INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN-- The 15th edition of the Fajr Festival of Visual Arts opened on Friday evening at the Saba Art and Cultural Institute in Tehran.440
artworks in the classifications of painting, illustration, cartoon, photography, calligraphy, graphic design, sculpture and miniature are
completing for Golden Tooba in the official section.In addition, 274 works in different categories have actually been showcased in Qolleha
(Tops), a competitive section for veteran artists
Winners in each category will likewise be awarded a 300 million rials (about $720 based upon Irans free-market currency exchange rate: $1 =
over 420,000 rials) prize money.The winners of respectable mentions will be offered 100 million rials reward money.Works from the
non-competitive areas of the festival are likewise on view at significant galleries in the capitals of 32 provinces throughout the nation
The organizers have actually done their best to decentralize the festival, Mostafa Zaravandian, the director of the celebrations
provincial exhibitions, said last week during a press conference.Works by 12 artists from each province are on screen in each provincial
capital, he included and noted that this movement might assist find promising young artists in different media.Speaking to journalists at
the opening event of the festival, Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Mahmud Salari said that he has actually previously gone into
talks with the nations major art universities to have their cooperation in the event
Therefore, students and academics are playing essential roles in organizing this years celebration, he added.In calls released on social
media, groups of artists have actually asked their coworkers to boycott the festival in support of the protest organized against the Iranian
government in autumn.Salari implicated these groups of exerting pressure on other artists to get them to withdraw from the celebration and
said that their acts restrict the flexibility of action of other artists
The event is one of the Fajr festivals, which are arranged every year in January and February to commemorate the Islamic Revolution
anniversary.The 15th edition of the Fajr Festival of Visual Arts will run till February 17, while winners will be honored in a special event
Image: Art lovers visit the 15th Fajr Festival of Visual Arts at the Saba Art and Cultural Institute in Tehran on January 27, 2023
(ISNA/Negin Hemmatzadeh)MMS/YAW
