Member of the policy-making council of the festival Jasem Ghazbanpur said, “Surely the condition of each society affects the photos taken by the photographers. That is, a photo comes out of the heart of a society and any event happening in the society will affect the quality and the themes of the photos.”
“Therefore, the organizers have decided to honor those photographers who were active during the pandemic and died of COVID-19 or tested positive with COVID-19,” he said.
“The art of photography has a close relationship with people, and the closer art is with the society and people, the more endearing it is,” he added.
The 13th edition of the festival will be held in the Saba Art and Cultural Institute in February.
In a press release published in late December, the organizers called on Iranian artists who have been honored at international events to participate in the festival.
“Interested artists who have received international awards at the biennials and festivals in 2019 and 2020 are invited to attend the new section named ‘World Stars of Iranian Art’,” director of the festival Ali-Ashraf Sandoqabadi said.
“We have been in contact with several associations, which have so far introduced 300 artists to the secretariat. However, others who are interested can get in touch with the secretariat of the festival,” he added.
He mentioned that the submitted works will be published in the book of the festival.
He said that the organizers will also honor the veteran artists, adding, “Last year, the honoring ceremony was planned but was postponed due to the spread of coronavirus, but this year we have plans to hold the honoring ceremony.”
He also said that an exhibition of lithographs by curator Ahmad Vakili will also be held on the margins of the festival.
“The winners of the Visual Arts Festival for Youth of the past three years as well as the winners of the two previous editions of the Fajr Festival of Visual Arts, the fifth Iranian International Calligraphy Biennial, and the 11th National Biennial of Contemporary Iranian Ceramic Art can submit their works to the secretariat. Their works will also be judged for the final awards,” he concluded.
Source:Tehran Times