The Tehran Graphic Design Week 2015 started!

The Tehran Graphic Design Week 2015 started on April 26 at the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) as tens of graphic art enthusiasts demonstrated support for the event by gathering outside the venue under the slogan “Graphic Art Needs Promotion”.

“Graphic designs are with us wherever we go. From the moment we wake up, graphic designs are before us telling us what to wear and what is attractive,” said graphics expert Akbar Alemi, a member on the selection committee and the ceremony host.

The head of Iran Graphic Designers Society (IGDS) Ali Rashidi said the extensive world of graphics can offer more than posters and logos and called for Iran to advance in all areas of this pragmatic form of art, Mehr News Agency reported. He took note of “motion graphics and economics of art” as two key areas of IGDS focus this year, and said “this society aims to promote non-still (non-print) graphics.”

French graphic designer Ruedi Baur, who was a guest invitee, said “motion graphics cannot be defined as they are out of our control”. Australian designer Ken Cato opposing the view, stated that motion graphics “even defines throwing up your business card up in the air,” and to prove a point, he did just that.

An introduction to motion graphics and its applications on DVDs was unveiled by Mahdi Mahdian, secretary of the event.

In addition to the two international guest invitees, a number of renowned figures attended the function, including graphic designers Ghobad Shiva, Majid Balouch, Amrollah Farhadi, Mostafa Asadollahi, typography designer Masoud Sepehr, and calligrapher Bahram Kalhornia.

The Tehran Graphic Design Week usually kicks off every year around the World Graphic Design Day which is on April 27. The Tehran Beautification Organization, Contemporary Art (Honar Moaser) Publications and Sepia Co. cooperated with IGDS running the event.

According to Mehdi Mahdian the works exhibited were selected by a committee composed of Akbar Alami, Bahram Azimi, Reza Alavi, Mehrdad Sheikhan and Amir Mohammad Dehetani.

Tehran Graphic Design Week 2015 features various programs such as commemoration of a veteran artist and exhibition of works by two international graphic designers. The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art displays works by graphic designers Rudie Baur from France and Ken Cato from Australia in separate exhibitions.

Tehran Graphic Design Week 2015 runs for one week in the Iranian Artists’ Forum located on Musavi St., off Taleqani Ave, Tehran.

Program (in Persian): Iranian Graphic Design Society | Graphic Design Week 20015 – Program

Sources: Culture and Heritage National Agency, Tavoos Online, Tehran Times, ISNA | Photos

Iran’s North Khorasan Province: Aspakhu Fire Temple

The Aspakhu (Espakhou) Fire Temple is one of the oldest structures in Iran’s North Khorasan Province. According to studies and excavations it belongs to the Sassanid era (AD 224 to AD 651).

It is located by the village of Aspakhu (also romanized as Espakhou, Aspakhv), 65 kilometers west of Ashkhaneh, in Maneh and Samalqan County, North Khorasan Province, Iran.

The temple is built on top of a high hill next to a forest of pines and cedar trees. Beyond its entrance into a rectangular yard, a corridor leads to a domed room in the eastern part of the structure. The Fire Temple has a domed roof and consists of stones and mortar, further strengthening the assumption of its Sassanid origins. It is believed that the Fire Temple gets its name from the word Hasb which gradually evolved into Asb (meaning horse). The area and village in particular appeared to have been a training ground for horses.

Photos by Ehsan Kamaly for Mehr News Agency.

Locals refer to the Fire Temple as a church although there has been next to no evidence of any past Christian residents. Furthermore the domed roof, its scattered slits (presumably to allow smoke to escape), and its round altar give the Fire Temple theory more credibility.

A fire temple in Zoroastrianism is the place of worship for Zoroastrians. In the Zoroastrian religion, fire, together with clean water, are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white “ash for the purification ceremonies [is] regarded as the basis of ritual life,” which, “are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple [fire] is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity” (Boyce, 1975:455).

In 2010-2011 studies were being made to research the feasibility of renovations to the Fire Temple. The Espakhoo Fire Temple has been registered as a national heritage site, with the number 1579, by Iran’s Cultural Heritage Department.

A beautiful photo of Aspakhu Fire Temple at night by Abbas Rastegar: National Geographic | Your Shot | Aspakhv fire

Sources: Mehr News Agency | Aspakhv Fire, Payvand News of Iran, Historical Iranian Sites and People | Espakhoo Fire Temple, Wikipedia | Aspakhu

 

Photos: International Equestrian Tournament for teenage jockeys was held in Chitgar Park in Tehran, Iran

Thirty eight jockeys competed in the 1st International Equestrian Tournament for Juniors (jockeys aged between 14 and 18) organized by the Equestrian Federation of Iran.

The tournament took place from April 23 to April 24 in Chitgar Park, Tehran. Embassadors from Belgium, Belarus, Spain and Turkmenistan visited the event. The first place went to Sobhan Youssefi riding Fouravar, Arshia Tassafi riding Butterfly took the second place and Amir Azsalan Tambakoukar riding Jalisco the third.

The restults on Thursday were:
1st place: Salar Golestanian riding Anora,
2nd place: Mehrdad Ameri riding Karbeh and
3rd place: Sobhan Yousefi riding Fouravar

Sources: International Equestrian Federation | Calendar , IRNA | Photos, Equestrian Federation of Iran | News

 

 

Kamran Heidari: Iranian film director and photographer

Born in 1977, in Gachsaran, close to the old city of Shiraz, Heidari directs documentaries and films about the lives of the people who come from his region. In 2012, Heidari directed his very first full-length documentary about the life of the eccentric and touching figure of Negahdar Jamali from Shiraz.

In 2013, Heidari directed another documentary, also on the life of an eccentric and touching person with a dream; Hamid Saeed, one of the best-known Iranian musicians with African roots.

One day while I was taking photos in Shiraz’s old neighborhood near the bazaar where century-old houses were falling into ruin I saw some beautiful writing on a wall which said “don’t know”.

I took a picture of the wall. As I was editing the photo and looking again at the writing it made me wonder about the person who wrote it? Did he or she write the words in a good mood or were they in a philosophical state of mind?

Rumi, the great Persian poet and philosopher wrote that “I” is a euphoric state — “What I know, what I know”. This “I” is what I think about when I take photos — it has become my overall concept for the Shiraz Street Photos series.

These old neighbourhoods serve as my photo workshop, the walls are my interior design and I carry my studio on my back. The subjects of these portraits stand in front of walls scrawlled with text — text full of sadness, happiness, pleasure, love, but also full of hope for life.

Apart from text, these walls incorporate other elements such as telephone and electrical cables, heater vents, and cracks, which make this environment even more attractive to me. These people represent the “don’t know” text on the walls. One can view them from an anthropological perspective — the geographic sections of the city of Shiraz become the backdrops for its’ inhabitants. In all of the photos the subjects look somewhat surreal. Kamran Heidari’s on Shiraz Street Photo Series

EXHIBITION
2014: “Good News from Iran”, Pasinger Fabrik, Munich Germany (Isfahan Gate Series and Shiraz Street Photos Series) – Curators: Stefan-Maria Mittendorf and Mojgan Endjavi-Barbé

FILMOGRAPHY
2004: “Dash Akol” (Documentary, 18min)
2006: Mohammad Bahman Beigi (Documentary, 40min)
2006: The Big Red (Short film, 14min)
2007: Comfortably Numb (Feature, 85min)
2008: At the End of Perfect day (Documentary, 50min)
2010: The Dead Sea (Documentary, 30min)
2011: Mola Sadra (Documentary, 30min)
2012: My name is Negahdar Jamali and I make westerns (Documentary, 65min)
2014: Dingomaro – Iran’s Black South (Documentary, 45min)

Sources: The Culture Trip | Kamran Heidari’s universal cinema beauty and humanity from Iran, Endjavi-Barbé Art Projects | Kamran Heidari, Kamran Heidari Official Site

Iran’s Tehran Province: Persian Garden Park in Tehran – Part 2

Here the second batch of pictures of the Persian Garden Park in Tehran. Enjoy!

The Persian Garden Park is a 3.4ha (8.4 acres) areal in Tehran that was designed based on the pattern of a Persian Garden.The reconstruction project planned passages for the disabled and dedicated 2.5ha (6 acres) to green spaces, preserving the old trees and planting new species. The park has six fountains, a restaurant and tea house, a public library, a children’s playground and other facilities.

More information and photos:
The other Iran | Iran’s Tehran Province: Persian Garden Park in Tehran – Part 1

Photo by Vahid Seikhi

Photo by Vahid Seikhi

Photo by Vahid Seikhi

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Photo by Vahid Seikhi

Sources: TEHRAN Picture Agency | Growing tulips in the Persian Garden, TEHRAN Picture Agency | Persian Garden on a rainy day, Tasnim News | Photos

Iranian Armenians rally in Tehran to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

The other Iran

Thousands of Iranian Armenians rallied in Tehran on Friday, protesting in front of the Turkish Embassy to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Many in the crowd, who marched from the Armenian Church in Tehran to the Turkish Embassy, held signs in Farsi and English asking the international community to recognize the genocide, while others chanted slogans calling for justice and the downfall of the Turkish government.

“What Armenians demand now is that the Turkish government recognize [the massacre] as genocide and accept its legal consequences,” Karen Khanlari told Iran’s Press TV during the protests.

There were different events organized to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 23 and April 24. In Tehran were the religious ceremonies held at the St. Sarkis Cathedral.

Following sovereign countries have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide:
Argentina (2003) , Austria (2015), Belgium (1998), Bolivia (2014), Canada (1996), Chile…

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Iranian Armenians rally in Tehran to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

Thousands of Iranian Armenians rallied in Tehran on Friday, protesting in front of the Turkish Embassy to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Many in the crowd, who marched from the Armenian Church in Tehran to the Turkish Embassy, held signs in Farsi and English asking the international community to recognize the genocide, while others chanted slogans calling for justice and the downfall of the Turkish government.

“What Armenians demand now is that the Turkish government recognize [the massacre] as genocide and accept its legal consequences,” Karen Khanlari told Iran’s Press TV during the protests.

There were different events organized to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 23 and April 24. In Tehran were the religious ceremonies held at the St. Sarkis Cathedral.

Following sovereign countries have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide:
Argentina (2003) , Austria (2015), Belgium (1998), Bolivia (2014), Canada (1996), Chile (2007), Cyprus (1975) was the first country to raise the issue to the UN General Assembly, Czech Republic (2015), France (1998), Germany (2015), Greece (1999), Holy See (2000), Italy (2000), Lithuania (2005), Lebanon (1997), Netherlands (2004), Poland (2005), Russia (1995), Slovakia (2004), Sweden (2010), Switzerland (2003), Uruguay (1965) was the first country to recognize the events as genocide, Venezuela (2005).

On Apr 24, 2015 the Bulgarian parliament approved a resolution using the phrase “mass extermination of the Armenian People in the Ottoman Empire”. The United States of America, Israel, the United Kingdom, Australia or Spain do not use the term genocide to refer to these facts.

Robert Beglaryan and Karen Khanlaryan, MPs of Armenian origin, have also had speeches in Iran Majlis concerning the Armenian Genocide Centennial. “We call on the government and the President Rouhani in particular to call the real facts by their name. That will make it possible to support the security in the region,” Robert Beglaryan said in his speech.

Iran has been conducting a moderate and cautious policy regarding the Armenian Genocide over the last years. Remarkably, though, the MPs of the 6th Majlis of Iran condemned the Armenian Genocide.

Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, then President of Iran, visited Tsitsernakaberd during his official visit to Yerevan on September 9, 2004. Vice president of Iran, Hamid Baghaei, pronounced the word ‘genocide’ during the conference ‘Iran: The Bridge of Victory’ in August 2010. “The government of Ottoman Turkey committed genocide in 1915; and a certain number of Armenians fell victim to it,” he said although the statement was refuted not to aggravate the relations with Turkey.

However, both the political and religious elite of Iran, as well as ordinary citizens admit the fact of the Armenian Genocide, as according to the Iranian sources, the Ottoman Turks have not only perpetrated genocide against the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks, but also have slaughtered many Iranians in Urmia Region in 1918.

In Iran there are Armenian Genocide Memorials in Abadan, Ahraz, Arak, Isfahan, Tehran and Urumieh, all of them on Armenian Churches ground. In Abadan the Genocide Memorial was renovated since it was next to the church damaged during the Iran Iraq war.

Armenian Genocide Memorial in Abadan, Iran (renovated after the Iran-Iraq war)

Armenian Genocide Memorial in Abadan, Iran (dedication date: Apr 1966)

Armaenian Genocide Memorial in Tehran, Iran (dedication date Apr 24, 2006)

Other Commemoration events worldwide:
1. Los Angeles Times | Armenian Genocide Anniversary Apr 24, 2015
2. The Huffington Post | Poignant photos from around the world show Armenian Genocide has not been forgotten

Sources: www.hyeli.com, Wikipedia | Armenian Genocide recognition, armenian-genocide.org | Recognition countries, Mehr News Agency | Photos 1, Mehr News Agency | Photos 2, IRNA | Photos 1, IRNA | Photos 2, ISNA | Photos 1, Tasnim News Agency | Photos, panorama>>am | Asory Genocide, panorama>>am | Rouhani letter, armenian-genocide.org | Genocide Memorials in Iran, uacla.com | Armenian Genocide Memorials, team-aow.discuforum.info | Monuments Commemoratifs du Genocide Armenien

Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province: Saint Stepanos Monastery near Jolfa

The St. Stepanos Monastery (Armenian: Maghardavank) is an Armenian monastery about 15 km northwest of Jolfa, East Azarbaijan Province, northwestern Iran. It is situated in a deep canyon along the Arax river on the Iranian side of the border between Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Iran. Since 2008 it is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List together with the St. Thaddeus Monastery and the Chapel of Dzordzor.

The general structure mostly resembles Armenian and Georgian architecture and the inside of the building is adorned with beautiful paintings by Honatanian, a renowned Armenian artist. Hayk Ajimian, an Armenian scholar and historian, recorded that the church was originally built in the ninth century AD, but repeated earthquakes in Azarbaijan completely eroded the previous structure. The church was rebuilt during the rule of Shah Abbas the Second.

History
The first monastery was built in the seventh century (AD 649) and completed in the tenth century. However, St Bartholomew first founded a church on the site around AD 62 but it was partly destroyed during the wars between the Seljuks and the Byzantine Empire in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Following the conquest of the region by the Mongols of Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, in the middle of the thirteenth century, Christians benefited from the favorable Ilkhanid dynasty, and a peace agreement is signed between the Armenian Church and the Ilkhans. The monastery was restored in the second half of the thirteenth century.

The monastery was completely rebuilt in 1330 under the leadership of Zachariah. St. Stepanos Monastery found the height of its cultural and intellectual influence in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The monastery produced paintings and illuminated manuscripts, in areas as diverse as religion, history and philosophy.

In the early fifteenth century, the new Safavid dynasty protected the Armenians but the region is at the center of the rivalry between the Safavids and the Ottomans, who invaded Western Armenia in 1513. St. Stepanos in the sixteenth century observed a gradual decline until Shah Abbas I decided to evacuate the region from its inhabitants in 1604. The monastery then was abandoned. From 1650, the Safavids, however, decided to occupy the region again, and the damaged and abandoned St. Stepanos monastery was restored in the middle of the century.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the area became a challenge for the conquest of the Russian Empire. Yerevan was conquered by the Russians in 1827. The border between Persia and Russia was established on the Araxes by the Treaty of Turkmenchay. Consequently part of the population was displaced by force to Russian Armenia. The Qajar rulers continued to protect the Armenians. They encouraged the rebuilding of St. Stepanos Monastery between 1819 and 1825.

The monastery has undergone several restorations recently twentieth and twenty-first centuries, especially since 1974.

On UNESCO World Heritage List
The Armenian monasteries in Northwestern Iran have borne continuous testimony, since the origins of Christianity and certainly since the 7th century, to Armenian culture in its relations and contact with the Persian and later the Iranian civilizations. They bear testimony to a very large and refined panorama of architectural and decorative content associated with Armenian culture, in interaction with other regional cultures: Byzantine, Orthodox, Assyrian, Persian and Muslim. The monasteries have survived some 2,000 years of destruction, both of human origin and as a result of natural disasters. They have been rebuilt several times in a spirit in keeping with Armenian cultural traditions.

Further information: Iran Chamber Society | Church of Saint Stephanos

Sources: Wikipedia | Saint Stepanos Monastery, Iran Chamber Society | Historical Churches in Iran, Tishineh | St. Stepanos Monastery, Wikimedia Commons | Saint Stepanos Monastery, UNESCO World Heritage List | Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran, IRNA | Photos 1, IRNA | Photos 2

Iranian female researcher Soudabeh Davaran awarded a UNESCO Medal

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova presented the UNESCO Medal “For the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies” to eight laureates during a ceremony organized at UNESCO Headquarters on 10 April 2015.

The laureates of this 4th edition are Mr. Valentin Bukhtoyarov, Mr. Vladimir Fortov, Mr. Mikhail Kovalchuk and Mr. Mikhail Selyanin (Russian Federation), Ms. Constance Chang-Hasnain (United States), Ms. Tebello Nyokong (South Africa), Mr. Shem Wandiga (Keny) and Ms. Soodabeh Davaran (Iran).

© UNESCO – P. Chiang-Joo

Soudabeh Davaran, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry

UNESCO Medal for Contribution to the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies

The Medal was established in 2010 at the initiative of the Thematic group on “Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies” of the International Commission on the Development of the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) – one of the world’s largest knowledge bases on sustainable development, evolving under the aegis of UNESCO.

About Prof. Soudabeh Davaran
She got her Master of Science in Chemistry in 1990 and in 1996 her PhD in Polymer Chemistry from Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran, where she is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry since 2010. Her books include Dyehouse in Textile Industry, Advanced Nanoparticles in Biomedical Sciences and Impacts of Biodegradable Polymers Towards Biomedical Applications. She was considered one of the TOP 100 SCIENTISTS of 2008 and 2012 by the International Biographical Center of Cambridge.

She is currently researching in following fields:
– Preparation of biodegradable polymeric micro and nanoparticles for drug delivery
– Synthesis of polymeric nano-particles for application in detection and treatment of human cancer
– Synthesis, characterization of functionalized magnetic nano-particles for drug delivery
– Synthesis and evaluation of biodegradable polymers for protein-peptide drug delivery
– Bio-material Scaffold Development for regenerative medicine and drug delivery
– Development of oral insulin delivery systems

Sources: UNESCO Media Services | Eight UNESCO Medals awarded to nanotechnology and nano-science specialists, Faculty of Pharmacy at Tabriz University | Soudabeh Davaran

Photo Series: Spring in Iran – Arasbaran, East Azerbaijan Province

Arasbaran, formerly known as Qaradagh or Qaraja dagh, is a large mountainous area stretching from the Qusha Dagh massif, south of Ahar, to the Aras River in East Azerbaijan Province of Iran. The region is confined to Aras River in the north, Meshgin Shahr County and Moghan in the east, Sarab County in the south, and Tabriz and Marand counties in the west.

Since 1976, UNESCO has registered 72,460 hectares of this region as biosphere reserve. Arasbaran is home to 215 species of birds, 29 species of reptiles, 48 species of mammals and 17 species of fish. The local flora include hornbeam, sumac and berberis. The large walnut and cornelian cherry (zoghal) trees, wildly grown alongside water-streams, provide an important income source for inhabitants but there are also more exotic plant species, such as redcurrant, truffle and herbs with application in traditional medicine.

There were several Turkic tribes in this area and characteristic aspects of their culture, developed around Nomadic pastoralism, have persisted to our times. Nomadic population at present has been estimated to be about 36000.

The spoken languages are Azerbaijani or Oghuz, a branch of the Turkic language family but most inhabitants are familiar with Persian language.

Arasbaran carpets are in between Persian carpets and Azerbaijani rugs. Still, there is also an indigenous style known as Balan Rug. The peak of carpet weaving art in Arasbaran is manifested in Verni (Azerbaijani rug), a carpet-like kilim with a delicate and fine warp and woof, which is woven without a previous sketch.

Verni weavers employ the image of birds and animals in simple geometrical shapes, imitating the earthenware patterns that were popular in prehistoric times. A key décor feature is the S-element that means “dragon” among the nomads. At present, Verni is woven by the girls of Arasbaran Tribes, often in the same room where the nomadic tribes reside and is a significant income source for about 20000 families.

Many elements of the indigenous culture, particularly local music, have survived to the present day. More recently a slow but persistent cultural revival has been in progress. The Ashughi music is central to this shared identity.

A recent study has indicated that Mikandi valley, Aynali forests and Babak Castle have the highest potential for ecotourism. Another potential touristic attraction could be the summer camps of semi-settled tribes of Arasbaran, known as Ilat, who spend 5 months of year in uplands for grazing their livestock. There are also cornelian cherry (zoghal) festivals in Kaleybar and a yearly pomegranate festival in Mardanaqom village with Ashugh music performances.

See also: List of biosphere reserves in Iran

Sources: Wikipedia | Arasbaran, Mehr News Agency | Photos, IRNA | Photos, ISNA | Photos