nine Iranian artists, including Iraj Shayestehpour, Giti Norouzian, Maryam Moghadam, Saba Mousavi, and Ghazal Vakili. The works on display are inspired by an Eastern and Persian outlook at concept paintings with a different view at modern art.

The works by the Iranian artists are a delicate, small and yet thorough slice of the inner world with a particular narrative from the point of the view of the artist. The paintings mainly aim to convey emotions and feelings without relying on the environment, and try to teach the visitors not to allow any intervention in their interpretation of the work of art.

The exhibition will last until October 15 at 7 Art Gallery in Istanbul, Turkey.

‘The Fox’ wins best short film award

The Fox’ won the best short film award in competition with 39 other animated films, at World Animation Film Festival in Bulgaria’s coastal city of Varna. ‘The Fox’ is about a young and lively fox that is caught by a hunter when experiencing its first love. The hunter puts a bell around the fox’s neck and returns it to the woods. The bell prevents the fox from hunting and living its normal life in the woods and it soon realizes that its only way to survive is to be tamed and go back to the hunter.

The history of the World Animation Film Festival in Varna dates back to the late 1970s. Following the political changes in Bulgaria of 1989, the forum was discontinued. In 2011 it was brought back to life by a group of lecturers and students from the New Bulgarian University. They met the support of the Ministry of Culture, the National Film Center, the Bulgarian National Television, the Bulgarian National Radio, and the Municipality of Varna.

2019 Norooz Banner Contest

Farhang Foundation is calling on aspiring and established graphic artists to submit original designs that conceptualize Norooz (the Iranian New Year) commemorating the annual celebration of Norooz in Los Angeles. Eligible designs will be considered as the central artwork featured on street banners and other marketing material that will proudly promote Farhang’s 11th Annual Norooz Celebration at UCLA throughout prominent boulevards and streets of Los Angeles in February and March of 2019.

Iranian Film Festival in Tokyo

‘Iranian Film Festival in Tokyo’ to kick off on Aug. 7

The event will screen seven Iranian movies, documentaries and animations.

Dramas including ‘Season of Narges’, ‘Delbari’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Where Are My Shoes?’ and ‘Mermaid’, the animated feature of ‘Mobarak’ and also ‘The Eastern’ documentary will be screened in this festival.

Iranian Artists Exhibition in Los Angeles

JUL 21 – SEP 30

Location: REDCAT – Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater

The group exhibition Only the Morning Bird Treasures the Flower Garden, which takes its title from a poem by 14th century Persian poet Hafiz, includes photographs, videos, and other works by more than twenty Iranian artists on the theme of flowers. It is co-curated by artist Mehraneh Atashi and Sohrab Mohebbi. Artists, writers and other colleagues were invited to contribute to an exhibition and publication exploring the historical, literary and symbolic connotations of flowers in Iran.

 

Iranian cartoonist wins Golden Hat at Belgium’s Festival

Iranian cartoonist Saeed Sadeghi won the Golden Hat of 57th Knokke-Heist Cartoon Festival in Belgium.

The Cartoon is about the Maoi large stone statues on Easter Island. Cartoonists from Portugal and Bulgaria received the Silver and Bronze Hats respectively. Participants were free to choose the theme of their entries. Displaying of selected works has started from June 30 in Knokke-Heist and will end on September 9.

Netherlands to showcase Iranian artifacts

An exhibition under the title “Iran; the cradle of civilization” opened in the Netherlands on Sunday. At the exhibition, 196 artefacts from 60 historic and archeological sites in Iran are being staged. The exhibition is divided into seven sections from Paleolithic age to the Islamic era.

Iranian photographer wins silver medal at 2018 Salon Daguerre

Iranian photographer Parviz Nourizad has won silver medal at the 11th Salon Daguerre in France. The event is one of the most prestigious photo contests hosted by France. Nearly 8000 pictures were received at the 2018 edition of the event. Nourizad’s photograph ‘Mr. Naeb’ won the silver medal at the contest.

The 11th Daguerre exhibition is organized by the Photoclub Paris Val-de-Bièvre in Paris, France.

Iranian photographers shine at Finnish photo festival

According to FIAP (Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique) center in Iran, the event held in Finland awarded ‘Vision Bronze Medal’ and ‘The Best Friendship photo’ title to Kiarang Alaei, for his photo, named ‘Loyalty’. Meanwhile, the photo ‘Single’ by Hamid Reza Helali won the ‘PSA Honorable Mention.’

The festival was held in Finland by the Finnish Museum of Photography, under the auspices of the FIAP and the Photographic Society of America (PSA) in three different sections. It displayed works by photographers from Iran, who are members of the FIAP center in Iran including Kiarang Alaei, Bahram Yazdanpanah, Hamid Reza Helali, Ahmad Khatieri and Amir Hossein Honarvar.

Festival of Iranian Films at Denmark’s Film Institute

Iranian films are to be screened in Copenhagen during a festival of Iranian films at Denmark’s Film Institute in April 15-28, 2018.

Works by a number of Iranian directors will be screened during the festival: Abbas Kiarostami, Narges Abyar, Behnam Behzadi, Rokhsare Ghaemmaghami, Shahin Armin, Sohrab Daryabandari, Ali Souzandeh. The Home directed and produced by Asghar Yousefi-Nejad, is one of the films to be shown.

Iranian Photographers at Bristol Photography Festival

The Iranian photographers participating at the Bristol Festival of Photography in Britain were honored in various parts of the festival. Eyes photo collection by Negar Aqaalitari won the Bronze medal and Crossing photo collection by Ehsan Nikfarjam and Iron Seller photo collection by Amirali Navadeh-shahla were given the Honorable Mention.

The festival was organized under the supervision of the Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique (FIAP), and the American Photography Society of America (PSA) in four sections on free color, free monochrome, travel, and nature issues.

CAMA Gallery of Iranian Art announce opening of London gallery

Following the success of their space in Tehran, CAMA Gallery, the new international market leaders in Modern and Contemporary Iranian art, have announced the opening of their London gallery on the 5th of April with an inaugural exhibition of 19 Contemporary Iranian artists. The 19 artists are Bita Vakili, Meghdad Lorpour, Behrang Samadzadegan, Mojtaba Tajik, Flora Feizbakshsh, Samira Alikhanzadeh, Azra Aghighi Bakhshayeshi, Saeid Ahmadzadeh, Morteza Pourhosseini, Elham Yazdanian, Babak Roshaninejad, Ali Nedaei, Tahereh Samadi Tari, Ojan Shirozhan, Mostafa Nourbakhsh, Fereydoon Omidi, Maryam Salour, Mohsen Jamalinik and Mohammad Tabatabai.

Exhibition of Royal Portraits from Qajar Period

“The Prince and the Shah: Royal Portraits from Qajar Iran” offers a rare glimpse into the development and dissemination of royal and aristocratic portraiture in the 19th century and early 20th century in Iran at a time when the country underwent major political, societal and cultural changes. On view at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Feb. 24–Aug. 5, the exhibition highlights about 30 paintings, photographs and lacquer works from the collections. The exhibition includes several major and otherwise unknown works, which the Freer|Sackler has recently acquired through gift and purchase: a monumental painting of Ahmad Shah Qajar and his cabinet from 1914, the portrait of Prince Jalal al-Din Mirza dated 1859 and attributed to the renowned Qajar artist Abu’l-Hasan Ghaffari, and a selection of finely painted lacquer works.

Iranian Women’s Movement Museum

The exhibition “From Evin With Love” designed and developed by Mansoureh Shojaee, in collaboration with Vrije University Amsterdam will open on March 9, 2018 in The Hague, Netherlands, presenting the handicrafts of Imprisoned Iranian women activists. The exhibition will run through April 6, 2018 and will feature a number of prominent Iranian and foreign speakers as well as a performance by Nasrin Hobby & Ensemble.

Venue: Humanity Hoouse – Prinsegracht 8, 2512 GA The Hague, Netherlands

Premiere of “Taq Kasra: Wonder of Architecture”

World Premiere screening of Taq Kasra: Wonder of Architecture, the first-ever documentary film on the world’s largest brickwork vault.

Date: 1 February 2018 at 7:00 PM

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings, Khalili Lecture Theatre

Taq Kasra was in serious danger of ISIS attacks in 2015-2016 and this was the main motivation for documentary maker Pejman Akbarzadeh to film the arch before it was destroyed. The documentary is produced by the Persian Dutch Network, in association with Toos Foundation, and partially funded by the Soudavar Memorial Foundation.

more information

The Festival of Iranian Films Opens in Prague

The Festival of Iranian Film, or ÍRÁN:CI, is taking place for the seventh time in Prague. The festival founder explained the theme of the latest edition which will open January 8, 2018 at Bakala Foundation as “Don’t be scared”.

“It’s about bringing films from filmmakers who didn’t hesitate to go beyond what are considered to be the boundaries of commercial cinema. They are experimenting, but in a way that still attracts the audience, in a very heart-felt way.”

Iran’s first museum for a female artist

The 93-year-old doyenne of Iranian art, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, has donated more than 50 of her works to a new museum dedicated to her oeuvre in Tehran. The Monir Museum, which openend on 15 December is the first institution in Iran devoted to a single female artist.

The Museum operates under the auspices of the University of Tehran and is housed in Negarestan Garden, a Qajar-era palace complex that became a museum of culture and later closed. The interior has been redesigned by the Iranian architect Reza Najafian.

Online exhibit “Collapse” raising funds for Kermanshah quake victims

Iranian painter and graphic designer Behzad Shishegaran has launched an online exhibition entitled “Collapse” on Instagram, Telegram and Facebook to raise funds for the victims of the devastating earthquake that hit Kermanshah region in western Iran last month.

 

instagram.com/behzadshishegaran
facebook.com/behzad.shishegaran

t.me/behzadshishegaran

Art of the Qajar Era at Harvard Art Museum

“Technologies of the Image: Art in 19th-Century Iran” at Harvard Art Museum presents notable and never before seen works of the Qajar era. It brings together four principal art forms of 19th century Iran — lacquer, lithography, photography, and painting and drawing on paper. The exhibition aims to explore the separate and intertwined histories of these art forms, the contexts of production, and means of distribution across the various strata of society. The exhibition has on showcase, almost 80 artworks, most of which have never been exhibited before.

“Technologies of the Image: Art in 19th-Century Iran” is on view through January 7, 2018 at the Harvard Art Museum, 32 Quincy St, Cambridge, USA

First U.S. Solo Show for Farhad Moshiri

Go West, the first solo show in the U.S. for Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri has opened in Andy Warhol Museum. The exhibition will run through Sunday, January 14, 2018.

Encompassing several bodies of work created over decades, Farhad Moshiri: Go West explores the artist’s varied subject matter, deft use of language, and wide-ranging materials and methods.

The 2nd Sheed Persian Film Festival in Texas

The 2nd Sheed Persian Film Festival which aims to promote and introduce Iranian cinema, will be held in Dallas, Texas from November 10 to 12.

Winners will be presented with a CloseUp Award this year in memory of the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. The award, which has been named after Kiarostami’s 1990 masterwork “Close-Up”, will be presented to the best film, best director and best actor and actress.

 

Screening of Sohrab Shahid Saless Films

Sohrab Shahid Saless: Exiles is a programme lunch at the Goethe Institute in London where Black and White and A Simple Event by Shahid Saless will be screened. This screening is part of the series of events at Goethe Institutes from 4 November 2017 – to 19 January 2018.

Iranian Design Mural in Los Angeles

Farhang Foundation has announce the first winning design installation of its Iranian Mural Design Competition in collaboration with Beautify Earth. The first installed design is by renowned artist Farzad Kohan, titled HUMANITY, and additional winning designs will be announced as they are installed throughout the city!

Contemporary Photography and Video Competition

Farhang Foundation in collaboration with local museums and galleries, presents FOCUS IRAN: Contemporary Photography and Video, a biennial juried exhibition of contemporary photography and video works relating to Iranian culture or heritage. The next exhibition of this year’s winning submissions will be in Irvine.

September 16, 2017 – October 13, 2017
Viewpoint Gallery-UCI
A311 Student Center, Irvine, CA 92697

Reflections on Iranian Contemporary Art

The aim of this panel discussion (September 4, 2017 in London) is to facilitate a critical reflection on the contemporary Iranian art scene and the issues surrounding its criticism.

Organised by: Iran Heritage Foundation and the British Council

World Architecture Festival in Berlin

Six designs by Iranian architects have been shortlisted for awards at the 2017 World Architecture Festival, which will be held in Berlin from November 15 to 17. Pars Hospital in Rasht and a house named Three Views in Tehran, both completed at the New Wave Architecture Company, have been nominated in the Completed Buildings’ category. The buildings have been designed by Shahin Heidari and Lida Almasian. In the Future Projects, the Tehran Mixed Use Complex in Tehran designed at the EAA Emre Arolat Architecture will compete. In the Residential Apartment category the villas in Tehran that was completed at the Housing Arsh [4D] Studio has been selected. This building has been designed by Alireza Sharafati and Pantea Eslami. Villa Oushan in Tehran from the Behzad Atabaki Studio and the Chabahar Freezone Organization Headquarters in Chabahar from Karand Group have also been picked to compete in this category.

Iran’s Yazd City Inscribed on World Heritage List

The historical city of Yazd in central Iran has become the country’s 22nd world heritage site after the World Heritage Committee voted in favor of its inscription on Sunday during the committee’s 41st session in Krakow, Poland. Almost 200 hectares of the city’s 2,270-hectare historical texture now boast world heritage status. Yazd is now the only UNESCO-listed Iranian city where people still live. It is also believed to be the world’s largest inhabited adobe city. Yazd is home to UNESCO-listed ancient Persian qanats as well as Dolat Abad Garden, which is one of nine Iranian gardens inscribed collectively on the World Heritage List as “the Persian Gardens”.

Golnaz Fathi’s Solo Exhibition in Switzerland

AB43 CONTEMPORARY is pleased to present the solo exhibiton “Traces of Yesterday” of new works by GOLNAZ FATHI, opening on August 26, 2017. GOLNAZ FATHI (born 1972 in Tehran, Iran) trained at the renowned Iranian Society of Calligraphy and went on to receive various awards for her work as a calligrapher. She then chose to embark on a much freer career in the fine arts and, in doing so, has developed her own unmistakable style. She is an internationally celebrated artist, who has succeeded in bridging the gap between traditional and contemporary culture as well as between Eastern and Western ways of life.

Kiarostami Retrospective at London Film Center

A year after  Abbas Kiarostami’s death, Close-Up Film Center in London will celebrate the art of his cinema by screening some of his rarely seen early films from 5-19 June 2017.

The program ‘Abbas Kiarostami: Early Works’ will show a series of documentary, short and feature films made in the 1970s and 1980s. A documentary on the filmmaker’s life and career as well as his last short film are also included. Film critic Ehsan Khoshbakht has selected the movies and organized the event which is supported by the British Council. A booklet in English about the films will be distributed as a guide for the films being screened. It contains famous critics’ reviews and opinions on Kiarostami’s early films.

Mural depicting Shahnameh story adorns Tehran Ferdowsi Square

A huge miniature painting featuring the First Battle of Rustam and Afrasiyab, a story from Ferdowsi’s epic masterpiece Shahnameh, was unveiled in Tehran’s Ferdowsi Square last week.

The 700-square meter mural has been painted by veteran artist Abbas Barzegar-Ganji on the wall of a nine-story building located to the northwest of the square. Verses of the Shahnameh recounting part of the story have also been inscribed on the top and bottom of the mural, which was unveiled on National Ferdowsi Day last Monday.

Harvard Art Museums to Show Persian Minature Paintings

An exhibition of Persian classic paintings will be held at the Harvard Art Museums, part of Harvard University in Massachusetts, the US, 20 May to 13 August 2017.

The exhibition features illustrated Persian manuscripts and detached folios collected in the early 20th century by Harvard alumnus Bernard Berenson (1865–1959), the famous American art historian and connoisseur of Italian Renaissance painting. Berenson prized these works at his home in Florence, Villa I Tatti, which he bequeathed to Harvard and which now serves as the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies.

Call for the 27th International Festival of Cartoon & Humorous Literature 2017

The 27th edition of the International Festival of Cartoon and Humorous Literature Gura Humorului will be held from 16 to 18 June 2017 in Romania.

The theme of this term of the contest is: THE ART OF MANIPULATING PEOPLE.

Original works are accepted, in digital format, created after 1 January 2017, which were not published and submitted or awarded prizes to other competitions. All works should be submitted by 31 May  to the following addresses: email: umorlahumor@gmail.com

Soltaniyeh Dome: The World’s Largest Brick Dome

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the 14th-century Soltaniyeh Dome, also known as Mausoleum of Oljaytu is highly recognized as an architectural masterpiece particularly due to its innovative double-shelled dome and elaborate interior decoration.

The very imposing dome stands about 50 meters tall from its base. Covered with turquoise-blue faience tiles, the stunning structure dominates the skyline of Soltaniyeh, an ancient city in Zanjan province, north-western Iran.

Beyond the Ban

Beyond the Ban is a group exhibition showcasing the work of leading Iranian artists based in the United States. It features painting, photography, video and prints by such luminaries as Shirin Neshat, Nicky Nodjoumi, Nahid Hagigat, Shoja Azari, Sara Issakharian, Shahram Karimi, Farshid Shafiey, Reza Java, Nazanin Noroozi, Raha Raissnia and Hossein Fatemi.

Beyond the ban will be held from 14 June to 30 August 2017 at Susan Eley Fine Art Gallery

located at 46 West 90th Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10024, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.

Iranian Voices at the British Museum

British Museum is holding a small display of works by Iranian artists until April 2, 2017 . The modern and contemporary art of Iran tells a multiplicity of stories. Made by Iranian artists of different generations, the works in this display include a variety of media from collage to artist books and photography. The narratives highlight an engagement with Iranian history from the legendary tales of the Shahnameh or Book of Kings to insights into the politics of recent decades. Between them, they present a series of vivid snapshots of the art and preoccupations of some of Iran’s most significant artists:

Bahman Mohassess, Parviz Tanavoli, Mitra Tabrizian, Parastou Forouhar, Ahmad Aali, Nahid Hagigat, Mohsen Ahmadvand, Shahpour Pouyan, Afsoon, Fereydoun Ave, Ali Akbar Sadeghi, Shideh Tami, Bahman Jalali, Ali Banisadr, Tarlan Rafiee & Yashar Samimi Mofakham. (British Museum Website)

Shirin Neshat’s “Dreamers” on display at Dirimart Gallery Istanbul

Curated by Heinz Peter Schwerfel, an Exhibition of the internationally known Iranian artist Shirin Neshat’s two new video-installations and a collection of her new photographs has been on display at Dirimart, Istanbul since 24 February 2017.

The show includes two video installations; Roja (2016) and Sara (2016) in addition to a series of new photos titled “Dreamers.” Each video revolves around single female protagonists whose emotional and psychological narratives remain on the border of dream and reality; madness and sanity; and consciousness and sub-consciousness as they each face their own distinct inner anxieties.

Indian scholars discover 700-year-old Divan of Hafez

A team of Indian scholars working at the Asiatic Society, a Kolkata-based institute for Oriental studies, has stumbled upon a 700-year-old manuscript of the Divan of Hafez, the Times of India reported on Monday 7 March 2017.

The manuscript, which bears the signature and gold insignia of Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor who reigned from 1628 to 1658, also contains an unpublished ghazal. The unpublished poem begins with this verse: “Beham Dellah Ke Bazam Didane Ruyat Moyasser Shod” (Thank God, I have the honor of looking at your face again).

Zeinoldin Caravansary Receives UNESCO Award

Situated on the ancient Silk Road stretching from Asia to Europe, the 16th-century Zeinoldin Caravansary is the only remaining dome-like caravansary of the country which received UNESCO’s best award for the restoration of historical buildings.

In earlier centuries, it was reached after a two-day camel ride from south of Yazd, about 60 kilometers on the main road to Kerman. Nowadays, while traveling by cars the sole mudbrick structure can be missed it in the blink of an eye.

Discovery of the first handmade brick in Alborz Province of Iran

The first handmade brick has been found in the ancient Ozbaki site in Alborz province of Iran whose date goes back to 9000 years ago.

Located in Nazarabad village of Nazarabad town, Ozbaki ancient site was first identified in 1969 and registered on the list of national heritage in 1973. With a history of 9000 years, and the first handmade bricks unearthed there, Alborz region can be regarded as the cradle of human architecture. After the proposal of “Dialogue of Civilizations” put forward by the former Iranian presidents, Mohammad Khatami. one of the bricks found in this ancient region was presented to United Nations as a gift.

“Valderama” honored at Prague Film Festival

“Valderama” by Abbas Amini won the jury award for best film at the 6th Prague Iranian Film Festival, which was held in the Czech capital from 10 to 15 January 2017. The film is about 15-year-old Valderama, so called for his resemblance to the Brazilian soccer star Carlos Valderrama, who is trying to obtain the ID card he’s never had.

Asghar Farhadi’s acclaimed drama “The Salesman” won the audience award. The film is about a young couple who move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant dramatically changes their life.

Iranian Graphic Designers Win in New York

Two Iranian graphic designers have won awards at a graphic competition in the US. Posters by Mehdi Mahdian and Touraj Saberivand received awards in the poster section of ‘Graphis 2017,’ held in New York, Mehdi Mahdian’s poster shows the relationship between tradition and modernity and classic and contemporary art, while the poster by Touraj Saberivand is a symbolic combination of a dove and a pen designed to support the freedom of journalists.

The oldest Mosaic of the World

Contrary to what is believed, making mosaic did not develop first Ancient Greece or Rome, but in Ancient Iran, with its oldest specimen now preserved in the National Museum of Iran. This mosaic dating back to the third millennium BCE was unearthed in Shahdad in the Province of Kerman. It was discovered by the Iranian Archaeologist Ali Hakemi before the Islamic Revolution and taken to the National Museum. It is now on display for the occasion of the registration of the Lut Desert on the World Heritage List for a month.

Phoolan Trailer wins Award

The trailer for the documentary film about the life of Phoolan Devi the Indian “bandit queen” has won the 1st prize in the Indy Features in Development section of the 2016 My Hero International Film Festival. The movie is directed by Hossein Fazeli and produced by Jack Silberman with Lady Jamil Kharrazi of the Toos Foundation as the Executive Producer. The movie is to be screened in 2017.

The 12th Annual My Hero International Film Festival

Iranian artist’s wall mural turns heads

BOSTON — In a canyon walled by drab grey and brown high-rises, a ragged line of men, women and children hold red helium balloons, ascending a staircase that ends in a spiral at an opening in the roof, where a single giant balloon slips into the blue sky. Two people at the top lift their heads in wonder. Seen by thousands of eyes a day at one of Boston’s busiest intersections, the giant outdoor mural by Iranian artist Mehdi Ghadyanloo, Stairway to Heaven, is a stunning expression of optimism he hopes can lead to better understanding between his homeland and the United States.

The 76-by-70-foot mural, painted on the side of a building across the street from South Station, appears almost three-dimensional, as if the admirer can join the line and find out what great secret awaits above.

“Starless Dreams” wins IDA Pare Lorentz Award

“Starless Dreams” has brought director Mehrdad Oskouei more success in the international arena by winning the Pare Lorentz Award at the International Documentary Association (IDA) in Los Angles. The award recognizes films that demonstrate exemplary filmmaking while focusing on the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems, the IDO announced. The documentary, which has been awarded at many international events, shows the lives of seven young teenage girls sharing temporary quarters at a rehabilitation and detention center on the outskirts of Tehran.

“Starless Dreams” won the Grierson Award for the best documentary at the 60th BFI London Film Festival and the Children’s Rights Award at the 31st Osnabruck Independent Film Festival in October.

Tehran gallery to showcase 1001 ceramic plates

Tehran’s Shirin Gallery will be hosting a charity exhibition of underglazed ceramic plates in November, which have been painted by a number of Iranian artists. In the first phase of the project, 250 works by 250 artists are displaying their works. This is the first part of the project ‘1001 Underglazed Ceramic Plates’, in which 1001 artists will display their paintings in four different exhibits.

The charity exhibit is due to raise funds for the Children’s’ Medical Center in Tehran.

9 Iran Projects Win Asia Architecture Awards

Nine projects from Iran were among the winners of the second 2A Asia Architecture Award which were announced at a ceremony in Vienna last week. The 2A Award is the most prestigious architecture prize for projects in Asia. An international jury selected 160 projects for the final round of the competition, from over 350 submissions, and awarded gold, silver and bronze prizes in a total of seven categories to 23 projects.

Organized by 2A Magazine and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, the event focuses on recognizing an individual’s or group’s contribution to present-day architecture in Asia. This year’s theme was “Innovative Architecture in Asia.”

Just ‘A Moment’ deserves Portuguese accolade

A Moment won the Best Short Film Award at the 9th Porto7, an international short film festival, in Porto, Portugal and the Reset-DoC Award for Intercultural Dialogue at the Capalbio International Film Fest in Italy. Arouca Film Festival aims to encourage filmmakers to produce more films, support and promote new films. The festival was held in fiction, animation, documentary, experimental and music-video sections.

Italian Play of 20,000 Leagues at Baran Theater

The play is underway at Tehran’s Baran Theater Complex. It opened on September 16 and will run through September 23. The play is directed by Pino Di Buduo, the founder and director of the Potlach theater group based in Fara Sabina outside Rome. He has staged the play in 27 other countries.  The hour-long play is the first international performance of Baran Theater Complex. It is spoken in Italian, with Persian captions.

At the beginning the play offers a synopsis of the current circumstances: “Upon the emergence of a monstrous creature in the water, a science professor is assigned to confront the monster that has drowned many ships and passengers.”

8 millennial settlement uncovered in west-central Iran

According to Ghafour Kaka, the head of exploration expedition at the site of Sarsakhti castle hill in an eponymous village in Shazand: the results of cultural findings of archaeological excavation of the area and its surrounding show it has been inhabited since Neolithic age (8000 years ago) until the Qajar Era. Based on Stratigraphic studies of 2012, the site contains relics of Neolithic, Eneolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Parthian, Ilkhanid, and Qajar periods. The excavations of the spring of 2016 carried out with the aim of reaching the oldest human settlement in the area led to very important neolithic and Eneolithic discoveries in a 4 in 6 meters trench. Among the most important findings were simple and decorated potteries, decorative objects, stone tools, bony flag posts, animal figurines, ceramic spindles and casting molds.

‘I Want to Be a King’ receives Russian crown

Ganji received the Best Documentary Award as well as the festival’s Trophy at the awards ceremony of the event which was held from September 5 to 11. Ganji’s 70-minute documentary is about a man called Abbas who has turned his own home to a guest house in a nomadic area of Iran. With the support of his wife and three children, he runs a successful eco-tourism business. He has an ambitious dream, which is to create a new tribe of his own and become the sovereign.

Established in 2005, Kazan International Film Festival is held in the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan. The festival, also known as the Golden Minbar International Film Festival, is also a venue for regular meetings and an exchange of experience between filmmakers.

Iran’s ‘Atlan’ wins Moondance Best Documentary Award

 

The Iranian documentary competed with 47 other documentaries and received the award.  ‘Atlan’ was produced in the northeastern Iranian region of Turkaman Sahra during winter 2012,  ‘Atlan’ narrates the life story of two Iranian Turkaman horse-riding instructors named Ali and Ilhan. Ali plans to get married using the money Ilhan wins in horse racing. However, things do not go as planned since Ilhan faces unpredicted circumstances and Ali has to fight for his horse’s championship. The 17th edition of the festival was held September 4-5 in Colorado, USA.

Spanish fest to screen Iran short films

The festival will screen ‘Lost’ by Mahshid Mahboubifar, ‘Light Sight’ by Seyyed Moslem Tabatabaei on September 16, and ‘´DVLottery’ by Mohsen Zare on September 23. Mahboubifar’s ‘Lost’ narrates a loop in less than 2 minutes. In Tabatabaei’s 8-minute ‘Light Sight’, M.E. is born inside a room made of varied sized spheres and brightened by a floating light. Astonished by the light, he loses himself playing with the spheres, which now respond to the commands of his hands and his adventure begins. Zare’s 3-minute ‘´DVLottery’ is about people who have tried to win a US green card through annual online lotteries. The International Experimental Film and Video Festival, is held on September 9-26

Darugheh House in Mashhad wins UNESCO conservation award

A total of 13 winning projects from six countries — Australia, China, India, Iran, Japan and Pakistan — have been recognized in this year’s Heritage Awards. A panel of international conservation experts met in Bangkok to review the 40 Heritage Awards entries, including 34 in the Conservation category and six for New Design, Mehr News Agency reported. According to UNESCO, the conservation of Darugheh House has reinstated a significant component of the historical townscape of Mashhad. Based on in-depth historical research, verified through archeological excavation, the project preserved the original building’s scale and footprint with a focus on the retention of original materials and reuse of materials from demolished adjacent buildings.

Iranian cartoonists shine at Brazilian exhibition

Iranian cartoonist Alireza Pakdel won the grand prix trophy Zelio Gold at the 43rd International Exhibition of Piracicaba Humor on the theme of Asylum Seekers held in Brazil, the organizers announced Saturday. He received the prize for his untitled work, which shows some European people watching a group of Middle Eastern refugees drowning in an aquarium. This work also brought Pakdel first prize in the Charge Category dedicated to works with journalistic themes.

Winners were announced during the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which will run until October 8. Pakdel’s fellow artists, Nasrin Abdosheykhi and Mojtaba Heidarpanah, were also honored at the exhibition. Abdosheykhi won the first prize in the caricature category while Heidarpanah received an honorable mention.

Footprints of first Aryan kings

On the eastern side of an Uzbeki village near Nazarabad town of Alborz Province in the north of Iran, there is a 7000 years old mound. It is a great ancient site embracing a high central mound 26 meters in height and six other smaller hills called Takhtgaah, Jeyraan, Maral, Dooshaan, Yan and Gomish.. In the course of archaeological excavation carried out, the oldest handmade clay tiles have been discovered in Jeyraan mound. The area was inhabited by Median Tribe until 4000 years ago.
The site is awaiting registration on UNESCO World Heritage List and will soon be inaugurated as a historical monument for visits by the public. The historical monument is of great significance which dates back at least to the fourth millennium BC. Its architecture indicates that bricks were commonly used for construction during the period.

Registration of 5 Historical Sites in Kerman on the World’s Heritage list

Kerman now has the highest number of sites listed on the World Herritage list. While 7000 foreign tourists visited Kerman in 2013, the number increased to 16,000 during the first five month of this year and it is predicted that it will rise to 40 to 50,000 by the end of this year.

Kerman has a great potential and it should prepare itself to host 200 to 300.000 foreign tourists each year.

Source: Tavoos

Jamil Kharrazi Breaking News in the World of Movies

Phoolan Devi (The Bandit Queen), the Movie

This film, soon to be screened, is about a movement, voicing the pain and the injustice against women throughout the world. Phoolan was not just a woman; she was a movement. She shook India to its foundations. She did the impossible and achieved the unthinkable. That’s why she has so many followers today.

Jamil Kharrazi, the Senior Executive producer of this film says: “The legacy continues. This film is not about the past; it is about the future. And I am proud to help to introduce this movement to the world, it is just a beginning.”

Link to the people involved in the production of this film

Link to the trailer of the movie

German Film Museum to Spotlight Iranian Cinema

The German Film Museum (Deutsches Filmmuseum) in Frankfurt is scheduled to host a festival of Iranian movies on June 4 and 5. “Risk of Acid Rain” directed by Behtash Sanaeiha, “Starless Dreams” by Mehrdad Oskui, “Bazaar: From Teheran to Teheran” by Reza Khanlari are among the films the museum will screen.

The festival will also show “Lanturi” and “I’m not angry”, both by promising filmmaker Reza Dormishian. According to the organizers, the museum is dedicated to the medium of film through showcasing its history, aesthetics and influence in a multitude of ways such as exhibitions and screenings in its own theater.

International Green Film Festival openes at Tehran

The 5th International Green Film Festival opened at Tehran’s Felestin Cinema on Friday with participants who are all concerned about the protection of the environment. A selection of 26 full-length documentaries by filmmakers from around the world will be competing in the festival this year. “Revolution” directed by Rob Stewart from Canada, “10 Billion – What’s on Your Plate?” by Valentin Thurn from Germany, “H2Omx” by José Cohen and Lorenzo Hagerman from Mexico, and “Jumbo Wild” by Nick Waggoner from the U.S. are among the submissions.

A section dedicated to short documentaries will also screen eleven films including “Paper Box” by Zbigniew Czapla from Poland and “Food For Thought, Food for Life” by Susan Rockefeller from the U.S. The festival will be running in Tehran and several other Iranian cities until May 20.

Indian festival to screen documentary on Iranian painter

The 6th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, which will open in New Delhi on April 30, is scheduled to screen a documentary, Sultan Muhammad, about one of the greatest of Persian painters and the most notable artist of the Safavid school at Tabriz during the 16th century.

Iranian film producer on Cannes jury

Katayoon Shahabi, Iranian producer will be on the jury at the 69th Festival de Cannes presided by the Australian director, screenwriter and producer, George Miller. He will be joined by eight luminaries of world cinema, from Iran, Denmark, United States, Italia, France, Canada and Hungary. The Jury includes four women and four men. The 69th Festival de Cannes will be held from May 9-11, 2016.

Katayoon Shahabi has her own company, Noori Pictures, which had a prize winning film in Venice film festival last year.

UCLA to host celebration of Iranian cinema

The UCLA Celebration of Iranian Cinema will be held at the Billy Wilder Theater from April 30 to May 22. A lineup of movies, including “Dolls Don’t Know” directed by Nava Rezvani, “Two” by Soheila Golestani, “The Sale” by Hossein Shahabi, “Time to Love” by Alireza Raissian and “Risk of Acid Rain” by Behtash Sanaeiha, will be screened during the celebration.

The event is organized annually by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, which has showcased the ever-unfolding film tradition of Iran for southern California audiences over the past two decades.

Tehran to host festival of silent films

Tehran will be playing host to its first festival of silent films, which is scheduled to be held from April 30 to May 7. Forty-five fiction, animated and documentary films will be screened at the festival, which will be held at the Tehran University of Art.

“Hunter” by Scott Barley from Wales, “Trilogy of Silence” by Diego Fiori from Austria, “Displacement” by Manuel Álvarez-Diestro from England and “Chamber Music” by Katharina Blanken from Germany are among the films. The films have been selected from among over 800 submissions from around the world. The Experimental and Documentary Film Center and the Tehran University of Art festival are the main sponsors of the event.

Pavao Toth Displays Photos of Iran

An exhibition underway at the Photo Club Gallery (Fotokluba) in Zagreb is displaying photos of Iran by Croatian photographer Pavao Toth. The exhibition entitled “Iran, Persia, the People” focuses on historical sites, ordinary people of Iran and their lives. Toth took the photos during his several journeys to Iran over the past few years. His interest in the ancient land of Iran, its civilization, traditions and people have always encouraged him to travel to Iran and take more photos and produce additional albums.

The exhibition, which opened on April 5, will be running until April 22.

Rio Center to Hold Abbas Kiarostami Retrospective

A retrospective of works by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami will be held at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB) in Rio de Janeiro from April 13 until May 9, the Rio Times reported on Friday. His 1970 short “The Bread and Alley”, which is his debut film, will be shown during the retrospective. In addition, “Taste of Cherry” (1997), which won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, “The Wind Will Carry Us” (1999), which received the Grand Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and his most recent film “Like Someone in Love” (2012) are among the films selected for the program.

The retrospective also will be held at the CCBB branch in São Paulo from April 20 to May 9 and at the CCBB branch Brasilia from May 4 to 23.

European Tour of Iranian Drama “Hearing”

Amir Reza Koohestani’s drama piece “Hearing” will be staged in several European cities in the upcoming months. The play will first go on stage in Berlin (April 13 and 14) and From June 11-15, at the Brussels Theater Festival in Belgium. From July 21-24, the play will be going on stage in Torino, Italy.

Nowruz Artworks in Tehran

Tehran is a very artistic type of town with many cool artworks, murals and random objects that are spread out all across the city. During the Persian New Year (Nowruz) there were many artworks being installed across the city.

No Man’s Art Gallery to open in Iran

The Amsterdam-based No Man’s Art Gallery will open its ninth international pop-up gallery in Tehran, on March 23rd. The exhibition will showcase the work of Iranian and international emerging young artists.

Salar Jung Museum Opens New Gallery on Iranian Art

The Salar Jung Museum in Heidar Abad, India, opens a new permanent exhibition on Iranian art. According to the Museum specialists, Mr. Jung left behind close to 50,000 art pieces a great number of which are from Iran. The Museum has finally organized all these pieces into a cohesive collection to be presented in the new Gallery on Iranian Art.

Call For Submissions: Iranian Mural Competition

Farhang Foundation is calling on aspiring and veteran artists to submit original designs that conceptualize aspects of Iranian culture. Eligible designs will be considered as the central artwork featured on a series of murals in prominent areas of Los Angeles.

American Artists’ Renditions of Iran on Exhibit in Naples, Florida USA

American Impressionist painter Paul Arsenault is currently showcasing a collection of watercolor paintings from Iran in his hometown in Naples, Florida. According to the artist’s website, these works feature scenes from Iran hoping to preserve the “cradle of civilization” from civil unrest in the region. The paintings are from a recent trip to Iran and feature paintings from historic cities such as Isfahan and Shiraz.

The exhibit is on display at Arsenault Studio and Banyan Arts Gallery in Naples, Florida.

Toos Foundation on Telegram

A Toos Foundation channel has now become active on the Telegram network.

Celebrate Nowruz in LACMA

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will hold joint a day of celebrations with Farhang Foundation on 13th March 2016 to mark the Iranian New Year.  Included in the programme are the world premiere of Whispers of Spring, a multimedia musical performance by Mamak Khadem and her ensemble, a live concert by NIYAZ and a traditional Iranian costume parade.

“Radio Dreams” Wins Hivos Tiger Award at Rotterdam Filmfest

The winner of the Hivos Tiger Award 2016 of the Rotterdam International Film Festival is Radio Dreams by Babak Jalali. Hivos Tiger Awards Competition is about upcoming talent who get a chance to shine on the world stage.

As of 2016, eight films will compete in the Hivos Tiger Awards Competition for a single Hivos Tiger Award. The jury on the winner: “For its subtle and humorous reflection on displacement and alienation of a group of misfits in a foreign culture.”

Iranian Women Documentarists in Belgian Filmfest

The 8th Belgian film festival Elles Tournent will screen three Iranian documentaries. The film festival which screens works by women filmmakers will screen ‘Iranian Ninja’ directed by Marjan Riahi, ‘Vocation: Documentary Producer,’ co-directed by Sepideh Abtahi, Farahnaz Sharifi, Shirin Barqnavard, Firuzeh Khosravani, Mina Keshavarz, Sahar Salahshour, and Nahid Rezaei, and ‘I as in ‘Iran’’ will represent Iran in the event. International women’s film festival. Elles Tournent will be held January 28 – February 01 in Belgium.

Iranian Composer Sahba Aminiakia in San Francisco

Contemporary composer Sahba Aminikia will stage his newest piece ‘Sound, Only Sound Remains’ in San Francisco by the Kronos Quartet and SF Girls Chorus on February 5, 2016.

Speaking on the musical piece, he said that it is a composition based on a Qajar song which is recorded by Loretta Hayrapetyan in Vaziri.

 

Four Iranian Films to vie at 66th Berlinale

The 66th Berlin Film Festival known as Berlinale, February 11, 2016, will show four films representing Iran in various sections of the festival.

Mani Haghighi’s latest film “A Dragon Arrives” will be competing in the main section of the festival; Reza Dermishian’s “Lantouri” will be screened in the Panorama section and two other films “Valderama” by Abbas Amini and “Starless Dreams” by Mehrdad Oskoui will be screened outside the competition as part of the “Generation” section of the festival.

Iranian Video-Art in Milan, Italy

Art work by Iranian video artists will be screened at Video-Art Box and also online by visualcontainer TV in Milan, Italy during the months of January and February 2016.

The artists featured in this exhibit are: Fatemeh Omidian, Arezou Bagh Sheikhi, Azar khorshid, Setareh Hosseini, Fatemeh Bahmani Syahmard, Shahireh Foroughi, Morvarid Ghasemi, Hamid Ghodradi, Sadegh Asad, Sepideh Amiri, Elika Zarei and Naghmeh Maghsoudlou.

 

Six Artists from Iran, opening today at New York

Global/Local 1960–2015: Six Artists from Iran, opening today at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery, draws upon an impressive collection of more than 200 Iranian artworks. This is the first major museum exhibition in the US to include pioneering Iranian modernists and emerging artists working in Tehran and abroad.

Featured in Global/Local is Shiva Ahmadi, whose paintings are informed by these events. “In my work I am always exploring what is going on in our world. There is always a battle between the good and the bad, there is always . . . a struggle,”

 

The Art of Collecting

Professor Nasser D. Khalili will give a talk  on The Art of Collecting

Tuesday 26th January, 6.45pm – 8.00pm (followed by reception) at Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP.
This event is organised by Asia House and IHF.

Rugs that Look Like Digital Glitches

Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed’s handmade woolen carpets look like they have been through a Photoshop accident. Ahmed takes inspiration from traditional carpets but pushes the boundaries of his craft by crafting carpets that look like they have encountered computer glitches and corrupted images. “My art is an experiment. I want to examine the subject matter to see how deep can we go inside something accomplished and holistic and to observe the influence this kind of a change can have on people,” Ahmed says. The beautiful carpets are on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in the US until January 10.

UNESCO Registers Razi Commemoration

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has added Zakariya Razi’s anniversary to its list of commemorations for the next two years. Razi (854-925 AD), was a Persian polymath, physician, alchemist and chemist, philosopher and an important figure in the history of medicine.

Iranian Contemporary Art in Paris

The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is presenting “Unedited History, Iran 1960-2014” at ARC. Comprising over 200 works for the most part never shown in France before, the exhibition brings a fresh eye to art and visual culture in Iran from the 1960s up to the present. Its survey of the contemporary history of the country is arranged in sequences; the years 1960–1970, the revolutionary era of 1979, the Iran-Iraq war (1980–1988) and the postwar period up until today.

“Unedited History” will run from May 16 to 24 August, 2014 at The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

International Seminar on Shakespeare at Tehran University

An International Seminar on ˈWorld Studies on Shakespeareˈ will be held at Tehran University on September 22-23. Topics for discussion in the seminar include ˈShakespeare and Iranian attitudeˈ, ˈShakespeare from eastern perspectiveˈ, ˈShakespeare and Mysticismˈ, ˈShakespeare and political discourseˈ and ˈShakespeare and cinemaˈ.

London exhibits unseen work by Iranian photographers

“Burnt Generation” is the title of an exhibition of work by eight contemporary Iranian photographers which is currently held at The Terrace Rooms, Somerset House, The Strand in London. On view from 10th April until 31st May, 2014, the exhibition has been organized by Candlestar and showcases works by Azadeh Akhlaghi; Gohar Dashti; Shadi Ghadirian; Babak Kazemi; Abbas Kowsari; Ali Nadjian/Ramyar Manouchehrzadeh; Newsha Tavakolian and Sadegh Tirafkan.

Exhibition of Contemporary Iranian Photography in LA

California State University, L.A. will host an exhibition of contemporary Iranian photography scheduled to open on April 12, 2014, at the Fine Arts Gallery of California State Los Angeles. Curated by Abbas Daneshvari, Simin Dehghani, and Marjan Asgari, the exhibit showcases works by a group of Iranian contemporary photographers such as Mohammad Ghazali, Shirin Aliabadi, Parastou Forouhar, Peyman Hooshmandzadeh, Sadegh tirafkan, and others

Iranian filmmaker wins the Cinéma du Réel Grand Prize

Iranian filmmaker Mehran Tammadon won the Grand Prize of Cinéma du Réel film festival in Paris for his documentary entitled “Iranien”. The filmmaker, an Iranian living in France, invites three religious people to live in his family home. His purpose is to see how life in their shared living room can lead to the first rules of co-existence.

Works by Iranian artists at Art14 London

A group of Iranian artists represented by the Tehran based gallery “Shirin”, are to participate in the second annual edition of London Art Fair, which will be held in London’s Olympia Grand Hall, in West Kensington from February 28 to March 2, 2014.

35 years of Iranian photography

The National Iranian Photographer’s Society is organising “10 Days with Photographers”. The exhibition is not aimed at individual photos but to  display “Photo Projects” of Iranian photographers over the last 35 years.

Nikol Faridani, Fakhreddin Fakhreddini, Maryam Zandi, Kaveh Golestan, Mohammad Farnud, Ebrahim Haqiqi, Mahmud Kalari and Samad Qorbanzadeh are among the photographers whose works have been selected for the exhibition.

Iranian documentary “Barekat” wins Chinese Gold Panda Award

“Barekat”, a production of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has won a Gold Panda Award for Best Short Documentary at the 2013 Sichuan TV Festival, which ran from November 16 to 18 in Chengdu, China. The Gold Panda was handed to director Ali-Akbar Kazemi during the closing ceremony, IRIB announced in a press release on Monday.

“Barekat” is a non-verbal documentary featuring the historical process of producing bread from farm to bakery, examining the traditional method of baking in Iran.

Lily Afshar & The Collaborative Orchestra in London

After a successful inaugural concert at St. John’s last July the Collaborative Orchestra conducted by Andrew (Mehrdad) Farid are back with guitarist Lily Afshar to play Joaquin Rodrigo’s masterpiece The Concierto de Aranjuez.

November 2 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm at St John’s Smith Square

Iranian films screened at BFI London Film Festival

The British Film Institue launches the 57th London Film Fest which kicked on October 9th, 2013 Odeon West End, in London. It will showcase films by Iranian filmmakers.

Jafar Panahi and Kambozia Partovi’s Closed Curtain, Mohammad Rasoulof’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn and Asghar Farhadi`s “The Past” will be screened at the festival. “The Fox Who Followed the Sound” an animated Iranian short film directed by Fatemeh Gudarzi and “More Than Two Hours” by Ali Asgari will also go on screen at the event.

Reitberg Museum to host “The Fascination of Persia”

With ‘The Fascination of Persia’, Museum Rietberg in Zurich presents a special exhibition including some 200 works that concentrate on three themes: the fascination with Persia among artists in Baroque Europe, the engagement with European images in Safavid Persia (1590–1720), and contemporary art from Tehran.

The exhibition will open on September 26, 2013.

Restoration plan for Tabriz Bazaar wins award

A restoration plan for the Tabriz Bazaar has won one of the five Aga Khan Awards for Architecture. The award was established by international business magnate Aga Khan IV in 1977 to honour architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community development and improvement, restoration, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.

The Tabriz Bazaar, one of the main trade centres on the Silk Road, was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in August 2010. The bazaar comprises 23 caravanserais, 22 corridors, 20 malls, 28 mosques, 8 madrasahs, 5 bathhouses, 2 icehouses, and a zurkhaneh – a traditional Iranian sports club.

Exhibition of Iranian contemporary art in New York

Asia Society is organizing a landmark exhibition, Iran Modern, that will focus on Iranian art created during the three decades leading up to the revolution of 1979. Asia Society’s aim is to shed light on a period when Iranian artists were engaged with the world through the Tehran Biennial in Iran as well as exhibitions overseas, and when their work was collected by institutions inside and outside of Iran. The exhibition maps the genesis of Iranian modernism in order to argue that the development of modernist art is inherently more globally interconnected than previously understood.

6 September 2013 – 5 January 2014

Iranian Theatre Festival in London

Sam Theatre Company has organised the 1st Iranian Theatre Festival in London from 28-30th June 2013 at the Youth Theatre, London N2.

Toos Foundation, Along the Silk Road at artsdepot

at Arts Depot on

The Toos Foundation presents its hugely popular, vibrant dance/music production, Along the Silk RoadMarco Polo’s travels through music and dance.

A cast of dancers, musicians, poets and actors will take the audience on a musical and historical journey along the Silk Road of ancient times, dropping into different countries along the way to sample their art and culture.

German orchestra to perform Kayhan Kalhor’s work during Palestinian tour

The Dresden Symphony Orchestra (Dresdner Sinfoniker) is scheduled to perform the Symphony for Palestine by the Iranian composer Kayhan Kalhor together with Palestinian and Azerbaijani soloists in its concert tour in Palestine in May and June.

The first performance will be held at the Cultural Palace in Ramallah on May 30 and the orchestra will travel to Al-Quds to perform at Al Hakawati Palestinian National Theater on June 1.

Works by Iranian artists to be exhibited in Tokyo

To mark its 10th anniversary, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo will take up the theme of “love.” and exhibit 200 works by the greatest names in the history of art, including Shirin Neshat and Gohar Dashti.

The exhibition will showcase some 200 works by the greatest artists such as Richard Billingham, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Frida Kahlo, Jeff Koons, Auguste Rodin, Shirin Neshat, Barbara Kruger…

The exhibition will be running from April 26 through September 1, 2013, at Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan.

UCLA Celebration of Iranian Cinema

A number of Iranian cinematic works have been selected to be showcased at the 23th edition of Iranian film festival in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  Maziar Miri’s Saadatabad, Mani Haqiqi’s Modest Reception, Ali Mosaffa’s The Last Step and Rambod Javan’s No Entry for Men are to be screened at this year’s festival. Street Sultans directed by Zeinab Tabrizi and Paliz Khoshdel,Facing Mirrors by Negar Azarbaijani and Downpour by Bahram Beyzaie are also among the participated films.The 2013 UCLA Celebration of Iranian Cinema that started on April 13 will run until April 28.

Symposia Iranica

Symposia Iranica, an international, biennial graduate conference on 13-14 April 2013 with 99 speakers and 24 panels at St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom. The symposium aims to support current and future generations of scholars in Iranian studies by facilitating dialogue and exchange and supporting professional development.

Paris Art Fair to Exhibit Works by Iranian Artists

“Art Paris”, held from March 28 to April 1, brings together 144 galleries, representing 1500 artists from 20 countries, in Grand Palais.
This year`s event will showcase works by some well known Iranian artists such as: Ramin Haerizadeh (Nathalie Obadia Gallery), Rokni Haerizadeh (Nathalie Obadia Gallery), Abbas Kiarostami (De Primi Fine Art), Simin Keramati (Mark Hachem Gallery), Maryam Mahdavi (Perimeter Art & Design), Shirin Neshat (De Primi Fine Art), Farhad Ostovani (Tessa Herold Gallery), Katayoun Rouhi (Taiss Gallery), Moje Assefjah (Tanit Gallery), Kambiz Sabri (Taiss Gallery) and Newsha Tavakolian (Mark Hachem Gallery).

Cyrus Cylinder Touring the United States

The Cyrus Cylinder is a 2600-year old object of modern importance, and a symbol of multi-culturalism, tolerance, diversity, and human rights. The Cylinder will visit the US for the first time in 2013 through a national tour officially sponsored by Iran Heritage Foundation. It will be on exhibit in five major museums across the country.

An Exhibition of Medieval Persian Ceramics

This  exhibition, A Kind of Alchemy: Medieval Persian Ceramics,  by the Frick in Pittsburgh provides a beautiful and fascinating look at the diversity of ceramics made in ancient Persia.

The exhibition will run from February  23, 2013 to June 16, 2013.

Aga Khan Trust for Culture Hosts Jashne Khusrau Festival in Delhi

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) is hosting the Jashne Khusrau festival from 15 February onwards.

The performances will be held at the India Habitat Centre and at specially built venues of the 16th century Chausath Khambha in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti and at the CPWD Sundar Nursery (near Humayun’s Tomb). During the festival, National Museum & National Archives will hold special exhibits focused on Hazrat Amir Khusrau. Doordarshan’s Bharati channel will telecast many of the performances live and also telecast archival recordings related to the legacy of Hazrat Amir Khusrau Dehlavi.

Works by 40 Iranian Women artists to be exhibited in Athens

An exhibition entitled “Unexposed” will be on view in Athens showcasing works by 40 young women artists from Iran. Presented by Elaheh Gallery in Tehran and Art Cantara non-profit organization in Brussels, the exhibition showcases works by 40 young Iranian women artists aged between 20 and 40.
“Unexposed” has been previously exhibited in Brussels in November 2012, and after Athens, the exhibition will also go on display in Warsaw. “Unexposed” will be on view from February 18 to March 31, 2013, in Athens.

The Next Toos Foundation Event – The Silk Road

The 8th programme of the Toos Foundation is titled The Silk Road and is presented as A Tribute to Amir Khosrow, the renowned Persian-Indian musician and sufi-poet of the 13th-14thcentury. This route not only brought the largest volume of goods and services to people everywhere but was instrumental in the global exchange of art and culture and the general broadening of human knowledge and understanding.

This event is devoted to Amir Khosrow, the renowned musician and Persian speaking sufi poet living in Dehli, deservedly so well loved and respected by peoples of different nations along the Silk Road

 

Selected Poems of H.E. Sayeh in English

The  Art of Stepping Through Time (Buffalo, N.Y.: White Pine, 2011), a  selection of work by the Persian-language poet H. E. Sayeh, a highly regarded figure on the Iranian literary landscape, is a welcome addition to the slim body of modern Persian literature in translation. Sayeh is the pen name of Houshang Ebtehaj, born in Rasht in 1927. This book, the first collection of Sayeh’s verse to appear in English, is the result of a collaboration between native English speaker Chad Sweeney, an author of four books of poetry and native Persian speaker Mojdeh Marashi, an artist, writer, and translator.

 

US Boston festival screening Iranian films

The Boston Festival of Films from Iran is screening eight productions by Iranian filmmakers in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts in the United States. The 2013 edition of the festival kicked off on January 19, showing dramas and documentaries from Iranian filmmakers.

The Boston Festival of Films from Iran will run until January 31, 2013.

Homa Gallery: the “Drawing Week”

Homa Gallery plans to mount an annual retrospective exhibition under the title of “Drawing Week” featuring the drawings by the most influential Iranian artists of the last 100 years.

The “Drawing Week” annual show will be running from February 1 to 12, 2013, at Homa Gallery, Tehran.

An exhibition about the history of Iranian Jews

Fowler Museum, with the collaboration of Farhang Foundation is presenting a major exhibition in Los Angeles on the history of Iranian Jews from October 21, 2012 to March 10, 2013. Iran has been a mosaic of ethnicities, religions, cultures, and languages. The exhibition, called Light and Shadows: The Story of Iranian Jews is trying to show this rich and complex history of one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, which dates back nearly 3,000 years.

An Exhibition of works by Sadegh Tabrizi

September 25 until October 5 2012

Gallery 8 of London is to hold an exhibition of the works by Sadegh Tabrizi, a renowned Iranian artist. For the first time in over twenty years, a collection of his paintings will be brought together and exhibited. Tabrizi has been exploring calligraphic painting since the late 1950s.

Films by Abbas Kiarostami to be screened at Louvre

Louvre Museum in Paris has invited famous Iranian director and the winner of Cannes Festival “Palm d`Or”, Abbas Kiarostami to a special program celebrating the inauguration of its new galleries in the Department of Islamic Art which will open to the public on September 22, 2012.

Tehran exhibition reveals hidden Warhol and Hockney treasures

Paintings collected with help of Iran’s last queen, Farah Pahlavi, and safeguarded in the basement of Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art are on show for the first time. It is the finest collection of modern art anywhere outside Europe and the US, boasting works by Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Edvard Munch, René Magritte and Mark Rothko.

NY Metropolitan Museum of Art – Exhibition of Contemporary Iranian Art

March 6–September 3, 2012

This exhibition features works by three generations of Iranian artists four of whom live and work in the United States, while two continue to work in Iran. Despite their diverse modes of expression, these artworks reflect an intrinsic connection with Iran and address issues of identity, political and social concerns, gender, nostalgia, and cultural pride.

Toos Foundation Event – Love Came and Set the World on Fire

Toos Foundation’s next event on 20th November 2011 at London’s Logan Hall, “Love Came and Set Fire to the World”, is described as a journy of light, love and truth alongside Shams and Rumi. This is an event celebrating Iranian mysticism and its famous thinkers and poets with music, dance and plays.

Date: 20th November 2011 – Lond, Logan Hall

Flyers

2nd London Iranian Film Festival

On November 18th 2011, the 2nd London Iranian Film Festival will have its Opening Night at a prestigious London venue, attended by a wide array of industry members. Live entertainment will include traditional music followed by film screenings to introduce new audiences to Iranian culture.

 

London Iranian Film Festival

Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East

The work of more than a dozen influential artists from the Middle East offers a rare glimpse into the contemporary Arab and Iranian art worlds. Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East, curated by noted art historian Karin von Roques, explores the role of traditional Islamic calligraphy and symbols in the contemporary Middle Eastern consciousness.

Exhibition dates: November 10 – December 3, 2011

 

SUNDARAM TAGORE NEW YORK

4th Annual Iranian Film Festival in San Francisco

Iranian Film Festival (IFF) in San Francisco is an annual event showcasing the independent feature and short films made by or about the Iranians from around the world. Its 4th annual event is to be held on September 10-11, 2011. IFF was established to support the Iranian film and culture in the Iranian-American community of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. This year the Festival in San Francisco will hold a tribute to Mr. Ebrahim Golestan, the father of Iranian New Wave Cinema. The festival is open to all genres.

 

Iranian Film Festival in San Francisco

Shahname, Heroic Times – A Thousand Years of the Persian Book of Kings

In 2010 the world celebrated the tenth centenary of the completion of the Persian ‘Book of Kings’. Composed of more than 50,000 rhyming couplets, the ‘Shahnameh’ is one of the greatest epics in the history of world literature. It is approximately twice as long as Homer’s epics and 20 times longer than the ‘Nibelungenlied’. The Persian epic poem covers a phenomenal time span, telling the entire history of the old kings of Iran, from their mythical beginnings right up to the conquest by the Arabs in 651 BCE. The epic was written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi , who by his own estimation spent 25 years composing the work before completing it in 1010 BCE.

 
Berlin State Library’s Oriental Department and the Museum of Islamic Art

A New Exhibition of Persian Miniatures from Shahnameh

The “Shahnameh” is a literary epic. Tens of thousands of verses of poetry merge together myth, legend and history, chronicling the reigns of Persia’s kings. Written in the 11th century by Ferdowsi, one of the giants of Persian poetry, it tells the story of the struggle between good and evil. It lies at the heart of Persian literature, a glittering thread weaving through Iranian culture, stringing together each chapter of the nation’s history.

A new exhibition of “Shahnameh” manuscripts at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge marks 1,000 years since Ferdowsi laid down his pen. All of them are from British collections. Many are incomplete. Britain and Russia played tug-of-war with some of the manuscripts, as they did over Iran itself, finally tearing them apart, each nation hoarding its lonely leaves. Others are in Iran, Dublin and New York.
Fitzwilliam Museum

Ten Thousand Years of Iranian Civilization, Two Thousand Years of Common Heritage

Topkapı Palace Museum hosts the exhibition “Ten Thousand Years of Iranian Civilization, Two Thousand Years of Common Heritage” with the contributions from Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency.

The exhibition which arranged in two sections, named as pre-Islamic and Post-Islamic era , includes nearly 300 works containing cuneiform scripts, calligraphies, miniatures, handwritten manuscripts, human and animal figures, textiles, coins, metal and wood pieces crafted by civilizations existed in the Iranian geography from the exclusive pieces of the collections of The Iranian National Museum, The Topkapı Palace Museum, The Istanbul Archaeology Museums, The Istanbul Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, The Military Museum, The Sadberk Hanım Museum and The Millet Written Works Library.

 

Topkapı Palace Museum

Light and Shadows – the Story of Iran and the Jews

An exhibition devoted to the history, culture and contemporary life of Iranian Jewry opened last week at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv, presenting the first in-depth and comprehensive view of Iranian Jewry through ancient artifacts found in the Persian country.

The story of Iran’s ancient Jewish community unfolds over more than 2,700 years, back to when the Jews were exiled from Jerusalem through to today, after most members of Iran’s Jewish community have relocated throughout the world.

Beit Hatfutsot

Edinburgh Iranian Festival 2011

The Edinburgh Iranian Festival aims to “introduce the tremendous breadth of Iranian history and culture to adults and children in Scotland, and to integrate the two communities through a broad range of interactive events spanning numerous art-forms.”

And so building on the success of the first season of the Edinburgh Iranian Festival in 2009, this year’s festival is taking place between January 28th-February 6th 2011. (Art and photo exhibitions will also be running as pre-festival events beginning in mid-January 2011.

Edinburgh Iranian Festival 2011

A Celebration of Persian Art to Benefit Encyclopaedia Iranica

The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation Cordially Invites You to New York Gala 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
6:30pm – 12:30am

Honoring Two Great Icons of Persian Art:
HAFEZ NAZERI: The Illustrious Composer and Musician
SHIRIN NESHAT: World Famous Film Director & Video Artist

The Rotunda,
Columbia University,
116th Street & Broadway, New York, NY 10027

The Encyclopaedia Iranica