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TEHRAN – An international exhibition of posters focusing on the liberation struggle icon Nelson Mandela will open at the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) in Tehran on Friday.
“Nelson Mandela, the Bird of Freedom” features the moral values of the anti-apartheid South African leader who promoted forgiveness and reconciliation in the world, IAF director Majid Sarsangi said in a press conference on Monday.
“In a world drowned in politics, where kindness and compassion are being ignored, Mandela was an individual who preserved his moral values while engaging in his political activities. He spent many years in prison but he forgave his enemies when he was freed and tried to infuse the spirit of kindness into the (hearts) of his people,” he said.
Mandela’s all-out effort to establish world peace is the other reason behind holding the exhibit, Sarsangi added.
Organizer of the exhibit Yazdan Sadi called the death of Mandela the most significant event in 2013, citing it as the major reason for arranging the exhibit.
Swiss artists Sabina Oberholzer and Renato Tagli, and American poster designer Scott Laserow worked together as jury members of the exhibit, and have selected the final works for the show, Sadi added.
“A total of 76 posters by 63 artists from 22 countries including Iran, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Britain, Peru and Turkey will go on show in the week-long exhibit,” Sadi stated.
A number of foreign ambassadors and diplomats are expected to attend the opening ceremony. The Forum is located on Musavi St., off Taleqani Ave.
Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years for defying the racist apartheid government that led South Africa for decades. He emerged from prison in 1990 and became South Africa’s first Black president four years later.
Mandela died on December 5, 2013 at the age of 95 after months of struggling with an illness.
RM/YAW
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