Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art

Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art
Established 2009 [1]
Location Darvaze Dolat, Tehran, Iran
Type Contemporary Art
Director Sohrab Kashani
Public transit access Darvaze Dolat Metro Station
Website Sazmanab

Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art (Persian: مرکز هنرهای معاصر سازماناب‎) is an independent not-for-profit art center in Tehran founded in 2009 by Sohrab Kashani.

Sazmanab supports artistic work in a wide range of media through exhibitions and events, residencies for artists and curators, educational initiatives, workshops, talks, and publications.[2][3][4][5] By establishing local and international relationships, as well as diversifying both the practitioners and audiences of contemporary art, Sazmanab aims to support and expand the knowledge, appreciation and practice of contemporary arts in Iran. In addition, the primary purpose of its outreach and programming is the promotion of local and international arts both within Iran and abroad.
The team behind Sazmanab is keen on representing an array of artistic talent from Iran and from the international community as a means of fostering artistic dialogue. To further its scope, Sazmanab regularly holds talks, presentations, panels, lectures and hosts screenings, film premieres and book launches.[6]
Sazmanab also collaborates and partners with galleries, museums, cultural institutions, and art professionals across the globe to create exhibitions, hold events, share resources, and facilitate artistic exchanges.[7] Through the residency program at Sazmanab, each year international artists and curators hold residencies in Tehran. These artists are able to work at the studio spaces provided for visiting residents and are encouraged to pursuing independent projects throughout the city.[8]

History

"Molla Nasreddin", Slavs and Tatars, Dec 2011
"Of Labor, Of Dirt", Babak Golkar, Oct 2014

Sazmanab was established in 2009 and was originally based in Sadeghiyeh in the Western part of Tehran. At the time, Sazmanab was located in a small apartment, directly across the street from Tehran’s Department of Water for the Sadeghiyeh district. Sazmanab focused on site-specific work that was localized and in 2009 it expanded into a fully functioning project space where a variety of events and activities were held in collaboration with local artists and curators.[9][10]

Sazmanab continued to work towards its mission in 2010 by renovating the workspace. Shortly after the refurbishment, Sazmanab expanded in order to begin its residency program. While some resident artists were housed in the building where Sazmanab was located, other resident artists were provided with living and working space in other areas of Tehran.
Since its official founding in 2009 and throughout 2011 and 2012 Sazmanab has continued to focus on relationships with other institutions, museums, galleries, and curators.
In early 2014, Sazmanab began the relocation process to an old building on Khaghani Street near Darvaze Dolat in downtown Tehran. This area of the city is especially vibrant due to the large number of college campuses and the variety of galleries and museums. In addition, shops where craftsmen are engaged in traditional craftsmanship dominate the streets around Sazmanab.
The three-story brick building which now houses Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art has a traditional Ab-Anbar, which used to serve as a cistern or water reservoir. Sazmanab had its reopening in October 2014 with an exhibition by Iranian-born artist Babak Golkar [11] and later hosted an exhibition by Reza Aramesh that took over the entire building of Sazmanab. [12]

Tehran Video Forum

Founded in 2013, Tehran Video Forum (TVF) is an innovative platform for artists working with film. It encompasses a full database of historical and contemporary video works and represents the depth and range of the moving image within Iran. Since its inception, the mission of Tehran Video Forum has been to collect and catalogue a large variety of different works that are made available for screenings, exhibitions and acquisitions.[13]
The vision of Tehran Video Forum is to support video artwork, which is a fundamentally important means of communication. In addition, Tehran Video Forum seeks to foster creativity and collaboration between international artists and institutions.
Tehran Video Forum is committed to the preservation and promotion of digital works, which have emerged as a powerful medium in Iran. More than providing audiences with access to video and experimental film, Tehran Video Forum supports artists by providing a framework within which to expand video artwork locally and regionally.
The database is a comprehensive resource for artists, educational institutions, museums, galleries, cultural centers, and collectors. This archive is made available to the public through the Library at the Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art, thus making it a necessary and transformative moving-image archive.
Tehran Video Forum holds screenings in order to create a forum for cultural dialogue and critical exchange. Moreover, through its online resources, it provides the necessary infrastructure for educational initiatives and public programs.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.newmuseum.org/artspaces/view/sazmanab-platform-for-contemporary-arts
  2. ↑ http://www.whiteboxnyc.org/event/open-call-and-over-ruled/
  3. ↑ http://www.gasworks.org.uk/events/detail.php?id=726
  4. ↑ http://www.thebackroom.org/?p=104
  5. ↑ http://www.narrativegallery.com/specialprojects001/
  6. ↑ Daria Kirsanova (9 January 2013). "Paradox of Tehran". Art Fridge. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Daria Kirsanova (21 January 2013). "Postcard from Tehran". Frieze Publishing. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Doreen Mende (12 January 2014). "A Postcard from Tehran". Manifesta Journal. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Hamed Aleaziz (7 July 2010). "Cooking Up a Dialogue". PBS. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  10. ↑ Sandra Skurvida (29 January 2013). "WHO, BY WHOM, AND FOR WHOM: PRESENTATION OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN IRAN AND REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ART OF IRAN ELSEWHERE". Interventions Journal. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  11. ↑ Michelle Moghtadar (10 November 2014). "Iranians scream into pots at new contemporary art center". Reuters. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Laurence Cornet (17 February 2015). "Iran Special Edition : Reza Aramesh at Sazmanab". Reuters. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  13. ↑ http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/iranian-video-art-featured-in-public-art-discussion-at-cma-on-june-20-2013

External links

Coordinates: 35°43′38″N 51°21′21″E / 35.7273°N 51.3557°E