News Archive

 

 

 
 
 

 

Farah Osuli at Aseman in the morning; Khosrojerdi at Niavaran in the afternoon

In the opening of The Second Visual Arts Festival of Damoonfar announced:

"Persian artists' works will open their way through the great museums of the world"

The young artists of this term of painting are the most influential artists of Iran's painting history.

In two separate ceremonies of this event's opening, the juries prospected that many of the young artists whom joined this festival are Iran's future hope in visual arts and will open their ways through the world's greatest museums in a not very far future.

The Second Visual Arts Festival of Damoonfar for the under 25 years of age young artists was inaugurated with the presence of more than 150 interested of visual arts in the Aseman artistic complex and more than 700 people in Niavaran Cultural Center.

"S. Pooyarad" the manager of this festival said: "We are willing to present the virtual and actual abilities of the young Persian painters. Damoonfar intends to expose the canvas of hope, creativity and ability of Iran's young artists for the world."

Pointing out the fact that among 4045 artworks only 300 of them were accepted, he mentioned that: "All the 3700 works which joined the competition could not be presented in the exhibition because of the lack of space although they were all full of sincerity and love."

"Farah Osuli" one of the juries of the festival, in the first section of the opening in Aseman artistic complex on Friday morning June 13 said: "Many of the artists who joined this festival are among today's best young painters of Iran and are the future of our visual arts society that will surely get through the world's great museums."

She reputes these paintings as the true pulse of our society and criticizer of the actual present situation and says: "Art is the sign of every society's effort and improvement which should be publicized correctly to help representing a dynamic image of Iran's society to the world. Osuli reminded that there are not many women painters over 70 years old in Iran and expressed her pleasure about the presence of many young ladies in Damoonfar's second visual arts festival wishing them active and continues improvement.    

"Hossein Khosrojerdi", head of the board of juries in the second part of opening ceremony in Niavaran Cultural Center which was held in the afternoon said: "This exhibition is very interesting because the young painters have created their works based on the Persian identity, outlining their social anguishes, avoiding subjects that reflect the entirely non anguish fantasy.

"Khosrojerdi reputes Iranian young artist, as "contemporary world's distinguished youth" and expects them to be more successful in the up coming years' festivals even in the foreign range."    

He refered to the young painters presenting in this exhibition and said: "In the next 10 years the value of your works will be 100% more than today so you should be more accurate about the pricing and not be confused by the price of the artworks on the sales outside of Iran. It's necessary to get help from honest experts."

Mohammad Ali Bani Asadi the other jury member of this festival said: "I was surprised by these works. I did not expect such a quality in artworks of painters less than 25 years of age and I believe that they are the most potential young artists of Iranian artistic history."  

"Bahman Mohammadi, Vahid Chamani, Sara Khalfi Khamene and Sara Hasankhan" the bests of the last two years of Damoonfar's visual arts festival gave a short speech on how being selected in Damoonfar's festival has been the starting launch for their success.

The festival will be continued until Khordad 31st (June 20th) in Aseman artistic complex and Niavaran Cultural Center. The ending ceremony is on Friday evening of the upmentioned date and the bests of this year will be announced.

The workshops managed by "Jasmine Sinaee" are performed every afternoon at 6:00 pm (and two expertise workshops on June 17 & 18) in Niavaran Cultural Center. 

 Hosseing Khosrojerdi announced:

Farah Osuli, H. Sadeghi, M.A. Bani Asadi are judging for the Second Visual Arts Festival of Damoonfar along with a foreign judge.

The judges will help Hossein Khosrojerdi on the Second Visual Arts Festival of Damoonfar.

Yesterday morning the head of the board of selection on the Second Visual Arts Festival of Damoonfar, selected Farah Osuli, Dr. H. Sadeghi and M. A. Bani Asadi as the juries of this event.

Next week, a painter & instructor will join this team from abroad to help the judges vote in the second session of the judgment at the main gallery of Niavaran Cultural Center.

By reviewing 4045 painting, drawing, poster, illustrating and calligraphy-painting of under 25 year old young artists, among 1315 works received by the festival's secretariat after the ending of the first session of the judgment, Khosrojerdi quoted that "after only two years from the first festival which is not enough time for scientific artistic evaluation and improvement, one can not disregard and ignore the young artists' improvement toward maturity and modernism. Beside the young elites, we've noticed potential and serious artists who will form the future of Iran's visual arts."

 Outlining that "Damoonfar" has set about a great divine process, "Khosrojerdi" said that the government would rather create a suitable field for the effective presence of the private traders on the visual arts arena like every other place in the world. On accepting the management of the juries of this event he says: "This cultural movement is so apposite that any other artist would have felt the duty to cooperate in creating this festival with pleasure and serve the future of the young visual arts generation."

He added: "The presence of some of the distinguished Iranian visual artists in the board of juries of Damoonfar's Second Visual Arts Festival shows that our great artists are ready to help and support the young generation on their innovative opportunities.

It should be outlined that Damoonfar's Second Visual Arts Festival for young artists under 25 years of age will be performed on the main gallery of Niavaran Cultural Center in different fields such as painting, designing, poster, illustrating and calligraphy-painting from June 13 until the 20th.

The first runner up of this event will win a week of research trip to France. The second winner will get a sum of 700 thousand toomans; the third one will win 500 thousand toomans; the fourth winner – 400 thousands, the fifth winner – 300 thousands and the sixth one will get 200 thousand toomans.

The visual arts center of the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance's artistic deputy, the Tehran museum of contemporary art, Niavaran cultural center, Saba cultural and artistic institution, Faber Castel of Germany, Canson and Pebeo of France are cooperating this great event of the second visual arts festival of Damoonfar.

   

Lili Afshar

The Washington Post has called Lili Afshar as a great perfect performer.

She started learning guitar since she was a child. After finishing the Music Academy on 1977, she moved to United States and received her B.A in music from Boston Music Conservatoire and her M.A in playing guitar from New England Music Conservatoire. She is the first lady guitar player who has achieved her PhD of music. Lili Afshar has won many international prizes through her artistic life such as: the grand prize of U.S.A Classical Guitar Foundation Competition, premium prize of Spanish Music Guitar Competition, first prizes of guitar competitions of Music Masters National Society, American String Instrument Masters Society, Music Soloists Society and the prize for the best guitar player. Dr. Lili Afshar obtained her professor seat in Memphis University on the year 2000. She has been directing the B.A and M.A programs on guitar playing for more than 14 years. Performing concerts in reputable music halls of Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australia and different master classes has engaged her busy. In the past recent years she has been performing master classes other than concerts for the interesteds of classical guitar in Iran.  This year her recital will be on June 14 and 15 in the Khalij-e-Fars hall of Niavaran Cultural Center at 6:30 pm.

 

David Gomez will play Spanish and Latino American music for piano in Niavaran Cultural Center

 

The Spanish pianist, David Gomez will perform a piano recital in the Khalij-e-Fars hall of Niavaran Cultural Center (related to the Artistic Deputy of Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance). The 34 years old David Gomez whom his first album "Piazzolla, tango for piano" was well received in Europe, and his new album containing melodies of the Cuban composer "Lecuona" will soon be on the record markets, will play pieces of Piazzolla, Turina, Granados, Ponce and Lecuona. He has joined in two tours to ten Asian countries such as India, Philippines, Japan and Thailand and has been selected as the top piano performer in the world's most reputable music festivals like "Miguel Ballester I Serra", "Pio Tur", "New Art 97" and "Doelen Competition" in Holland and…

Gomez has had successful presentations in Dublin National Concert, Radio of Poland, the ninth International Festival of Black & White Piano in Mexico city,  the president palace in Honduras, Manchester, Push kin Museum in Moscow, Madrid, Athens, Cairo Opera and many other countries.

It is notable that the embassy of Spain in cooperation with Niavaran Cultural Center will present the piano recital of David Gomez in Khalij-e-Fars hall of Niavaran Cultural Center on June 8 and 9, 2007 at 6:30 pm.  

 

Reciting & Narration of Shahnameh, and Music Performance

On the commemoration of Ferdowsi will be performed on Monday through Wednesday

May 14 – 16, 2007 in Khalij-e-Fars Hall of Niavaran Cultural Center.

Ham Ava group will perform three of the main stories of this great epic masterpiece by the melodies of music. "Wedding of Zal & Rudabeh", "Wedding of Rostam & Tahmineh" and "Rostam & Sohrab's battle" are the three pieces which will be performed in this ceremony.

Puppet show of "Sinbad" the sailor will go on stage in Niavaran Cultural Center

The play is written by Maryam Taymuri & directed in cooperation with Vahid Shakeri & Fatemeh Samani. "Sinbad the Sailor" is one of the best selected works of Tehran's Puppet Biennale (UNIMA). On September 2006, it was on stage in "Theatr-e-Shahr" (City Theatre) and now it's going to be played for children and school students in Niavaran Cultural Center. Hamed Jafarikia, Samand Jafarizad, Naser Najafian, Mohammad Shayan, Fatemeh Samani, Roya Raad, Neda Farmani, Nilufar Taheri, Fatemeh Moshtagh, Soheila Bajelan, Maryam Jamalifar, Sahel Izadpanah and Parastu Ghaed Rahmat are the puppeteers of this show. Vahid Shakeri has design and made the puppets.

In the brochure of the show there has been shortly pointed out that "Sinbad the Sailor" has been the prisoner of a dragon in an island and is waiting for people to rescue him. A group of people in greed of wresting the spelled stone called "Gooharan" are heading the Holy Island after a man named Saman and in the way of this trip, there happens to happen strange adventures, but…

 

On Friday May 25 at 3:00 pm, Raphael Minaskanian plays in the main hall of Niavaran Cultural Center (related to the artistic deputy of Ministry of Culture and Guidance). Minaskanian will play some pieces from Beethoven, Chopin, Baroque and Melik Aslanian in this program. He has started learning music when he was 6 years old. When he was just a young man he performed his first recital in T.V.

Emanuel Melik Aslanian in Iran, Carl Olrish Schnal in Italy and Ilona Kakabush in London were his masters of piano.

Minaskanian is a graduated of Julliard Music Academy in New York and right now he teaches in the University of Tehran.

Payam Jahanmani's concert

In Niavaran Cultural Center

On Thursday and Friday May 24 & 25 at 7:00 pm, Payam Jahanmani will perform in the main hall of Niavaran Cultural Center (related to the artistic deputy of Ministry of Culture and Guidance). In this Persian music program he will play the tar and Hesam Inanlo plays the Kamancheh while Behzad Mirzaee plays the Tombak. Jahanmani is one of the distinguished students of the famous master of tar, Hossein Alizadeh. This will be Payam's third concert in the last 4 years in Niavaran Cultural Center.

 

News

May 23, 2007

 

Loris Cheknavorian, Dr. Khaleghi Motlagh, Alireza Shojapur and Dr. Morteza Kakhi attended in the first day of the Commemoration of Ferdowsi in Niavaran

Cultural Center

The identity and integrity of Iran is indebt of Ferdowsi

The first day of the three day commemoration of Ferdowsi was started in Niavaran Cultural Center's Khalij-e-Fars Hall while some guests could not find free seats, on Monday, May 16.

The program started with Shahnameh recitation of 6 years old Anahita Amiraftab and 5/5 years old Shayan Azhdari and continued with the beats of Zoorkhaneh and narration of Morshed Rezaee. Alireza Shojapur, the Shahnameh researcher and the director of Shahnameh recitations of Niavaran Cultural Center (every Monday at 4:00pm) admired the unique poet of the land of Persia for his great effort for abiding the Persian ancient language by reading a summary of Shahnameh addressing to Ferdowsi and talked about his epic piece of art. Dr. Jalal Khaleghi Motlagh, the distinguished Iranian Shahnameh researcher and resident of England, who was delighted by Anahita and Shayan's recitations, said: "This was an honor for me to see and watch these young children of Iran knowing and reciting these poems so fluently and correct and it encourages me that one day we will return to our identity and language and will value Ferdowsi as a national paragon". He emphasized that: "Iran owes its identity and historical and cultural integrity to Ferdowsi and one must be proud to have a poet such as him.

He then pointed to the "moment creating and originating" in Shahnameh and said: There are thrilling and pure moments in Shahnameh which dramatizes the narration and emotionalizes the reader and the listener such as "The battle of Rostam and the Dragon", "Fall of Siavash", "Leaning of Behzad (Siavash's horse) to Kaykhosro, "Fall of Esfandiar", "Fall of Rostam" and the "Tale of Barbad".

Khaleghi Motlagh objected that there have been pieces of literature added to the Shahnameh. For example he mentioned that in recent years there has been a negative illusion of "Esfandiar", yet practically there is no way for him to be so. Those whom think of "Esfandiar" as a negative personality have never read the book. Accusing him of bad behavior and lying, is not harmonious with Shahnameh.

In Shahnameh, people do not perform commemoration for liars, though, you see that Iranians mourn every year for "Esfandiar"'s falling commemoration.

Loris Cheknavorian, the distinguished composer of our country made a short speech saying: "My mother turned to Iran because of the Massacre of the Armenians and my father did so because of Stalin's jails and I was born in Lorestan. Today, I am proud of being a Persian. I have been a Persian for 2500 years, since the era of Koroush when all these areas were Iran's territory and one of the kings of that kingdom was Armenia's.

He said: my parents and I loved this book since I was a little child. So when my studies were finished in Austria and the Minister of Culture of the time asked me and my colleagues to come back to Iran, I made a request and it was the recommendation of composing the opera of "Rostam and Sohrab". I was young and aspired like Sohrab and everyone stated that it was impossible. For two years I was looking for an original copy. My hard effort toke 25 years until I grew old as Rostam of Shahnameh and my aspiration was conceived and I composed eight versions of the opera which waited 16 years in my drawer for performance.

Cheknavorian recalled Shahnameh inclusive of great and incredible tales and mentioned that only Shakespeare would have written such a dramatic and tragic story. He emphasized that "Ferdowsi has risen from Iran and he belongs to the whole world".

Dr. Morteza Kakhi was one of the other distinguished speakers of this commemoration who designated that in Boston, there is a wall in front of Harvard University where the names of the noble personalities whom have effected the human civilization is written, there beside names such as Plato and Aristotle, only one name of a poet from east is mentioned and that name is "Ferdowsi".

The first day of the three days commemoration of "Ferdowsi" was completed by the story of "Zal and Rudabeh"'s wedding which was performed by Hamava Ensemble directed by Mahdi Namdar.

The commemoration of Ferdowsi will continue until Wednesday May 16.  

 

Puppet show of "Sinbad" the sailor will go on stage in Niavaran Cultural Center

The play is written by Maryam Taymuri & directed in cooperation with Vahid Shakeri & Fatemeh Samani. "Sinbad the Sailor" is one of the best selected works of Tehran's Puppet Biennale (UNIMA). On September 2006, it was on stage in "Theatr-e-Shahr" (City Theatre) and now it's going to be played for children and school students in Niavaran Cultural Center. Hamed Jafarikia, Samand Jafarizad, Naser Najafian, Mohammad Shayan, Fatemeh Samani, Roya Raad, Neda Farmani, Nilufar Taheri, Fatemeh Moshtagh, Soheila Bajelan, Maryam Jamalifar, Sahel Izadpanah and Parastu Ghaed Rahmat are the puppeteers of this show. Vahid Shakeri has design and made the puppets.

In the brochure of the show there has been shortly pointed out that "Sinbad the Sailor" has been the prisoner of a dragon in an island and is waiting for people to rescue him. A group of people in greed of wresting the spelled stone called "Gooharan" are heading the Holy Island after a man named Saman and in the way of this trip, there happens to happen strange adventures, but…

 

Reciting & Narration of Shahnameh, and Music Performance

On the commemoration of Ferdowsi will be performed on Monday through Wednesday

May 14 – 16, 2007 in Khalij-e-Fars Hall of Niavaran Cultural Center.

Ham Ava group will perform three of the main stories of this great epic masterpiece by the melodies of music. "Wedding of Zal & Rudabeh", "Wedding of Rostam & Tahmineh" and "Rostam & Sohrab's battle" are the three pieces which will be performed in this ceremony.

 

Piano Recital by Bahareh Komaee

Niavaran Cultural Center

 

On May 3 & 4 at 6:30 pm a piano recital will be performed by Bahareh Komaee in the Khalij-e-Fars Hall of Niavaran Cultural Center.

In this concert, Komaee will play classic pieces. In her list, 4 pieces of "Italian Concerto" composed by "Johan Sebastian Bach", 5 pieces of "Vienna Carnival, Op. 26" composed by "Robert Schumann", 2 parts of "Frantz List" and 3 of the most romantic "Nocturnes" of "Fredrick Chopin" are to be performed.

Komaee has started playing the piano under Dr. Mehran Rohani's supervision. She continued with Hynoush Markarian and had the opportunity to present in Gerhard Gertchlger, the music master of Conservative of Vienna's master classes.

She has performed several concerts in Tehran's reputable concert halls.

 

 

 

Archive

 
 
 
E- mail:   nacf@nacfiran.com     Tel:  +98 21 2287081-2       Fax:   +98 21 2280140
Postal address: