Iran

Art

How Two DJs Are Defying the Iranian Government with Techno

In Raving Iran, filmmaker Susanne Regina Meures chronicles the struggle of DJs Anoosh and Arash to produce electronic music and raves in their home country.

In Brief

Two Imprisoned Iranian Artists Pen Letter of Protest

"We urge all artists from around the world to show their protest and criticism against all of this," artists and brothers Hossein Rajabian and Mehdi Rajabian wrote in a letter from Iran's notorious Evin Prison.

In Brief

Iranian Court Accuses Artist Parviz Tanavoli of "Disturbing the Public Peace" [UPDATED]

Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli, whose passport border officials confiscated last week at Tehran's international airport, says he faces accusations of "disturbing the public peace" with his artworks.

News

Artist Parviz Tanavoli's Passport Confiscated at Tehran Airport

Authorities in Iran have confiscated the passport of prominent Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli, who suspects he is being targeted for featuring an image of a woman on the cover of his new book.

Art

The Hazy Chronicles of a CIA-backed Coup

Historical exhibitions tend to consistently draw large audiences — the curious, scholars, or just those who like a cracking good story.

Art

Tehran Diary: The Lives Projected onto Public and Private Spaces

TEHRAN — Traveling from the center to the north of Tehran reveals the city’s multiple elevations: topographical, architectural, and economic.

Art

Tehran Diary: A Largely Local Art Scene Begins to Open Up

TEHRAN — My first impression of the Iranian capital is one of vagueness in a difficult topography, as the city sprawls in all directions and stands at different elevations surrounded by mountains.

Art

An Iranian Artist Who Found a Form of Resistance in Nature

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates — For the renegade Iranian artist Farideh Lashai, landscape painting became a reflexive gesture to experiment with new forms and animated methods.

In Brief

Iranian Cartoonist Atena Farghadani Released from Prison

Today, Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani was released from jail after spending over a year in Tehran's Evin Prison for her satirical drawing of Iran's policymakers as animals.

In Brief

Iran Forces Jailed Artist to Undergo Virginity and Pregnancy Tests [UPDATED]

The Iranian artist sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison for her satirical cartoons critical of the Iranian government was forced to repeatedly undergo virginity and pregnancy tests last year.

Art

Photography Acts as a Weapon in a Game About the Iranian Revolution

In 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, the streets of Tehran are combustive, resistance smoldering from tensely linked groups that share a dissatisfaction with the Shah.

Art

The Artist Sculpting Kurdish Identity in an Iranian City

SANANDAJ, Iran —In the far west of Iran, in a small region called “Kordestan” — a chunk of land clinging to the Zagros mountain range and named after the ethnic Kurds who inhabit this and much of the surrounding area — is the city of Sanandaj (formerly Senna), the administrative center of the region