[DUBAI]
Iranian Art at Opera Gallery
The international community does not really expect 
to read the words ‘peace’ and ‘Iran’ in one sentence, even though peace is a desperately desired by Iranians. Because of this contradiction, Peace from the Bottom of My Art, the cleverly titled exhibition of Iranian artists at the Opera Gallery, is a timely effort.
The curators, Leila Varasteh and Vida Zaim, approached nearly eighty artists and selected fifty-eight works to display in a gallery with a capacity of twenty-five. Most of the works, except for a dozen or so, were created for the exhibition and in response to this theme. Throughout the show, it becomes clear that the question of peace runs deep in the veins of Iranian artists.
The “Art of Iran” showcase features 30 Iranian artists, including works by celebrated professionals such as Mohammad Ehsai, NasrollahAfjehei, KhosroKhosravi and KooroshShishegaran but also upcoming contemporaries such as NegarVarasteh and ShimaEsfandyari.
[PENNSYLVANIA]
The Works of MohammadrezaMirzaei
Amistad Gallery is pleased to present 
“What I Don’t Have”, a series of photographs by MohammadrezaMirzaei created during his residency in Lugo, Italy in December 2012. MohammadrezaMirzaei is an MFA candidate at University of Pennsylvania.
Mirzaei is a photographer and writer, whose work has been featured in multiple solo and group exhibitions, including BienalFotográfica Bogotá 2011. He is founder and editor of Dide Magazine, an online publication dedicated to contemporary Iranian photography.
“What I Don’t Have” will be on view from March 15th – September 15.
[PORTUGAL]
World Press Cartoon Contest
Iranian graphic designer and 
cartoonist SaeedSadeqi’s creation has garnered first award of Gag Cartoon category at the World Press Cartoon contest in Portugal.
Sadeqi’s work titled Low Economy picked up the prize during an award ceremony at the Olga Cadaval Cultural Center in Sintra, Portugal.
The winners’ works along with the selected pieces from among the entries have been displayed in an exhibition mounted in the Olga Cadaval Cultural Center.
The exhibition will run until June 30, 2013.
[LOS ANGELES]
The Cyrus Cylinder in Los Angeles
For the first time in history, the Cyrus Cylinder, 
one of the ancient world’s most celebrated artifacts of freedom and human rights, is being brought to the United States for exhibition.
Housed at the British Museum in London, the Cyrus Cylinder will travel to five major U.S. cities in 2013, in a tour supported by the Iran Heritage Foundation.
The Cyrus Cylinder will be accompanied in this exhibition by sixteen objects under the title “The Cyrus Cylinder in Ancient Persia.” The exhibition shows the innovations initiated by Persian rule in the Ancient Near East (550 BC-331 BC), when the Persian Empire was then the largest the world had known.
The tour debuted at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in 
Washington D.C. in March before traveling to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. It will also be on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, concluding its journey with an eight week stay at the J. Paul Getty Museum at The Getty Villa in Los Angeles from October 2 – December 2, 2013.
Farhang Foundation is proud to be the financial sponsor and community organization working with the Getty Museum to ensure the success of the Cyrus Cylinder tour in its last and most anticipated stop, Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.
[MALAYSIA]
FiroozehGolamohammadi in Eastern Woman Exhibition
The Matic Art Gallery, which has hosted 
various local art exhibitions, has become the host for an international event, the Eastern Woman Exhibition, portraying paintings done by a well-known Iranian artist, Firoozeh Golamohammadi.
The festival gives an insight into Malaysia’s fascinating contemporary art scene and provides a platform for both established and up-and-coming names in the industry.
Golamohammadi, 61, who was born in Tehran, studied interior design in high school and graduated from a university in the same field. Her artistic career began with illustrating children’s books, numbering about 34 to date, and she has won 17 international awards.
She portrays this concept in her art works, which have been exhibited in Europe and the Asia Pacific.
The exhibition will end on May 31. The Matic Art Gallery is open daily from 8am to 5pm and features new exhibitions every month of different artists with different backgrounds, techniques, mediums and concepts.