Iranian cultural week: Capturing three decades of progress through images

Art and craft exhibit launched.

ISLAMABAD:

In a bid to showcase Iran’s progress since the Islamic revolution, the Iranian embassy launched a week-long celebratory exhibit at the Pakistan National Gallery of Arts on Tuesday.

The event marks the country’s 35th anniversary as an Islamic Republic and is a run-up to its National Day on the 11th of this month.

The exhibit was spread between two galleries, with a sprawling display of photographs lined across the walls, absorbing guests through a visual invitation to three decades of advancement in the way of beaming athletes, notable dams, landmarks preserved to near perfection and the faces behind the presumed success of a democratic Islamic republic.



Coffee-table books relating the art and heritage of the country shared space with religious literature, while artists demonstrated a homegrown calligraphic process, the finished pieces of which were propped on easels for display.

Ornate handicrafts were on display in a gallery adjacent whose artistic roots gravitate to Isfahan, a province south of the capital Tehran where artisans boast of etching and intricate pen work. A decorated tea table was set up in at the end of the room to serve kehva and sweets to guests.

An artist at work. A variety of crafts on display at the gallery. PHOTO: MYRA IQBAL

“Since the revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made leaps in all fields proving its resilience and self-sufficiency in the face of great challenges,” said Iranian Ambassador Ali Raza Haqqiqian on the occasion, drawing similarities in culture, history and religion as the strengthening linkage between Pakistan and Iran.

As part of the cultural celebrations, the PNCA will be screening an Iranian film a day until February 10 when the week will draw to a close. A delegation of art and culture specialists from Iran has also been invited for this purpose. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2014.