Iran is a country with a pretty negative image in the U.S. press these days, so I was very intrigued when an Iranian-American artist friend recently sent me a link to an environmental art festival currently taking place there. In fact, the summer 2008 Iranian Environmental Art Festival, focusing on the water crisis and water pollution, is the 17th such festival.
Environmental art is a very popular form in Iran, my friend told me, not only because of its inherent interest, but also because it is less subject to the government censorship that plagues art that is permanent or displayed in more populated places. According to festival director Ahmad Nadalian, “In the past two years there has been a great demand for environmental art in Iran.. . .I have been pleased to organize different events and respond to this essential need of our society. Environmental art is the art of the future. We can learn how to behave with nature. I wish in the future we could have one environmental art event per day.”
Connections: A blog by Susan Weisberg 