New collections by Iranian artists to spotlight Israeli crimes in Gaza

August 10, 2014, 9:32 am

≫ Next: Iran to support film projects on Israeli war on Gaza, ISIL terrorist actions

TEHRAN – A group of 80 Iranian artists plans to created works on the theme of the Israeli war on Gaza.

The works will be put on display in an exhibition entitled “… Until Freedom” at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center next month, head of the visual department of the center Saba Mobini told the Persian service of IRNA on Sunday.

The works ranging from paintings and photos, to video arts, sculptures and installations will go on show in the exhibit, which will open on September 12, she added.

There is no financial motive behind holding the exhibit, however if any organization is willing to purchase the works to support the artists and their intentions, they are most welcome, she said.

Farideh Shahsavarani, Jinus Taqizadeh, Behnam Kamrani, Shahnaz Zehtab, Simin Keramati, Hamed Nuri, Behdad Lahuti and Rana Javadi are among the artists who are collaborating in this project.

The exhibit will last for one month in the galleries number one and number two of the center.

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Iran to support film projects on Israeli war on Gaza, ISIL terrorist actions

August 10, 2014, 9:35 am

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TEHRAN – The Iran Cinema Organization (ICO) plans to support film projects, which will focus on the Israeli war on Gaza and terrorist attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“The projects on the theme of Israeli crimes in Gaza and ISIL terrorist actions are our first priority,” ICO Director Hojjatollah Ayyubi told the Persian service of MNA on Saturday.

He said that the ICO supports those directors who plan to make films on these two subjects.

The ICO also plans to hold an international film festival and conference on the oppressed people of Palestine this November in Tehran.

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Iran opposes concert gender segregation

August 10, 2014, 9:36 am

≫ Next: Baluchi musician Shir Mohammad Espandar honored

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Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati talks to reporters in an undated photo.

TEHRAN – Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati has said that the government is opposed to gender segregation at concerts.

He made the remarks during a meeting with the provincial managers of the Culture Ministry in Tehran on Sunday.

“Gender segregation is not in agreement with our religious teachings and it will result in the humiliation of the family,” Jannati stated.

Iranian police closed down a concert of pop singer Mohsen Yeganeh in Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province last week and announced that concerts in Iranian cities except Tehran would be held for males and females separately.

The decision sparked a storm of outrage by a number of singers, including Behnam Safavi, who announced they would never give a concert if gender segregation continues.

“The Police have been notified [by the government] that they must be in harmony with the government [policies] in cultural fields,” Jannati noted.

He asked the provincial managers of the Culture Ministry to report any discord.

Meanwhile, National Police Chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam denied the police had made a decision to enforce gender segregation at concerts.

He said that Yeganeh’s concert was shut down due the similarities between the stage decorations of his concert last year in the city to those in discos.

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Baluchi musician Shir Mohammad Espandar honored

August 10, 2014, 9:32 am

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Iranian Baluchi musician Shir Mohammad Espandar (3rd from right) receives a present from Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani during a ceremony held to honor the donali virtuoso for his lifetime achievements in Tehran on August 9, 2014. Several unidentified persons are also seen in the photo. (ISNA/Amir Purmand)

TEHRAN -- Iranian Baluchi musician Shir Mohammad Espandar was honored for his lifetime achievements during a ceremony on Saturday evening.

Some officials and a large number of cultural figures attended the ceremony, which was organized by the Ministry of Cultural and Islamic Guidance.

Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani delivered a speech recalling a memory of his first meeting with the donali (twin reed flute) virtuoso in the early 1990s, when Moradkhani served as the director of the Music Office of the Culture Ministry.

“At that time, I accompanied him during his concert in France. His interaction with the audience was truly amazing,” he said.

He also pointed to another concert by Espandar in Peru, during which he had thrilled the audience with his strong performance. He stated, “We really need persons like Shir Mohammad Espandar.”

Iraj Afshar Sistani, an expert on the history of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan, also gave a speech at the ceremony.

Espandar was born in Bampur in 1927, he said and added, “When he was only a teenager, he left Iran to find work in Pakistan and returned home in 1958 after he had received education on Baluchi music in the country.”

“Music entered the lives of the people in Sistan when they had begun farming and they attach great importance to it in their daily life,” Afshar Sistani stated.

The ceremony went on with a performance by Espandar after which some gifts were presented to him.

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Tehran exhibit to display intl. cartoonists’ works on Gaza

August 11, 2014, 9:27 am

≫ Next: Iranian theater troupes to perform at Swiss festival

≪ Previous: Baluchi musician Shir Mohammad Espandar honored

TEHRAN -- Tehran’s Palestine Museum of Contemporary Art will hang a collection of cartoons by international cartoonists on the theme of the Israeli war on Gaza in an exhibition, which opens tomorrow.

Entitled “Gaza through the Eyes of World Cartoonists”, the exhibition will showcase a collection of 80 cartoons by 20 cartoonists, the museum reported in a press release on Monday.

The collection has been created by artists from Turkey, Brazil, Cuba, Germany, Lebanon and several other countries.

The exhibit has been organized by the Visual Arts of Revolution and Sacred Defense Association in collaboration with the museum.

The museum has recently held an exhibit of photos on the Gaza tragedy under the title “Bloody Rain in Gaza”.

The exhibition runs until August 28 at the museum located on Baradaran Mozaffar St., off Taleqani Ave., near Felestin Sq.

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Iranian theater troupes to perform at Swiss festival

August 11, 2014, 9:27 am

≫ Next: Art news in brief

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TEHRAN – Two theater troupes from Iran will give performances at the 35th Zurich Theater Spectacle, an international festival, which is held in Switzerland every year in summer.

The Mehr Theater Group led by director Amir-Reza Kuhestani will stage Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s “Ivanov”.

Mohammad-Hassan Majuni, Negar Javaherian and Saeid Changizi will be among the cast of the play.

The Papatiha Theater Troupe will premiere “Second like Year” at the festival, which will be held from August 14 to 31.

Hossein Abadi, Maryam Heidari, Tina Yunestabar and Sahar Saba will star in the play, which will be directed by Hamid Purazari.

Each year, the festival gathers 35 to 40 individuals and companies whose creations are marked by formal independence, innovative character and artistic ambition.

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Art news in brief

August 11, 2014, 9:35 am

≫ Next: Works by Iranian graphic designers beelining to Moscow Golden Bee

≪ Previous: Iranian theater troupes to perform at Swiss festival

“Today” to go on screen at Toronto filmfest

TEHRAN – The Iranian drama “Today” will go on screen at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival, which will be held from September 4 to 14.

Directed by Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi, “Today” is about an aging taxi driver who takes a young woman to the hospital at the end of his working day, not knowing what awaits him there.

New Russian version of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam to be unveiled in Moscow

TEHRAN -- A Russian version of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam will be introduced at the 27th Moscow International Book Fair, which will be held from September 3 to 7.

Iran’s Sokhan Publication has published the book, which was translated into Russian by Hossein Sadeqi.

Iran to release collection of 30 years of Iranian war films

TEHRAN – A collection of 30 movies, which have been made on the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war over the past 30 years, will be released in autumn.

The films have subtitles in six languages, including English and Arabic.

The collection entitled “Thirty Year of Sacred Defense Cinema” will be released during the 13th Resistance International Film Festival, which will be held in Tehran, Moscow, and several other cities worldwide during October.

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Works by Iranian graphic designers beelining to Moscow Golden Bee

August 11, 2014, 9:38 am

≫ Next: Veteran actor Entezami and family ask UN to stop Israeli war on Gaza

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A poster for the 11th Golden Bee biennial

TEHRAN – Works by 37 Iranian graphic designers have been selected by the organizers of the 11th edition of the Russian international biennial of graphic design -- Golden Bee, which will be held in Moscow from October 7 to 12.

Majid Abbasi, Mojtaba Adibi, Mohammad Afshar, Shokuh Ahmadi, Armin Amirian, Faramarz Arabnia, Alireza Askarifar, Reza Babajani, Abu Saeid Eskandari and Farhad Fozuni are among the Iranian graphic designers.

Over 1000 works by graphic designers from 57 countries, including China, Germany, Poland, Russia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France and Denmark, will go on display during the biennial, which will be held at the Central House of Artists, the organizers have announced on the website of the event.

Iranian graphic designer Reza Abedini is also a member of the international jury panel. He will collaborate with the other members, Jonathan Barnbrook (UK), Mirko Ilic (U.S.), Lech Majewski (Poland), Eric Belousov (Russia), and Guta Moura Guedes (Portugal).

The highest number of artworks in this edition of the biennial are by artists from Iran, China, Germany, Japan, Poland, and Russia.

Several lectures by international jury members have also been arranged on the sidelines of the biennial.

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Veteran actor Entezami and family ask UN to stop Israeli war on Gaza

August 11, 2014, 9:39 am

≫ Next: Iranian novel on life of Prophet Muhammad (S) appears in Turkish

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Veteran Iranian actor Ezzatollah Entezami talks to reporters during a meeting he and his family held a meeting in front of the United Nations Office in Tehran on August 11, 2014 to ask the organization to stop the Israeli war on Gaza. His son Majid (2nd from right) is also seen in the photo. (IRNA/Mostafa Qotbi)

TEHRAN -- Veteran Iranian actor Ezzatollah Entezami and member of his family went to the United Nations Office in Tehran on Monday and asked the organization to stop the Israeli war on Gaza.

A representative of the office met Entezami and his family and assured them to pass their message on.

“We are the supporters of them [Palestinians] and I hope the war and bloodshed stops soon,” the 90-year-old Entezami told reporters while he was leaving the United Nations Office.

“I really feel sad to see that children in Gaza are being killed every day,” he stated and added, “We are here to stop the killing of the children.”

Entezami’s son, Majid, who is the former conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, his children Sorush and Golnush, and a number of people also accompanied him during the meeting.

“We came here to say that we are still ready to back them [Palestinians] and we will do everything we can to stop the killings,” Majid Entezami stated.

He said that his father himself initiated the movement and no official organization was behind it.

Entezami’s plan to hold the gathering was announced in a statement, which was published by some Persian news agencies on Sunday.

He had also asked people to join the gathering.

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Iranian novel on life of Prophet Muhammad (S) appears in Turkish

August 12, 2014, 8:25 am

≫ Next: Iran to hold cartoon competition on Gaza

≪ Previous: Veteran actor Entezami and family ask UN to stop Israeli war on Gaza

TEHRAN -- A Turkish version of Iranian writer Mohammadreza Sarshar’s novel on the life of Prophet Muhammad (S) has been published in Turkey.

“That Which That Orphan Saw” (“Peygamberimizin Hayati Gozde Yetim”) was translated into Turkish by Hasan Alimi Bektas.

The book, which is written for young adults, was published by Kevser Publications in Turkey.

The book focuses on the life of Prophet Muhammad (S) from his childhood to Hijra, the migration of him and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE.

James Clark has translated the book into English, which was released by Sureh-Mehr Publications.

The book was also translated into Arabic by Batul Meskhinfam and was distributed in Lebanon.

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Iran to hold cartoon competition on Gaza

August 12, 2014, 8:34 am

≫ Next: New award named after Japanese Iranologist Toshihiko Izutsu

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian House of Cartoon (IHC) has organized an international competition of cartoon on the theme of the Israeli war on Gaza.

The competition will be held in the two sections of cartoon and portrait caricature, IHC director Masud Shojaei-Tabatabaii said in a press release on Tuesday.

“Silence of the international media, the massacre in Gaza, and the companionship of Arab sheikhs and the United States in the Gaza events are the three categories assigned for the cartoon section,” he explained.

Portraits of world politicians such as Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, David Cameron, and Francois Hollande are also the major theme of the caricature, he said.

World cartoonists are invited to submit a maximum of five works each to the competition website info@resistart.ir before October 22, he added.

The selected works are due to go on display at Tehran’s Saba Art and Cultural Institute in November.

They will also be posted on ww.irancartoon.com, a website dedicated to cartoons in Iran.

According to Shojaei-Tabatabaii, a good number of world cartoonists are expected to take part in the competition.

The first winner will receive a cash prize of $1500, the second $1000 and the third $700.

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New award named after Japanese Iranologist Toshihiko Izutsu

August 12, 2014, 8:34 am

≫ Next: Obscura Festival displays Iranian photographer’s series “Mothers of Patience”

≪ Previous: Iran to hold cartoon competition on Gaza

TEHRAN – Keio University in Japan has established a new research award named after the Japanese Iranologist and Islamologist Professor Toshihiko Izutsu (1914-1993).

Japanese researchers who have compiled or written the best books or articles on Iran and Islam will receive the biennial award in 2015, Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) said in a press release on Tuesday.

The decision was announced during a meeting Iran’s cultural attaché in Japan, Reza Yusefi, had with the officials of Keio University held to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the professor.

Iran’s Cultural Office is due to collaborate with the university in organizing the award.

Toshihiko Izutsu was Professor Emeritus at Keio University in Japan and author of many books on Islam and other religions.

He taught at the Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies at Keio University in Tokyo, the Iranian Institute of Philosophy in Tehran, and McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

He was fluent in over 10 languages, including Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Greek.

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Obscura Festival displays Iranian photographer’s series “Mothers of Patience”

August 12, 2014, 8:34 am

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≪ Previous: New award named after Japanese Iranologist Toshihiko Izutsu

TEHRAN -- Iranian photographer Fatemeh Behboudi’s series “Mothers of Patience” is currently on display at the Obscura Festival 2014, Malaysia’s leading photography festival, which opened in Penang on Monday.

The collection contains photos of the mothers of the soldiers who were reported missing during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

“Years after the war, I met the mothers, who are still waiting to hear from their sons,” Behboudi told the Persian service of FNA on Tuesday.

“With this collection, I wanted to show the world the mothers’ deep sorrow over their unsettling situation,” she added.

The collection is being shown in the Women Photography Showcase section of the Obscura 2014.

The Obscura, which also hosts a series of exhibitions, talks and workshops will run until August 31.

MMS/YAW

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Art news in brief

August 12, 2014, 8:35 am

≫ Next: Strategic research center to formulate new plan for music in Iran

≪ Previous: Obscura Festival displays Iranian photographer’s series “Mothers of Patience”

Iranian, Turkish virtuosos to perform in Izmir

TEHRAN – Iranian Kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor and the Turkish baglama virtuoso Erdal Erzincan will give a concert in Izmir, Turkey.

They will give a performance at Izmir’s Bornova Amphitheater on August 27.

Tehran center to host flamenco concert

TEHRAN – Iranian band Kuchi will give a flamenco concert at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center on August 27.

Led by the guitarist Hutan Vakili-Moqaddam, the band will perform pieces by the Gypsy Kings, Paco de Lucia and Paco Pena.

Tehran Vocal Ensemble to give concerts at Vahdat Hall

TEHRAN – Tehran’s Vahdat Hall will host performances by the Tehran Vocal Ensemble on August 24 and 25.

Led by Milad Omranlu, the ensemble will perform classic, folklore and pop music during the concerts.

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Strategic research center to formulate new plan for music in Iran

August 12, 2014, 8:38 am

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≪ Previous: Art news in brief

The cultural advisor to President Hassan Rouhani, Hessameddin Ashena (1st from left), and Deputy Culture Minster for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani (2nd from left), composer Hossein Alizadeh (1st from right), and two unidentified persons attend a session at the CSR in Tehran on August 12, 2014 to discuss the Plan for Music in Iran. (Mehr/Hadi Hirbodvash)

TEHRAN -- The Center for Strategic Research (CSR) has been assigned the task of formulating a new plan to replace the Plan for Music in Iran, which was made by cultural officials under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The decision to create a new plan was made during a session held on Tuesday to review the present plan, the secretary of the session, Mohammadreza Fazeli told reporters.

A number of officials, including the cultural advisor to President Hassan Rouhani, Hessameddin Ashena, and Deputy Culture Minster for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani, and a number of experts and musicians, including Hossein Alizadeh, Ali Torbi, Dariush Talaii, Hushang Kamkar and Mohammadreza Darvishi attended the session.

“There is a consensus among officials, experts and musicians that the present plan is unacceptable,” Fazeli said.

“The experts say that proper professional supervision was not provided for formulating the plan,” he added.

He said that the Center for Strategic Research in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance will use experts and musicians to formulate a new comprehensive plan for music in the country.

Fazeli also noted that ulama’s views will also be taken into consideration in making the plan.

The Center for Strategic Research was previously assigned the task of revising the Plan for Organizing and Development of Iranian Cinema, which was made during the second term of Ahmandinejad’s administration.

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Iran to hold cartoon competition on Gaza

August 12, 2014, 8:34 am

≫ Next: New award named after Japanese Iranologist Toshihiko Izutsu

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