The Edinburgh Iranian Festival aims to “introduce the tremendous breadth of Iranian history and culture to adults and children in Scotland, and to integrate the two communities through a broad range of interactive events spanning numerous art-forms.”
And so building on the success of the first season of the Edinburgh Iranian Festival in 2009, this year’s festival is taking place between January 28th-February 6th 2011. (Art and photo exhibitions will also be running as pre-festival events beginning in mid-January 2011.)
The organization is a non-political showcase for world-class Iranian culture, as well as for bands and artists working both in and outside of Iran.
Planned events will include music concerts, a book reading, film screenings, lectures, exhibitions, storytelling, food, a mini bazaar, comedy shows, games, and more.
Here’s a quick look at a portion of the programs scheduled:
Wine & Poetry event: Bring your own bottle of wine (or flask of tea) and your favourite poem by one of Iran’s or Scotland’s well known poets. There will be distinguished guests, such as Iranian poets Soheila Ghodstinat , Mehri Kashani and Lobat Vala. Wine and poetry have been found side by side in Persian poems throughout history, and will once again unite in Scotland!
Art Exhibit: An exhibition by two contemporary Iranian artists, Maryam Hashemi and Haleh Jamali, exploring issues around cultural identity. All paintings will be available for purchase. Further information on price will be available at the exhibition.
Click here to view the entire brochure for full details.
