Imam Ali Painting Symposium

The proposal to organize an international painting symposium was put forward by Ms. Pouneh Jafarnezhad - a veteran participant in over ten international symposiums - in March 2007, while we were still busy with the First Tehran International Sculpture Symposium in Chitgar Park.
In keeping with our objectives and mission as well as the ideals of the museum namesake, I decided to arrange the painting symposium around the two themes with which Imam Ali (A. S.) was particularly concerned; namely, justice and neighborly love - which are still the greatest aspirations of mankind.

Following the usual practice of curators in charge of international symposiums, preparations for the project began in late April with surveys of the careers of international artists. Using the data bank compiled during the First Tehran International Sculpture Symposium as well as the catalogues of other international symposiums, letters of invitation were sent for 73 foreign artists. Similar invitations were also sent for 36 Iranian artists who had participated in last year’s workshops. To take advantage of the facilities of news agencies, a press release was also sent out on May 15, announcing the organization of the symposium.

As a result of the above measures, the symposium secretariat received preliminary sketches from 30 foreign artists from 19 countries as well as 14 sketches by 12 Iranian painters. The submitted sketches were examined on June 11 in the presence of the Master artist Manuchehr Motabar, and 12 foreign and 8 Iranian artists were selected for participation in the symposium and the execution of their preliminary sketches. The selected artists will start the creation of their proposed artworks on July 28, the auspicious birth anniversary of Imam Ali (A.S.)
I now take this opportunity to thank Master Motabar for his kind collaboration with the symposium secretariat, and to Madame Françoise Rohmer, curator of the Painting Symposium of the Mediterranean Colors, whose generous hospitality made it possible for me to get acquainted with a number of foreign artists.