Iranian Artists Forum puts Muharram artworks on display

The Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) in Tehran has started running a visual art exhibition on rituals and customs during the mourning month of Muharram in Iran.

Paintings, sculptures and photos by young and veteran artists are on display.

Pen drawings of 97-year-old self-taught artist Zabihollah Mohammadi are among the works.

Other artists contributing to the exhibition include Mojtaba Mousavi, Hossein Khosrowjerdi, Kazem Chalipa, Amir Kabirnejad, Kourosh Golnari, Iraj Eskandari and Nasser Palangi.

Part of the exhibit is dedicated to a collection of historical photographs from traditional performances of Tazieh and mourning rituals in the month of Muharram during the Qajar era (1786-1925).

The photos are on loan from the Tehran-based City Photo House Museum.

Muharram is the period of mourning and commemoration marking the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad [PBUH].

The Imam and his 72 family members and companions were martyred by the army of Yazid, the Umayyad caliph, in the historic Battle of Karbala (in Iraq) in 680 AD.

Muharram rituals have long been intertwined with Iranian culture and are often also manifested through the arts.

The IAF will continue hosting the show until September 24, 2018.

MG/MMF