Milad Tower to host exhibition of Iran’s national souvenirs

April 10, 2015, 11:01 am

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TEHRAN – Tehran’s Milad Tower will host the first exhibition of Iran’s national souvenirs from April 12 to 15.

 

The exhibition aims to introduce public with Iranian products and souvenirs made in different provinces, deputy director of investments at Iran Tourism Development Corporation Amir Akramzadeh told CHN on Wednesday.

 

The exhibition is organized by the Iran Tourism Development Corporation and the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handcrafts Organization (CHTHO), he added.

 

CHTHO Director Masud Soltanifar will attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition on Sunday, he announced.

 

The exhibition also aims to explore standards and strategies to boost market for Iranian souvenirs and potentialities of international airports, hotels and residences inside and outside the country for offering the goods, he added.

 

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Art news in brief

April 10, 2015, 11:21 am

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Iranian film festival underway in Venezuela 

TEHRAN – An Iranian film festival opened in Caracas and eleven other Venezuelan cities on Thursday.

 

“The Maritime Silk Road”, “The Last Supper”, “Kandelos Gardens”, “Saint Mary”, “No Men Allowed” and several other movies are scheduled to be screened during the festival.  

 

Jointly organized by the Iranian Culture Center in Caracas and the National Cinemateca Foundation of Venezuela, the eight-day event will come to an end on April 16. 

 

 

New Persian version of “White Nights” to be unveiled at TIBF 

 

TEHRAN – Mahi Publications plans to unveil a new pictorial version of Fyodor M. Dostoyevsky’s “White Nights” at the 28th Tehran International Book Fair, which will be held from May 6 to 16.

 

Rendered into Persian by Sorush Habibi, the short story is being told in first person by a nameless narrator in Saint Petersburg. The book was originally published in 1848.

 

Azerbaijani media delegation visits northern Iran 

TEHRAN – An Azerbaijani media delegation composed of seven reporters and cameramen arrived in Iran early on Friday.

 

The delegation plans to visit some tourist resorts in the northern Iranian provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan. 

 

The journalists work for APA TV, and the Social TV and Broadcasting Company, and the news agencies Azeri Report, Trend and Novosti-Azerbaijan.  

 

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Beijing film festival executive sees Iran as role model in cinema development

April 10, 2015, 11:30 am

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TEHRAN -- Zhao Zhiyong, the executive deputy secretary general of the Organizing Committee of the 5th Beijing International Film Festival, has said that Iranian filmmakers can be a role model for those Chinese cineastes seeking progress.

 

“Iranian cinema is in an ideal situation, from which Chinese filmmakers should learn a lot,” he told the Persian service of the IRNA on Thursday.

 

He praised Iran’s Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s contribution to Asian cinema and added, “Iran’s cinema enjoys a unique high status across the world and we as an Asian nation pay special respect to it.”

 

He said that paying attention to the preservation of national cultural origins and religious values, and showing respect for national traditions and luminaries are some of the lessons that Chinese cineastes should learn from Iranian cinema.

 

Zhao also said that the Beijing International Film Festival can provide the opportunity for Iranian and Chinese filmmakers to expand collaborations.

 

“Impermanent”, Iranian filmmaker Amir Azizi’s debut, will be screened in the competition section of the 5th Beijing International Film Festival, which will be held from April 17 to 20.

 

Fourteen other films from China, France, Italy, UK, Russia and several other countries will also be competing in this section.

 

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Tehran new gallery to open with joint exhibition by Iranian, Italian artists

April 10, 2015, 11:30 am

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TEHRAN – A new gallery will open in Tehran tomorrow with a joint art performance entitled “Going to…” by Saba Najafi from Iran and Loredana Galante from Italy.

 

The gallery named Today Art Gallery has been established by Arezu Aqaii.

 

“Saba and Loredana have achieved an effect of fragility and power, and spiced it up with opulent femininity,” Italian critic Alessandra Radaelli wrote in an article, which has been published in Wall Street International Magazine.

 

“The installation is a range of fabric hanging from the ceiling in circular free form. The concept is inviting and welcomes the viewer into its embrace. 

 

“The performance resembles a ritual where binding and opening the knots allows change, transformation, influence and ascendance.”

 

Moreover, painter and art critic Behnam Kamrani has also written a note about the exhibit.

 

“Saba Najafi has made use of different pieces of textiles with different patterns, while Loredana has made drawings on embroidered pieces of cotton. 

 

“The two will begin their performances by tying and untying the knots in a ritual performance. Pieces of cotton and knots have always been the first companions of man. Clothes are the closest thing to the body and have always remained with man during life and death,” says part of the note written by Kamrani.

 

The exhibit will be running until April 26 at the gallery located at 19 Lashkarak Alley, Rudbar St. off Mirdamad Ave.

 

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Morteza Sarhangi named 2014 Top Artist of Islamic Revolution

April 10, 2015, 9:36 pm

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TEHRAN – Morteza Sarhangi, writer of books on 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, known as Sacred Defense in Iran, has been selected as the 2014 Top Artist of Islamic Revolution.

 

A large number of writers and artists attended a ceremony held by the Art Bureau at Andisheh Hall in Tehran on Wednesday to present the title to the winner.

 

The award, which includes 22 Bahar Azadi gold coins, was established this year by the Art Bureau, which is affiliated with the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization (IIDO).

 

IIDO Director Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Mehdi Khamushi, Art Bureau Director Mohsen Momeni-Sharif also attended the ceremony.

 

After accepting the prize, Sarhangi said that he preferred to relate some of his memories of the Iran-Iraq war rather than give one of the usual speeches.

 

“Like Moon”, ”My Name Is Keffiyeh”, “Khorramshahr, Jahanara Alley”, “Big Life, Little House” and “Morteza Was Mirror of My Life” are among Sarhangi’s noteworthy credits.

 

Filmmakers Ebrahim Hatamikia and Narges Abyar, graphic designer Masud Nejabati and poet Fazel Nazari were also nominated for the prize.

 

Several writers, including Mohammad-Kazem Mazinani, author of the book “The Ah with a Sheen”, and Ahmad Dehqan, the author of “Bearing 270 Degrees”, also received honorable mentions at the ceremony.

 

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Art news in brief

April 11, 2015, 11:24 am

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Persian calligraphy exhibit underway at Tokyo museum

TEHRAN – An exhibition of calligraphy works by Iranian artists is currently underway at the Ancient Orient Museum in Tokyo. 

 

Some pottery bearing Arabic inscriptions has also been put on display at the exhibition, which runs until May 17.  

 

 

New director of Art and Cultural Organization appointed

TEHRAN – Mahmud Salahi was appointed as the new director of the Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality on Saturday. 

 

Hojjatoleslam Shahab Moradi, the previous director, held the position since November 2013.

 

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Tehran to host Omani cultural night

April 11, 2015, 11:42 am

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TEHRAN – Tehran’s Milad Tower will host an Omani cultural night, which will be held on the sidelines of the 28th Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) on May 7. 

 

The ceremony will be attended by Omani Minister of Information Abdulmunim bin Mansour bin Said al-Hasani and several other Omani and Iranian officials, the Persian service of FNA reported on Saturday. 

 

Oman, which will be the guest of honor at the TIBF, also plans to organize a similar program at its pavilion during the book fair.

 

Omani Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Salmi has also been invited to pay a visit to the TIBF.  

 

Meetings, musical performances, handicraft exhibitions, movie screenings and several other programs have also been arranged by Oman for the book fair.  

 

The book fair will be held at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla from May 6 to 16.

 

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Iran seeks UNESCO world heritage status for kamancheh

April 11, 2015, 11:46 am

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TEHRAN -- Iran has nominated the kamancheh, a treble instrument in the family of Iranian folk bowed instruments, to be registered on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

 

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) has sent a file containing information about the instrument to UNESCO, CHTHO’s Department for Registration of Natural, Historical and Intangible Heritage Director Farhad Nazari told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

 

UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will decide on the file during its annual session in 2016.

 

Iranian musician and expert Dariush Pirniakan has collaborated with CHTHO in editing and compiling information for the file.

 

“We saw that some countries in the region have claims on the instrument, consequently, we tried to compile the information and documents for the file as soon as possible to send to UNESCO,” Pirniakan said.

 

UNESCO has recently acknowledged receipt of the file, he added.

 

To improve the file, a video has been produced depicting how the kamancheh is made and played, as well as Iranians’ comprehension of the instrument, he stated.

 

“The video also shows how Iranian people clad in their local costumes learn to play the kamancheh and how they hold educational courses on the instrument,” he added.

 

Pirniakan said that an excerpt of the video will be enclosed with the final file.    

 

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the kamancheh “apparently originated in northern Persia.”

 

The kamancheh is a spike fiddle. Its small, round or cylindrical body appears skewered by the neck, which forms a “foot” that the instrument rests on when played. 

 

Measuring about 76 centimeters from neck to foot, it has a membranous belly and, typically, two to four strings tuned in fourths or fifths. The musician, who plays while seated, rests the foot of the instrument on his knee.

 

It “was mentioned by the 10th-century philosopher and music theorist al-Farabi. Though still common in the Middle East and Central Asia, it has given way in North Africa to the European viola and violin, which are called kamanjas.”

 

However in keeping with traditional kamancheh playing style, the instrument is held vertically rather than horizontally.

 

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Photo collection highlights Holy Quran’s presence in daily life of Iranians

April 11, 2015, 11:49 am

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TEHRAN – Photographer Amir-Ali Javadian has put the spotlight in one of his collections on the presence of the Holy Quran in the daily life of Iranians.

 

He plans to publish the collection in a book, Javadian told the Persian service of MNA on Friday.

 

“I have taken these photos for many years. They reflect the presence of Quran in people’s daily lives, during the [1980-1988] Iran-Iraq war, and the presence of Quran at wedding ceremonies or on the Haft Seen table,” he added.

 

The Haft Seen table is set by Iranians during Noruz, the celebration of the Iranian New Year.

 

“Part of the collection contains Quranic art such as mosaic works and tile works bearing verses of the Holy Quran, and one part centers on ‘grand nights’,” he added.

 

The nights of the 19th, 21st, and 23rd of Ramadan are known as the ‘grand nights’, on one of which the Quran was sent down to the Prophet Muhammad (S).

 

Entitled “In the Shadow of Inspiration”, the book will contain six chapters and is expected to be published before Ramadan this summer. 

 

Moreover, Javadian has a collection of photos taken of the precious jewelry kept at the National Jewelry Museum of Iran, and plans to publish the photos for the museum by next month.

 

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Artists to honor painter Parviz Kalantari at Tehran gallery

April 11, 2015, 11:55 am

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A number of contemporary artists will gather on Friday at Ashian-e Naqsh-o-Mehr Gallery to commemorate their friend, painter and children’s book illustrator, Parviz Kalantari, known for his works on Iranian desert villages.

 

“Parviz Kalantari has been a friend of mine for 60 years, and I have a lot of good memories about him. I believe kindness and friendship is a power that impresses everybody, even my friend who is not in the best of health,” Hossein Mahjubi, the owner of the gallery said in a press release on Saturday.

 

Kalantari suffered a stroke last December and has been ill at home ever since.

 

“This ceremony is a good reason to bring old friends together and talk about their friend Parviz,” he said.

 

Writer and researcher Hadi Seif is scheduled to talk about art and character of Kalantari, Mahjubi said.

 

He added that the artist friends will also display a collection of their works in an exhibition opening the same day in the gallery. Mohammad Ehsaii, Ali-Akbar Sadeqi, Nasrollah Afjeii, Gizella Sinaii and Taha Behbahani are among the artists whose works will go on show in the exhibit.

 

Kalantari’s family is also scheduled to lend some of his works for the exhibit.

 

Kalantari, 83, has illustrated 26 children’s books. His works also had been published in textbooks for primary schools in the 1970s.

 

The exhibition will run until April 20 at the gallery located at No. 4, Gol-Mohammadi close to 18th St. off Bokharest St.

 

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