Iranian Artists Forum explores Plasco tragedy with “Love and Fire”

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Date: 14 March 2017
Works by photojournalists covering the raging inferno in Tehran’s Plasco Building in January and events in the aftermath of the tragedy are on display in an exhibition titled “Love and Fire” at Momayez gallery in the Iranian Artists Forum.

The exhibition that opened on Sunday showcases photos of the very first moments Plasco caught fire until the funeral of the brave firemen who were killed in the collapse of the building.

Plasco, a 17-storey mega mall in downtown Tehran, collapsed to the ground three and a half hours after it caught fire, and sixteen firefighters and a number of citizens lost their lives in the tragic incident.

According to the secretary of the exhibit Hamed Jafarnejad, the exhibit puts the spotlight on the round-the-clock endeavors of the firemen.

“We aim to express our thanks to the firefighters and pay respects to the families of the victims,” he added.

A selection of the photos of the Plasco tragedy is scheduled to be published in a book in the near future.

The three-day exhibit has been arranged in collaboration with the Puya Journalists Club, a photojournalists club, which is affiliated with the Tasnim News Agency.

Source: Tehran Times

Museum of Tbilisi History to Host Exhibition of Iranian and Georgian Photographe

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Date: 12 March 2017
The National Museum of Georgia and the Department of Culture of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Georgia has organized an exhibition of Georgian and Iranian photographers for an Iranian photography and film retrospective week.

The exhibition, entitled “Sea: A Symbol of Friendship,” unites sixty works by Georgian and Iranian artists and introduces the theme of the sea as a symbol of unity and friendship. The sea is a mood and a space that represents anything related to humanity and society.

The photo exposition will open on March 9th, at 18.00 in the museum of Tbilisi history (Karvasla) 8, Sioni Street Tbilisi. The exhibition closes on March 11th.

Alternatively, cinema lovers will have a chance to attend an Iranian film retrospective at the Tbilisi State Institute of Theatre and Film on March 10th.

Source: Georgia Today

Photography Exhibition “Deserts of Iran” at Nikon Plaza Ginza, Tokyo.

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Date: 12 February 2017

An exhibition underway at Tokyo’s Nikon Plaza Ginza is showcasing photos of Iranian deserts by Iranian photographer Afshin Valinejad.

The exhibition entitled “Deserts of Iran” opened yesterday. It is one of his four consecutive exhibits, which will be held at the center in the near future.

The exhibition displaying digital photos of the Lut Desert in the central Iran will run until 21February 2017.

The second exhibition named “Kyoto” will be held from 22 February 3 March 2017 and the third exhibit “Spider” will be organized from 4 to 14 March 2017.

“Tehran’s Milad Tower” is the last exhibition, which will be held from 15 – 25 March 2017.

Source: Tehran Times

Reza Kianian appointed Debenhams social responsibility ambassador

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Date: 5 February 2017

Actor Reza Kianian was appointed the social responsibility ambassador of Debenhams, the UK-based department store chain, during the opening ceremony of his photo exhibit ‘Infatuated by Infinite Blue’ at Tehran’s Art Center on Friday.

“Social responsibility means we do not wait for the government and the public sector to help us. We do our work ourselves, that is, to learn to stand on our own two feet. Look at the number of galleries and theaters established recently, this mean we can do things ourselves,” Kianian said at the ceremony.

“One of the companies that stepped in to carry on social activities is Debenhams, which has begun to support Iranian costume designers and help introduce them to the world. The company has also begun to reproduce domestically-produced Iranian appliances in new designs,” he added.

“The company also offered to support my exhibit, but I proposed that they buy artworks instead; this means social responsibility,” he remarked, adding that Debenhams has officially joined the supporters of Iran’s visual art.

In his brief words Art Center Founder Vahid Malek also called it a good movement for famous companies and brands to support art. “But when a company buys artworks to support an exhibition it helps promote art and this is a new movement,” he said.
The actor’s collection titled “Infinite Blue” is composed of 24 photos, 12 of which feature photos of the galaxy and the other 12 objects left on the Anzali Marsh.

The ceremony was attended by a large number of officials, fans and art lovers including Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, photographer Fakhreddin Fakhreddini and painter Gholamhossein Nami.

Kianian is among the supporters of the campaign launched by a number of environmental activists to save and restore Lake Urmia from environmental ruin.

He dedicated his present photo exhibition to the veteran photographer Nasrollah Kasraian

The exhibit will be running until February 13 at the gallery located at North Salimi St., Andarzgu Blvd. in the Farmanieh neighborhood.

Photo: Reza Kianian in front of one of his photos on display at his photography exhibition titled: “Infatuated by Infinite Blue”

Source: Tehran Times

Russian museum to host “Beautiful Iran”

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Date: 28 January 2017

Twenty-five works by a number of Iranian photographers will be showcased in an exhibition, which will open at the Vernadsky State Geological Museum in Moscow on 31 January 2017 for a week.

The weeklong exhibition entitled “Beautiful Iran” will display Iran’s beautiful nature and other tourist attractions.

The showcase has been organized by Iran’s Cultural Office in Moscow to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

Source: Tehran Times

Exhibition of Kiarostami’s last photos at Art Basel

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Date: 21 January 2017

Art Basel, the giant Swiss art fair, plans to showcase a final photography series from world-renowned Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami in an exhibition during its Hong Kong edition in spring.

Kiarostami, who achieved global recognition for Iranian cinema after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, passed away last year in July.

The exhibition will be held from 23 to 25 March 2017.

Photo: A photo by Abbas Kiarostami

Source: Tehran Times

Exhibition of selected works of the 2nd Rural Houses Photography Contest

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Date: 18 January 2017

An exhibition of selected works of the 2nd Rural Houses Photography Contest will be held on 19 January 2017 at Imam Ali Museum.

The call for this competition was published with the aim of documentation of Iranian rural architecture and identification of climatic, economic, cultural social, natural calamities on rural texture and dwelling in two sections under the secretary of Mahnaz Shafiee.

5278 photographs by 1312 photographers were received with 122 of them finding their way to the present exhibition.

The special section of the exhibition will display 28 photographs by the veteran guest artists on the themes of competition.

The themes of single frame photographs include: old life in the new body, new life in the old body, the relationship between culture and rural architecture, subsistence-centered dwelling, the architecture of rural dwelling (interior and exterior), rural dwelling and natural calamities with physical texture compatible with the environment.

The exhibition will run at Imam Ali Museum until 11 February 2917.

The photography exhibition of rural houses is planned by the department of rural restoration and dwelling together with the research center of Rural dwellings. The exhibition is held by the art and cultural institute of “kargahe khyal’ (imagination workshop). For more information you can contact 021-66465440.
Photo: Poster of the Selected Exhibition of the 2nd Rural Houses Photography Contest

Source; Farairan

Kerman museum to showcase Kiarostami’s “Window to the Life”

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Date: 2 January 2017

The Sanati Museum of Contemporary Art in Kerman is planning to showcase world-renowned Iranian art icon Abbas Kiarostami’s photo series “A Window to the Life”.

A weeklong exhibition, which will open on January 5, will put 40 photos from the collection on display, the museum announced on Sunday.

Windows are the central theme of the series, part of which was put on display in an exhibit at Tehran’s Boom Gallery in memory of the auteur, poet and photographer, who passed away in July 2016 at the age of 76.

“I first began with these windows, some of them were situated in a beautiful wall, and my camera gradually began to distance from the windows and moved toward the walls and ‘The Wall’ series appeared. The walls belong to the entire world but each one belongs to a specific place,” Kiarostami had said about his series “A Window to the Life.”

Kiarostami also created the photo series “Snow White”, “Roads”, “Moonlight”, “Doors without Keys” and “Doors and Memories.”

Once Kiarostami had said, “Why are we always trying to define cinema separately from photography and music. They are connected, they mingle and they are interwoven. Why do we like to have something very specific and defined? If that were the case, then the person who likes cinema shouldn’t go to the gallery or vice versa. We have to have them all together.”

He had asked his fans to look at his photos if they want to learn about his professional life. “Find me in my photos,” he had once said, “My photos are the source of inspiration for all my films.”

Source: Tehran Times

Iranian artist Javad Alizadeh honored at UN/Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Awards

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Date: 31 December 2016

Iranian cartoonist Javad Alizadeh received one of the ten honorable mentions at the United Nations/Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Awards for 2016, the organizers announced on December 15.

He received the honor for his untitled work, which depicts a poor barefoot man who puts his shoes up for sale.

Miroslav Barvircak from Slovakia won the first prize while Yonatan Wachsmann from Israel and Steve Sack from the U.S. received second and third prizes.
Winners were selected by a jury composed of former secretary-general of the United Nations Kofi Annan, several political and cultural figures and a group of envoys at the United Nations.

Nine more cartoonists from Afghanistan, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, China, Turkey, Thailand, the U.S. and Brazil were also honored.

The annual political cartoon awards was established by the United Nations in 2000 and named after cartoonist Ranan Lurie.

Source: Tehran Times

Iranian photographer wins award at Japanese contest

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Date: 31 December 2016

Iranian photographer Amir Shokrgozar won one of the three special prizes at the 77th International Photographic Salon of Japan last week.

He received the prize for his single untitled photo, which depicts a boy with his herd in a heavy snow.

Two other special prizes were presented to Serbian photographer Bojan Petrovic for “MP” and Israeli photographer Leonid Goldin.

The contest offered 124 honorable mentions to photographers from over 70 countries including 12 photographers from Iran.

“Where” by Vahid Babai, “Stop War Crimes” by Seyyed Ali Miremadi, “Rain” by Seyyed Mohammad-Sadeq Hosseini, “Mirror” by Parisa Fahami and “In Class” by Mohammad Golchin Kuhi received honorable mentions.

“Bustle” by Mohammad Sobati-Azar, “Hidden Way” by Mehdi Nazari, “No Title” by Mehdi Heidarinejad, “Cold” by Mehdi Aqiqi, “My Husband” by Ghadir Vaqari, “Mourning for Father” by Amir-Hossein Kamali and “The Old Village” by Amin Dehqan also won honorable mentions.

A selection of the submissions to the contest will be showcased in exhibitions in Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and other major cities in Japan during March 2017.
The contest has been organized by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper and the All Japan Photographic Federation.

Source: Tehran Times