TEHRAN – A collection of 93 calligraphy works have been selected to compete in the 13th Fajr Festival of Visual Arts to be held in the Saba Art and Cultural Institute in February.

“The works have been selected out of 511 works submitted by 239 calligraphers,” a member of the jury Mojtaba Malekzadeh said in a press release published on Monday. 

He noted that most of the works are in the nastaliq style of calligraphy.

He further noted that most of the young artists have more interest in calligraphic paintings, however, the classic type of calligraphy still has its own devotees.

“The reason could be that calligraphic painting is still new and probably has no specific definition,” he said.

He also noted that what will make the final judgment hard would be that all styles of calligraphy must be judged together this year while in the previous editions each style was judged in its own category.

“We understand the current condition of the country and I think in the calligraphy section it would be better if we have more than one honoree,” he remarked.

Member of the cartoon section of the festival Masud Ziai also announced that 49 cartoons will be competing in the cartoon section of the festival this year. 

The collection has been selected out of 266 submissions by 100 artists. 

In a press release published in late December, the organizers called on Iranian artists who have been honored at international events to participate in the festival. 

“Interested artists who have received international awards at the biennials and festivals in 2019 and 2020 are invited to attend the new section named ‘World Stars of Iranian Art’,” director of the festival Ali-Ashraf Sandoqabadi said.

“We have been in contact with several associations, which have so far introduced 300 artists to the secretariat. However, others who are interested can get in touch with the secretariat of the festival,” he added.   

He mentioned that the submitted works will be published in the book of the festival.

He said that the organizers will also honor the veteran artists, adding, “Last year, the honoring ceremony was planned but was postponed due to the spread of coronavirus, but this year we have plans to hold the honoring ceremony.”

He also said that an exhibition of lithographs by curator Ahmad Vakili will also be held on the margins of the festival.

“The winners of the Visual Arts Festival for Youth of the past three years as well as the winners of the two previous editions of the Fajr Festival of Visual Arts, the fifth Iranian International Calligraphy Biennial, and the 11th National Biennial of Contemporary Iranian Ceramic Art can submit their works to the secretariat. Their works will also be judged for the final awards,” he concluded.

Photo: A poster for the 13th Fajr Festival of Visual Arts. 

RM/YAW