TEHRAN-The closing ceremony of the tenth edition of the Islamic Revolution Art Week and the introduction of the Islamic Revolution Artist of the Year 1402 (March 2023-2024) took place Wednesday evening at Art Bureau in Tehran with the presence of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili, director of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization (IDO) Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ghomi, Art Bureau director Mohammad-Mehdi Dadman, and CEO of Mehr News Agency Mohammad-Mehdi Rahmati and other dignitaries.

During the event, the executive secretary of the Islamic Revolution Art Week Mohammad Reza Baqeri presented a report on the organization's activities. “Over a thousand cultural, artistic, and media figures participated in a survey conducted by centers of Art Bureau to select nominees for the Islamic Revolution Artist of the Year. A total of 96 individuals were ultimately selected as nominees. Following a rigorous selection process involving multiple sessions, five individuals were announced as the finalists for the award,” he said.

Veteran visual artist Massoud Nejabati was introduced as the Islamic Revolution Artist of the Year, Mehr reported.

Dedicating his award to the people in Gaza, he said: “The oppressed people of Gaza have enlightened the eyes of the world with their resistance.”

Israel's war on besieged Palestinians of Gaza — having lasted about 200 days — has killed at least 34,000 people and wounded over 77,000.

Israeli bombardment from the air, land, and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure.

Nejabati was nominated for the award for his impactful work in graphic arts, including his collaboration in the creation of the mural “And the Victory is Near” on a wall separating Lebanon from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Born in Tehran, Nejabati, 57, completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in graphics from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran and the University of Arts, and then started teaching graphics and typography in universities, conservatories and various art education centers. 

Artistic management and graphic design of various cultural projects in public and private organizations and centers, writing books, membership in the Iranian Calligraphers Association and a member of the jury of art festivals are part of his activities. He has participated in various solo and group exhibitions in Iran and abroad, as well as in artistic competitions, and has received numerous awards and plaques, including the special prize of the graphic section of the 14th International Holy Quran Exhibition. 

In another past of the ceremony, the animation “Smart Kid,” produced by Hamed Jafari, was named the Top Revolutionary Event of the Year.

The 3D animation, which has been titled the best-selling animation and children’s film in the country, is directed by Behnoud Nekouiee, Mohammad Javad Jannati and Hadi Mohammadian. It had its national premier at the 41st Fajr Film Festival in Tehran last February, where it won the Best Animation award.  

The animation tells the story of Mohsen, a little boy who loves superheroes. He always tries to help anybody he comes across. Once he encounters an extinct Iranian species and decides to help the animal to get back to his homeland. However, a trip to the heart of the jungle, fighting the hunters and facing extinct creatures is the start of a complicated adventure for Mohsen.

Also at the ceremony, tributes were paid to Mohammadreza Sarshar, a distinguished literary figure in Iran, and the Cuban cartoonist Aristides Esteban Hernandez Guerrero, also known as Ares, for his contributions to artistic endeavors in the realm of resistance.

Since 2015, the Art Bureau has been annually introducing the Islamic Revolution Artist of the Year. In the past editions, cultural and art figures such as filmmakers Ebrahim Hatamikia and Majid Majidi, songwriter Mohammad-Mehdi Sayyar, painter and costume designer Abdolhamid Ghadirian, and author Hamid Hassam have been successful in achieving this title.

The Islamic Revolution Art Week is organized every year by the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization (IDO) to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of documentarian Morteza Avini who was killed by a landmine in 1993 during his last trip to the former Iran-Iraq war zone in southwestern Iran while making a documentary about soldiers who were still listed as missing in action.

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