Browsing: Other Arts

Last week, Masoumeh Jahanbin, an Iranian artist participated in a group exhibition at Ehsan Art Gallery in Tehran. ‘Root in the Sky’ is one of her paintings in the ‘My Roots’ Collection. The composition of this artwork is changeable in two different forms which shows a union in one way and in another way indicates a separation. The exhibition title was ‘Self Portrait’ and Jan 25, 2023, was the last day of it. https://vimeo.com/794917529 Masoumeh Jahanbin started her artistic activities with painting in 1994. She entered the Fine Arts Faculty of Tehran University with a sculpture major and through her…

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Lily Afshar’s personal story begins in her native Iran. Born in Tehran to a family with ancient roots in the northern region of Azerbaijan, at ten years of age she first encountered the guitar while visiting a cousin who was taking lessons. She told her father she loved the guitar; the next day he presented her with her first instrument and arranged for lessons. Her prodigious skill and love of music eventually led her to The Boston Conservatory, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music, and to The New England Conservatory, where she received her Master of Music. At…

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Hossein Ghafari, an Iranian sound engineer, is also a photographer. Whenever he is part of a crew, shooting a film in location, Hossein uses any opportunity to takes pictures of not only behind the scene, but also the location itself. Lately Hossein Ghafari was on a set of a television series in the south western state of Lorestan. Lorestan’s nature offers spectacular panoramas made of famous Zagros mountains, hundreds of water falls and springs and silk green vast plains. Hossein Ghafari has managed to record the beauty of Lorestan in his pictures. https://vimeo.com/474226515 Hossein Ghafari was born in Tehran, Iran…

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Reza Kamrani is an Iranian photographer that lives in city pf Tehran. Reza Kamrani was born and grew up in Kerman, one of the cities on the edge of the central desert in Iran. Naturally, he was influenced by his surroundings and by studying the architectural functions in each Climate Kamrani realized that desert architecture is a very clever answer to the needs of patient and hardworking desert people, allowing them to have better life in spite of the harsh nature around them. https://vimeo.com/456948011 While studying cinematography at the School of Television and Cinema, with the guidance of his teachers…

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The story I am about to tell is one of a personal odyssey… a mission of mercy that would not have been possible if not for the generosity of many. I am an expatriate Iranian, now an American citizen living a fairly comfortable life, married with a family and a burgeoning career as an architectural designer, but I cannot get the plight of my fellow countrymen out of my mind. How can I, just one-person make a difference in the midst of this tragedy? Bam, which lies over a series of active geological plates, has been hit with quakes before,…

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At a time when the number of existing film magazines are diminishing, It is quite heartwarming to witness and celebrate the 38th anniversary of a monthly film magazine in Iran. When I went through the pages of the last issue of Film Magazine I found several quite interesting articles, studies, critics and stories. I spoke with one of the founders of this amazing publication, Abbas Yari. Mr. Yari told me that with two of his friends, Houshang Golmakani, Massoud Mehrabi,  started a publication called Cinema in video, it was the time of a terrible war between Iraq and Iran. Enemies…

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I have always admired artists that never stop exploring new ways of expressing themselves through their art. The artists whose fire inside them grows with their age instead of turning into the dust of experience. Azadeh Ghotbi–a painter, sculpture and photographer–is among these artists. I enjoy taking a vacation from the chaotic world we live in and spend my time with her artwork, enjoying her exciting and uniquely deep way of looking at life. Bijan Tehrani: Please tell us about the “Rooted UpRooted” exhibition, its theme and your participation in it. Azadeh Ghotbi: I was invited to participate in a…

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The Edinburgh Festival 2019 is an umbrella term for all the festivals that take place here every August. One of the biggest is Edinburgh International Festival 2019 – an unparalleled, city-wide, celebration of the performing arts held for three weeks from 2-26 August in Scotland’s capital. This year, Stephen Fry and Sir Ian McKellen will be performing in theatre roles, and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and Scottish rockers Teenage Fanclub will be heading up the contemporary music offering. The Edinburgh International Festival 2019 will also open with an amazing show at Tynecastle featuring Hollywood’s greatest movie music with a programme featuring soundtracks from cinema’s golden age…

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John Legend has released a powerful new song today titled, “Preach”. Released via Columbia Records, the track highlights the difference between hoping and praying for societal change and actually working to make that change happen. After addressing the “broken” and “tragic” state of affairs in this country, the youngest-ever EGOT winner croons, I can’t see the use in me crying/ if I’m not even trying to make the change I wanna see.” Later, in the song’s chorus, Legend reiterates this point, repeating, “I can’t sit and hope/ I can’t just sit and pray/ that I can find a love/ when…

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“Fatherless” and “This Is Not a Pipe”, two plays staged by Mohammad Mosavat in Tehran in 2017, took first place at the 17th edition of the Iranian Theater Critics Awards on Thursday. “Fatherless” tells the story of a wolf that becomes the partner of a goat living with her kids Shangul, Mangul and Habbeye Angur. The goat tries to make the wolf forget his identity and he does so. But the kids want to become wolves now. “This Is Not a Pipe” inspired by a painting of the same name from Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte is about two brother…

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