Announcing Winners of the Art Iran Curatorial Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday March 15, 2023
Farhang Foundation and Craft Contemporary Announce the Winners of the Art Iran Curatorial Competition
LOS ANGELES – March 15, 2023 -- Farhang Foundation and Craft Contemporary are proud to announce the winners of the Art Iran Curatorial Competition. The open call, which was announced in 2021, welcomed arts professionals with experience in developing highly focused group exhibitions centered on Middle Eastern art and culture. Entrants were asked to submit a proposal for an exhibition of visual art that evoked themes of Iranian culture and heritage, as expressed in Iran’s contemporary art scene.
The submissions were reviewed by a five-member distinguished panel of jurors, including curator and scholar Fereshteh Daftari, curator Maryam Ekhtiar of The Metropolitan Museum, world-renowned artist Tala Madani, Senior Curator Bennett Simpson of MOCA and Craft Contemporary’s Exhibition Curator Holly Jerger.
After a lengthy review process, the jury panel has unanimously voted to award the ART IRAN Curatorial Competition winning prize to the curatorial team of Roshanak Ghezelbash and Hoda Rahbarnik. Roshanak Ghezelbash is an artist and architect currently based in Los Angeles with a double Master's in architecture and design. Hoda Rahbarnik is an independent researcher and curator with a B.A. in graphic design currently based in Toronto. Together they collaborated on the winning proposal for the upcoming ART IRAN: Falling Into Language exhibition which will open at the Craft Contemporary on January 27, 2024.
“As the news turns to the continuing global challenges faced by women, we hope this exhibition brings inspiration to us all,” said Suzanne Isken, Executive Director of Craft Contemporary. “We expect visitors to find great meaning and make new connections to the culture and heritage embedded in the art works on display.”
“Farhang Foundation is extremely proud to once again join forces with Craft Contemporary in presenting this innovative competition and exhibition, and we are delighted with the powerful voice that both Roshanak and Hoda have presented in their exhibition proposal,” said Alireza Ardekani, Executive Director of Farhang Foundation. “Today more than ever, it is so important to amplify the voice of Iranian artists to the world, and we are honored to award this prize to two incredible curators who have a vision in presenting the talented artists who will be part of the exhibition.”
"ART IRAN: Falling Into Language reflects our love and appreciation for Iranian art and culture," said the winning curatorial team of Roshanak Ghezelbash and Hoda Rahbarnik. "When we landed in this part of the world far from Iran, we were anxious, all while facing a new language and the challenges of cultural differences. The idea behind this exhibition has always been a dream for us. Now that dream is becoming a reality with the tremendous love and support of incredible Iranian artists in the diaspora and this immense opportunity that is ART IRAN."
ART IRAN: Falling into Language will present nine Iranian artists who engage diverse forms of the Persian alphabet, including handwriting, text, and fragments, as essential parts of their artistic practice. The artists presented will include Golnar Adili, Parastou Forouhar, Taraneh Hemami, Elnaz Javani, Maryam Palizgir, Hadieh Shafie, Shadi Yousefian and the team of Neda Moridpour and Pouya Afshar.
ART IRAN: Falling Into Language will open at Craft Contemporary on January 27 and will be on view through May 3, 2024.
ABOUT CRAFT CONTEMPORARY
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Craft Contemporary is a non-collecting art museum whose purpose is to reveal the potential of craft to educate, captivate, provoke, and empower. The museum achieves this mission by exhibiting contemporary art made from craft media and processes, offering creative opportunities for making, supporting craft artists who take traditional craft techniques in new and surprising directions, prioritizing the presentation of work by culturally diverse and underrecognized artists, and fostering collaboration between artists and the public. Craft Contemporary cultivates an environment for people in Los Angeles to deepen their relationship to art, creativity, and one another. For more information, visit CraftContemporary.org |
ABOUT FARHANG FOUNDATION
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Farhang Foundation is a member-supported nonreligious, nonpolitical and nonprofit foundation established in 2008 to celebrate and promote Iranian art and culture for the benefit of the community-at-large. The foundation supports a broad range of academic and cultural activities by funding university programs, diverse cultural programs such as the celebrations of Nowruz, and Shab-e Yalda as well as musical performances, film screenings and festivals. |
For media inquiries contact:
Tannaz Guivi | press@farhang.org / 310-666-1546
