"Shah Receives the Duke", Oil and gold leaf on linen, 2011 by Bilal Aquil (Courtesy of the artist)

In his first solo exhibition, Reign of the Shah, inspired by the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), UK-born artist, Bilal Aquil narrates a story of the assassination of a Shah of the Imperial Court and the subsequent battles that follow to avenge his death and establish the power of the new Shah. Aquil presents a series of paintings which orchestrate battlefields with Persian miniatures fused with Aquil’s interpretation of Goya’s ‘The Disasters of War’ etchings, ‘The Second of May 1808’ and ‘The Third of May 1808’ masterworks at Traffic, Dubai. Continue Reading

"On the Shore", Maharlu Lake Aerial Photo by: Georg Gerster (Circa 19070s)

Pioneer of aerial photography, Georg Gerster, reveals Iran as never seen before, in his exhibition of 1970s pictures entitled: “Paradise Lost: Persia from Above” at the Wilmotte Gallery from April 8 – May 20, 2011.

In the immediate years before the Iranian revolution, the Swiss photographer was commissioned by the former queen of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, to record the country’s topography.

Gerster writes “Flying over Iran, I had been struck by the thought that Persia’s natural and cultural landscape was predestined to be viewed from the air.” Continue Reading

The popular children’s book and video series, Babak and Friends takes Babak, his friends, and us on a few Persian adventures.

In the cartoon DVD A First Norooz, Babak visits Persepolis and learns about Amoo Norooz and the Haft Seen through a magical journey.

With the talented voices of Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ali Pourtash, Catherine Bell and Parviz Sayyad as Amoo Norooz.

This classic cartoon has become a Norooz favorite and is suitable for the whole family. Continue Reading

Inner Heaven, an anthology of writings by the late Berjik Kurkjian, the daughter of Armenian Genocide survivors, is a collection of self-help articles which were originally written in Persian between 1987-88.

In the book’s foreword, psychologist Ehsan Gharadjedaghi writes: “Berjik has turned a catastrophic event, such as the Armenian Genocide and its devastating consequences that led to the displacement of her family of origin, into a fertile ground for introspection and philanthropy that is on par with Victor Frankl’s search for meaning.”

Karine Armen, the author’s daughter, has edited and translated the he 37 articles into English. The volume also includes a number of family photographs, which give the essays a further personal context and account for the anthology’s function as a semi memoir.

Aware of the fact that negative thoughts can drain one’s energy, Kurkjian gives suggestions on how to live one’s life by using positive words and thoughts: Her writing is simple and touches the reader’s soul.

Inner Heaven is available at Ketab Bookstore in Westwood, Abril,  Berj and Sardarabad bookstores in Glendale, California, or via mail-order at photokarine.com.

Walls of Iran, By: Parviz Tanavoli (Via Meem Gallery)

Parviz Tanavoli: Monograph, is the most extensive catalogue raisonné on the artist to date.

The book includes over 250 color plates displaying his sculptures from the early 1960s to his most recent work. Continue Reading

Written by S. Mostofi, Cemetery of Dreams is a political thriller novel set in the wake of the 1979 revolution and the hostage crisis.

Mostofi was born and raised in Tehran, Iran and was the the first in her family to immigrate to the United States. Continue Reading