ArtCULTURE1319-00

[NEW YORK]
Shangri-La Islamic Art Exhibit

ArtCULTURE1319-01

In the art world, Shangri-La is known as the Hawaiian residence of Doris Duke, the exceedingly wealthy heiress and philanthropist who used it to house her prodigious stock of Islamic art. “Doris Duke’s Shangri La: Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art,” New York’s Museum of Arts and Design will give a rare opportunity to see one of the Western world’s most diverse collections of art and architecture from the Muslim world.

With decorative objects from Turkey, Egypt, the former Ottoman Empire, Northern India, Syria, Iran, and Spain, the exhibition will also include revealing sketches, photographs, and plans from the Shangri-La estate, an immense compound of terraces and gardens near Diamond Head, just outside of Honolulu. This will be in addition to contemporary Islamic art from Shangri-La, including sculptures by the Iranian artist Afruz Amighi, a video installation by the Turkish artist Emre Hüner, and calligraphic works by the Arab American Mohamed Zakariya, an artist best known for the stamps he designed for the U.S. Postal Service in honor of Muslim holidays.

 

[LOS ANGELES]
UCLA: IAAB Conferences
on Iranian Diaspora

ArtCULTURE1319-02

 
Since it started in Boston in 2003,  Iranian Alliances Across Border (IAAB) has created camps and conferences across the United States in order to open discussion on what it was like for  the generation of Iranians that were born outside of Iran. 

On October 13-14, IAAB is bring the Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, to UCLA . IAAB’s Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, co-sponsored by the UCLA Anthropology Department and the Dean of Social Sciences, is the first and largest conference focused on the Iranian diaspora, will include more than fifty speakers from the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Asia and North America.  It is an innovative forum for academics, graduate students, journalists, artists, and community leaders to discuss the development, challenges, and needs of the Iranian diaspora.

Iranian Alliances Across Borders’ Conference on the Iranian Diaspora at UCLA October 13-14, for more information visit www.iranianalliances.org

 

[VANCOUVER]
Contemporary Art Gallery
Iran Exhibit

ArtCULTURE1319-03

Three new international exhibitions are set to open at the Contemporary Art Gallery. The exhibits—Class Reunion by Nairy Baghramian, The Last Few Mosquitos by Xu Zhen, and Children’s Films presented by Gareth Moore with Ulla Von Brandenburg, Keren Cytter, Geoffrey Farmer, Julia Feyrer, Harrell Fletcher, Mike Marshall, and Sylvain Sailly will continue at the gallery until November 11.

Class Reunion will mark the first solo show in North American for Iranian artist Baghramian. The exhibition includes an 18-piece sculpture made from colored cast rubber, painted metal, and colored epoxy resin. Class Reunion comments on materiality, manufacture, and display while examining social and political relationships.

The CAG is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 12 to 6 p.m. Admission to the gallery is free, with a suggested donation of $5.

 

[LOS ANGELES]
Fowler Museum Exhibition on History of Iranian Jews

ArtCULTURE1319-04

 

Since ancient times, Iran has been a mosaic of ethnicities, religions, cultures and languages. “Light and Shadows: The Story of Iranian Jews,” on display at the Fowler Museum at UCLA from Oct. 21 through March 10, 2013, tells the rich and complex history of one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, which dates back nearly 3,000 years, since the first Jews exiled from Jerusalem to Babylonia settled in the Persian sphere.
 
More than 100 objects, including archaeological artifacts, impressive illuminated manuscripts, beautiful Judaica and amulets, paintings, photographs, videos and documentary ephemera are presented in the Fowler’s Lucas Gallery to highlight the key features of this long, complicated and vibrant history.
 
This exhibition was created and organized by Beit Hatfutsot–The Museum of the Jewish People (Tel Aviv, Israel) and curated by Orit Engelberg-Baram and Hagai Segev. The lead sponsor for the exhibition is the Y & S Nazarian Family Foundation.
 

[LOS ANGELES]
A Night of Story and Song
with Ziba Shirazi

 ArtCULTURE1319-05

 
In this performance ZIBA will narrate the amazing stories of:

BABAK, who left Iran at the age of 12 because he was bullied in school for his religion,
BITA MILANIAN, a community organizer who cherishes her Iranian heritage, HESSAM ABRISHAMI, the renowned Iranian artist. ZAHRA NOORBAKHSH will join Ziba Shirazi on stage to share her comedic story “Zahra  VS. Baba”.

Sep. 30 6:30pm at Morgan Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd.  Santa Monica, CA  90401
To purchase tickets on line please go to zibashirazi.com or odoom.com

[IRVINE]
Shahnameh Festival

ArtCULTURE1319-06

 

Farhang Foundation and the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture at UC Irvine will be hosting a festival dedicated to the Shahnameh (“Book of Kings” – National Epic of Iran) written by Ferdowsi (c. 940 – 1020 CE) in October.

The Shahnameh Festival 2012 kicks off with a free conference at UC Irvine (UCI) that will explore an array of topics including the “Art of the Shahnameh”, “Shahnameh in History”, and “Shahnameh: Identity & Nationalism.”

The conference, FREE and open to all, begins at10:30am till 5:30pm on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at The Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture located at 1030 Humanities Gateway and will include lectures by experts in the fields of Persian epics, mythology, and art history.