The Golestan Palace: An Outstanding Example of Qajar Architecture
The Golestan Palace or Kakh-e Golestan is one of the oldest historic monuments in Tehran. It was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2013. For UNESCO, “it is a masterpiece of the Qajar...
Iranian Singer Cancels Concert After Female Players Banned from Stage
Benyamin Bahadori – an Iranian pop singer, composer and songwriter – has refused to perform at a concert in Kerman, capital of Kerman Province, after female members of his music group were prevented from...
Protesters at Iran’s World Heritage Sites Demand Unpaid Salaries
On January 28, workers at the Chogha Zanbil-Haft Tapeh World Heritage site — an ancient Elamite complex founded in 1,200 B.C. in the southwestern province of Khuzestan — staged a protest against four months...
Video Game Revisits 1953 Overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh
By Julie Ershadi
Kurosh ValaNejad was born in Iran in 1966 to an Iranian father and an American mother. He and his older brother Cyrus grew up there until shortly before the 1979 Revolution, when...
Play About Prostitutes Is Banned From Iran’s Fajr Festival
Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has refused to reissue a permit for the play “A Barren Day” which was set to open on January 22 at the 36th Fajr International Theater Festival...
Author Alexandra Monir Writes Sci-Fi Book With Iranian-American Female Lead
By Fred Parvaneh
Alexandra Monir is the Iranian-American author of five published young adult novels, including the bestselling time-travel romance "Timeless" (a Barnes & Noble bestseller and an Amazon Best Book of the Month). It...
Mentor’s Death Inspires LA Art Exhibition by Pouya Afshar
By Fred Parvaneh
Massachusetts-based artist Pouya Afshar has a mixed-media installation on display at Roshi Rahnama’s “The Space by AdvocArtsy” venue in downtown Los Angeles, the second in a series of solo exhibitions by Iranian...
Qajar Exhibition to Open at Louvre Museum Branch in Northern France
The first major exhibition dedicated to the magnificent art of the Qajar dynasty – which ruled Iran from 1786 to 1925 – will open at the Louvre Museum's branch in Lens, northern France, on...
Monir Farmanfarmaian, Y.Z. Kami Star in London Sufism Exhibition
By Tara Biglari
Monir Farmanfarmaian and Y.Z. Kami are two of the world's most prominent Iranian-born artists. Their works were recently on show in a London exhibition celebrating the 700th anniversary of The Garden of...
Iran’s Handicrafts, Carpet Trade Face Economic Challenges
By Parastou Mir
The term ‘handicraft’ refers to decorative and functional objects that are made completely by hand or with simple tools. Most of these are crafted using natural or indigenous materials.
Yet in present-day Iran...
