Tahmineh - 30 Voices

“Tahmineh”
Celebrating the Art of Feminity
30Voices
March 8, 2013
‫گ ذ شت در شب ت یره از ب هره ی ک چو‬
‫ب گ شت گ ردان چرخ ب ر ش باه نگ‬
‫راز ب ه ن ه ف ته آمد گ ف تن سخن‬
‫ب از ک ردن د ن رم خواب گه در‬
‫روی ماه ی کی ان در پ رده پ س‬
‫ب وی و رن گ از پ ر ت اب ان خور ش ید چو‬
‫ک م ند گ ی سو دو و ک مان اب رو دو‬
‫ب ل ند سرو ک ردار ب ه ب ا ال ب ه‬
‫پ اک جان ت ن ب ود خرد روان ش‬
‫خاک ز ن دارد هب هر ک ه گ ف تی ت و‬
‫مان د خ یره ش یردل ر س تم او از‬
‫ب خوان د را آف ری ن جهان ب ر ب رو‬
‫چ ی ست ت و ن ام گ فت زو ب پر س ید‬
‫چ ی ست ت و ک ام ت یره شب جوی ی چه‬
‫امت هم ی نه ک ه پ ا سخ داد چ ن ین‬
‫امن یمه دو ب ه غم از ک ه گ وی ی ت و‬
‫م نم سم ن گان شاه دخت ی کی‬
‫م نم پ ل ن گان و هژب ر پ شت ز‬
‫ن ی ست ج فت مرا خوب ان ز گ ی تی ب ه‬
‫ستان دک ی ک بود چرخ زی ر من چو‬
‫مرا ن دی دی ب یرون پ رده از ک س‬
‫مرا ش ن یدی آوا ک س هرگ ز ن ه‬
‫ک سی هر از اف سان ه ک ردار ب ه‬
‫ب سی دا س تان ت همی ش ن یدم‬
‫پ ل نگ و ن ه نگ و دی و و ش یر از ک ه‬
‫ت یزچ نگ چ ن ین ه س تی و ن تر سی‬
‫شوی ت وران ب ه ت نها ت یره شب‬
‫ن غ نوی هم و مرز ب ران ب گردی‬
‫ک نی نب ری ا گ ور ی کی ت نها ب ه‬
‫ک نی گ ری ان شم ش یر ب ه را هوا‬
‫چ نگ ب ه ب ی ند ت و گ رز ک ه هرآن کس‬
‫پ ل نگ چ نگ و ش یر دل ب درد‬
‫ع قاب ب ی ند ت و ت ی غ چو ب ره نه‬
‫ش تاب ک ردن ن خچ یر ب ه ن یارد‬
‫هژب ر دارد ت و ک م ند ن شان‬
‫اب ر ب ارد خون ت و س نان ب یم ز‬
‫ت و ز ش ن یدم دا س تان ها ای ن چو‬
‫ت و ز گ زی دم دن دان ب ه ل ب ب سی‬
‫ب رت و الی و ک فت همی ب ج س تم‬
‫آب شخورت ای زد ک رد شهر ب دی ن‬
‫مرا ب خواهی گ ر ک نون ام ت را‬
‫مرا ماهی و مرغ جزی ن ن ب ی ند‬
‫امگ ش ته چ ن ین ت و ب ر آن ک ی کی‬
‫امک ش ته هوا ب هر ز را خرد‬
‫ک ردگ ار م گر ت و از ک ه ودی گر‬
‫ک نار ان در پ ورم ی کی ن شان د‬
‫زور و مردی ب ه ب ا شد ت و چون م گر‬
‫هور و ک یوان ب هره دهد س پهرش‬
Mission
Mission
30Voices is a not for-profit, non-political organization. 30Voices is dedicated to
the promotion of the Iranian woman’s art. The arts include performing arts, fine
arts,
literature,
andfor-profit,
traditional
folk art. 30Voices
hopes30Voices
to show is
thededicated
depth and
30Voices
is a not
non-political
organization.
to
diversity
of Iranian
woman,
their
art and
their
the promotion
of the
Iranian
woman’s
art.
Theaccomplishments.
arts include performing arts, fine
arts, literature, and traditional folk art. 30Voices hopes to show the depth and
30Voices
exhibits
art oftheir
Iranian
residing
in Iran or around the world.
diversity of
Iranianthe
woman,
artwoman
and their
accomplishments.
We exhibit the bitter cry of the Iranian woman under indignant and chauvinistic
traditions
of male the
dominated
society,
existing
side byinside
within the
30Voices exhibits
art of Iranian
woman
residing
Iranand
or around
the world.
enlightening
romanticism
of
the
Iranian
traditions.
We exhibit the bitter cry of the Iranian woman under indignant and chauvinistic
traditions of male dominated society, existing side by side and within the
30Voices
is the
personification
the denunciation
enlightening
romanticism
of theofIranian
traditions. of any entity attempting to
silence the Iranian woman and it solely operates on generous tax deductible
contributions
it’s supporters.of the denunciation of any entity attempting to
30Voices is theofpersonification
silence the Iranian woman and it solely operates on generous tax deductible
With
30voicesofwe
aim to raise awareness to domestic abuse and assist and
contributions
it’salso
supporters.
rehabilitate Iranian woman and their families who have been victims of such
abuse.
With 30voices we also aim to raise awareness to domestic abuse and assist and
rehabilitate Iranian woman and their families who have been victims of such
abuse.
www.30voices.org
www.30voices.org
Thank You
AndishehYou
TV
Thank
Faramarz Forouzandeh
Shahrzad Ardalan
Iranian Hotline.com
Special
thanks
to:
Firouzeh
Khatibi
Morris Nass, L.A Print & Digital Center - 437 S. Robertson Blvd.
Ali
Poursamadi
Andisheh
TV
Womenfound
Alireza
Naiminejad
Faramarz
Behyar Forouzandeh
Zolfaghari
Andisheh
TV
Shahrzad
Ardalan
Daniel
Keck
Apadana
TV
Iranian Hotline.com
Diana Yonkouski
Firouzeh Khatibi
Hamid Gharib
Morris Nass, L.A Print & Digital
Center - 437 S. Robertson Blvd.
ISAA
Womenfound
Iranican
Behyar
Zolfaghari
Irooni.com
Daniel
Keck
Krista Nassi
LA Print & Digital Center
Niloufar MohtashamNouri
Palace of Fine Arts
Persian Center
Perspective Magazine
Pourya Khademi
Sanam Salehian
Talieh Shahroukhi
www.30voices.org
Thank
You
Program
Mission
Singing Ey-Iran with Niosha Dance Academy
to 30Voices
30Voices is a not for-profit,Introduction
non-political organization.
30Voices is dedicated to
Andisheh
TV
the promotion of the
IranianIran
woman’s
art. The
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Javidan
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arts, literature, and traditional
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diversity of Iranian woman, their
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accomplishments.
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Hotline.com
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30Voices exhibits the art of Iranian woman residing in Iran or around the world.
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Iranian woman
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30Voices is theAyeneh
personification
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silence the Iranian woman and it solely operates on generous tax deductible
INTERMISSION
contributions of it’s supporters.
Ziba
Karbassi
With 30voices we also aim to raise
awareness
to domestic abuse and assist and
rehabilitate Iranian woman and their families who have been victims of such
abuse.
Niosha Nafai-Jamal
Parisa Vaaleh
www.30voices.org
Warning Signs
Are you in an abusive relationship?
This self-quiz will help you recognize the early warning signs. If you answer
"yes" to more than a couple of the following questions, you need to get help
now!
Does your boyfriend/girlfriend...
Want to spend every minute together?
Quiz you about everything you do when you are apart?
Keep you from seeing old friends?
Make fun of you or put you down in public?
Threaten to do something bad if you break up?
Make you feel like you can’t end the relationship?
Use alcohol or drugs as an excuse for being mean?
Have an uncontrollable temper?
Often get upset and refuse to discuss the reasons why?
Force you to do things that you don’t feel comfortable doing?
Domestic abuse, also known as spousal abuse, occurs when one person
in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the
other person. An abuser doesn’t “play fair.” He or she uses fear, guilt,
shame, and intimidation to wear you down and gain complete power
over you. He or she may threaten you, hurt you, or hurt those around
you. Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic
violence.
Despite what many people believe, domestic violence is not due to the
abuser’s loss of control over his behavior. In fact, violence is a deliberate
choice made by the abuser in order to take control over his wife or
partner.
Spousal abuse and battery are used for one purpose: to gain and
maintain total control over the victim. In addition to physical violence,
abusers use the following tactics to exert power over their wives or
partners:
Dominance — Abusive individuals need to feel in charge of the
relationship. They will make decisions for you and the family, tell
you what to do, and expect you to obey without question. Your
abuser may treat you like a servant, child, or even as his
possession.
Humiliation — An abuser will do everything he can to make you feel
bad about yourself, or defective in some way. After all, if you
believe you're worthless and that no one else will want you,
you're less likely to leave. Insults, name-calling, shaming, and
public put-downs are all weapons of abuse designed to erode your
self-esteem and make you feel powerless.
Isolation — In order to increase your dependence on him, an abusive
partner will cut you off from the outside world. He may keep you
from seeing family or friends, or even prevent you from going to
work or school. You may have to ask permission to do anything,
go anywhere, or see anyone. Source: Domestic Abuse
Intervention Project, MN
Threats — Abusers commonly use threats to keep their victims from
leaving or to scare them into dropping charges. Your abuser may
threaten to hurt or kill you, your children, other family members,
or even pets. He may also threaten to commit suicide, file false
charges against you, or report you to child services.
Intimidation — Your abuser may use a variety of intimation tactics
designed to scare you into submission. Such tactics include
making threatening looks or gestures, smashing things in front of
you, destroying property, hurting your pets, or putting weapons
on display. The clear message is that if you don't obey, there will
be violent consequences.
Denial and blame — Abusers are very good at making excuses for
the inexcusable. They will blame their abusive and violent
behavior on a bad childhood, a bad day, and even on the victims
of their abuse. Your abuser may minimize the abuse or deny that
it occurred. He will commonly shift the responsibility onto you:
Somehow, his violence and abuse is your fault.
Humilian
Domestic abuse falls into a common pattern, or cycle of
violence:
Abuse — The abuser lashes out with aggressive or violent behavior.
The abuse is a power play designed to show the victim "who is
boss."
Guilt — After the abusive episode, the abuser feels guilt, but not over
rch 8, 2012
March 8, 2012
How does art heal?
Scientific studies tell us that art heals by changing a person’s physiology
and attitude. The body’s physiology changes from one of stress to one of
deep relaxation, from one of fear to one of creativity and inspiration. Art
and music put a person in a different brain wave pattern, art and music
affect a person’s autonomic nervous system, their hormonal balance and
their brain neurotransmitters.
Art and music affect every cell in the body instantly to create a healing
physiology that changes the immune system and blood flow to all the organs. Art and Music also immediately change a person’s perceptions of
their world. They change attitude, emotional state, and pain perception.
They create hope and positivity and they help people cope with difficulties. They transform a person’s outlook and way of being in the world.
In fact it is now known by neurophysiologists that art, prayer, and healing
all come from the same source in the body, they all are associated with
similar brain wave patterns, mind body changes and they all are deeply
connected in feeling and meaning. Art, prayer, and healing all take us into
our inner world, the world of imagery and emotion, of visions and feelings. This journey inward into what used to be called the spirit or soul and
is now called the mind, is deeply healing. For healing comes to us from
within, our own healing resources are freed to allow our immune system
to operate optimally and that is always how we heal. This is the contemporary version of freeing our healing energies and is now recognized to be
crucial to healing. We go inward on The Creative Spiral together through
art and music.
The Iranian Students Alliance in America
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student organization established at UC Berkeley in the Fall of 2002.
ISAA’s mission is:
To raise social, cultural and political awareness and promote freedom
of speech by organizing lectures, movie screenings, music festivals, art
galleries and panels according to the needs of our community.
To create a sense of togetherness in Iranian community by supporting
and promoting minorities, LGBT rights and women’s rights through our
programs and organizing and sponsoring social events such as Norooz,
Mehregan, Charshanbe Soori etc.
To help the community strengthen its Iranian identity by organizing
workshops, festivals and galleries with the aim of promoting Iranian
art, history and culture.
To promote peace and friendship by collaborating with different Iranian
DVZHOODVQRQ,UDQLDQQRQSUR¿WRUJDQL]DWLRQVRQJOREDOLVVXHVFRQcerning different communities.
ISAA was honored to sponsor International Women’s day event on March 8,
2013 at Palace of Fine Arts, SF, organized by 30voices group and take another
step in supporting women’s rights, a cause as old as human civilization.
Omid Shams Solari,
President.
Alaleh Kamran
Alaleh Kamran is a criminal defense attorney, who for the last 20 years, has
dedicated her practice to the defense of the constitution, humanitarian causes,
and grassroots community efforts to intervene on behalf of the defenseless.
Her criminal practice covers drug related offenses, violent crimes such as murders
to white collar crimes, including money laundering & structuring cases, on the
State and Federal level.
6KHLVDIUHTXHQWOHFWXUHUWRKLJKVFKRROVFROOHJHV1RQ3UR¿WRUJDQL]DWLRQV
concentrating on Juvenile Crimes and Domestic Violence: Intervention and
Prevention. She is a frequent legal analyst on Radio and TV programs, and has her
own monthly radio program dealing with Crimes and Constitutional issues.
She has previously served as the President of the Iranian American Lawyers’
Association. In 2001, she was awarded the “Woman of the year Award” by the
Iranian Jewish Women’s organization of Southern California. To date, Alaleh has
been the recipient of a &HUWL¿FDWHRI&RPPHQGDWLRQ from City of Los Angeles;
a Community Award from the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, a &HUWL¿FDWH
of Recognition from the City of Beverly Hills, and&HUWL¿FDWHRI5HFRJQLWLRQIRU
Outstanding Service and Support provided to the Iranian Community thru the
Mid Wilshire Domestic Violence prevention collaborative. In 2010, Jewish Unity
Foundation honored her with the “Humanitarian of the Year Award”.
She has appeared as a guest legal analyst for E! Entertainment, Access Hollywood
and NBC news.
Babak Katouzi
Babak Katouzi is a song writer, composer, multi instrument player, ( Piano,
Guitar and Azarbayjani Tar), Babak Katouzi was born in the city of Tabriz
and got his degree in Music from Iran. He lives and collaborates with
different artists and musicians in the bay area, San Francisco.
Chandanni Miglino
Chandanni Miglino (Mariam Miglino) Chandanni is an International
role model for Femininity, Individuality and Whole Health. She was born
and raised in London, England of Iranian decent and is now based in LA.
&KDQGDQQLLVDQDUWLVWDSXEOLFVSHDNHUDFHUWL¿HG.XQGDOLQL\RJDSUH
natal yoga teacher, an Ayurvedic Counselor (www.chandanni.com) and a
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both in India and the United States and is currently looking to take this
work to the Middle East. She is the Founder of WeDharma.com, an online
blog site celebrating conscious traditions of the East and West. Chandanni
is also a videographer and her work can be seen on the ‘WeBeFree
Channel’ on youtube. She is currently the Co-Founder and Director of the
Divine Shakti Festival, recently inaugurated at the Purna Kumbha Mela
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role of women in the 21st Century and to promote peace and well- being,
encouraging freedom and unity for all.
Dancers and Singers of Niosha
Rojeen Azadi
Ava Banie
Ariana Bagherian
Nika Bagherian
Nikki Mousavizadeh
Ariana Ofough
Roya Oreo
Natalia Yegany
Deanna Yazdy
Kayla Zamanian
Niosha Nafei-Jamali
Sahar Ahghari
Melieka Fathi
Daria Farkhondeh
Nazmehr Marzban
Susan Sadeghi
Yasaman Sadeghi
Emad Bonakdar
Emad Bonakdar Composer, Multi-instrumentalist, Performer
Born in 1965, Emad began learning guitar at a very young age. Initially,
he started his training in jazz and pop. It took him twenty years and much
soul searching before he found a home in Flamenco, a style that touched
his heart and allowed him to express his deep emotions and passion in
a way that no other music could. His love of traditional Persian music,
coupled with expressive and soulful Flamenco music, created a style
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immense culture of ancient Persian Empire was produced in 1999. Emad
has also collaborated with the movie industry and has composed music
score for the movie Momâs Guest directed by Daryoush Mehrjooee &
Ebrahim Hatamikia ,Ramin Mohseni, …. He is a creative composer and
has performed in several concerts at home& Europe.He was nominated
in world music festival on 2004(NewYork). His last live performance in
,UDQZDVEHQH¿WFRQFHUWIRU%DP.HUPDQHDUWKTXLFNUHVXOWHGLQD'9'
which has just been released. In 2006 he moved to US with new ideas
in Fusion, reformed new band(Mezghoon)with vocalist Mma Goodarz.
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currently lives in ( menlopark) California where he writes songs, and
teaches music.
Farideh Lashai
In memoriam of one of the most celebrated contemporary Iranian female
artist, Farideh Lashai (1944-February 24, 2013)
Farideh Lashai was a multifaceted artist, who expresses herself through
painting, sculpture, art installations and writing. She had added another
dimension to her work by combining animated videos with her paintings.
In her latest series, titled Rabbit in Wonderland, the well-known Iranian
artist had used her beautifully painted landscapes as a backdrop to project
the four-and-a-half minute videos, seamlessly blending the two media to
present a carefully constructed fantasy world.
In Lashai’s Wonderland you see rabbits frolicking in a forest, ravens
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disappearing and the Cheshire cat grinning at you from the canvas.
Through these real and imaginary characters, the artist told us tales
about her own life and about her country. Although her stories are
autobiographical, they have a universal resonance.
Gordafarid
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Shahnameh, “Iranian National Epic”, Gordafarid, has excelled in
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years of research, meticulous collection of narratives, and patiently
following the footsteps of old masters of this ancient dramatic art.
Gordafarid has come a long way in challenging conventional social norms
that consider naqqali an art form performed by men and for men in public
places such as traditional coffee houses in Iran. Her perseverance and
determination bore fruit when Morshed Torabi, the most famous naqqal
in Iran, prized her with his own cane in recognition of her achievements.
She has incorporated different styles of naqqali into a seamless and
unique narrative style that is all her own. Gordafarid’s stunning capability
in capturing the imagination of audience has drawn large crowds to
her numerous performances both inside Iran and abroad. She has also
published books and articles on naqqali and offered workshops and courses
on the subject at schools and universities. Gordafarid has been recognized
in “ The Intangible Heritage” Of UNESCO.
Krista Nassi
Nahid Pirnazar Oberman
Nahid Pirnazar Oberman, Ph.D. is a lecturer of Iranian studies at UCLA,
where she received her Ph.D. in Iranian studies in 2004. Her teaching
experience at UCLA includes instruction in Persian language and literature
from the introductory to advanced levels, Judeo-Persian literature, and
Iranian Jewish history.
Her translation of Khaleghi Motlagh’s Die Frauen im Schahnameh as
a language requirement for her doctoral degree had such an impact on
her that it motivated her to share this work with an English speaking
audience. As editor, and under the direction of the author, she has
annotated Dr. Brigitte Neuenschwander’s full translation with the
author’s additional comments and references to his articles published
since 1973. Dr. Pirnazar’s efforts are an important addition to the
literature on the Shahnameh in English, especially considering that few
works have been published on the role of women in Persian literature.
Nazy Kaviani
Nazy Kaviani is a blogger, writer, editor, translator, researcher, and human rights
advocate. She is also dedicated to serving the Iranian community in the San
Francisco Bay Area, in the arena of civic duties, artistic, cultural, and human
rights causes. She has promoted many young Iranian artists who have appeared
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success.
(YHU\\HDUPDQ\,UDQLDQDUWLVWVDFWLYLVWVZULWHUVDQGFXOWXUDO¿JXUHVVHHNDQG
receive Nazy’s help in promoting their art, their talent, and their voices in this
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philanthropy is exemplary and so has raised the bar for community work in the
San Francisco Bay Area Iranian community.
Nazy has worked tirelessly throughout her life as a management professional
who has trained scores of young people, and has received a few awards for her
professional career.
Nazy’s writings, blogs, short stories, and translations have been published
in several books, most recently in “Sketches of Iran,” and “Confronting the
Clash: The Suppressed Voices of Iran.” Nazy has also written several articles,
research papers, and document translations, which have appeared in various
major publications. Additionally, she has helped with several fundraising events
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Iranian immigrants to this area and the new wave of diaspora Iranians. One of
Nazy’s favorite projects is to help with Golestan School, a culture immersion
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generation Iranian-Americans.
30Voices honors Nazy Kaviani for all her love and devotion for the artist
community of the Bay area.
Neeyaz Angoshtari
My name is Neeyaz Angoshtari, I was born and raised in Iran. The Farsi to English translation
of Neeyaz means your greatest “need” in life; or deepest desire. Education has always been
my greatest “need” and desire in life. The desire to grow and improve has placed education as
a central focus in life. I am fortunate that my continued commitment to education has enabled
me to attend well-regarded schools over the course of my life.
I dedicated time to study science and earned a Bachelor in Software Engineering in Iran. In
2003 I moved to the United States of America where I continued my studies at the University
of Southern California, Los Angeles. While much of my education career has been dedicated to
math and science, I have always been inspired by the beauty of nature and power of color and
see my passion for art and science work together.
'XULQJDWULSWR'XEDLLQ,YLVLWHGWKH%XUMRODUDE+RWHOWKH¿UVWVHYHQVWDUKRWHO,
was mesmerized by the beauty, harmony, and elegance of the interior design. This was a
transformative experience that inspired me to pursue a career in interior design. Having this
desire and passion for many years I moved to San Francisco to study Interior Design in 2008. I
was so fortunate to study design in San Francisco as the city is brimming with inspiration and
has further enriched my design education while bringing design into my daily life.
Looking back at my journey and the various areas I have worked in from computer science
and research I see a continued use and application of these skills. My design approach is to
create a functional space for the user that is inspired by nature, while applying geometric and
mathematical rules. This diversity has greatly strengthened my artistic view.
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raising project done in 2005 to support kids who were in need of kidney transplant surgery,
which was initiated with my very deep heart feeling for kids in pain in “Ali Asghar children
hospital” in Iran and was supported with my sister Nazanin Zahra Angoshtari, friends and
many other people across the United States and Canada. My life journey and my burning
accident in 2007 kept my mind engaged with health care and was a turning point for me to
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Having this mind theme, with experience of being hospitalized and working in hospital, with
my science, research and design skills gave me the chance to express part of my dream in my
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Currently I’m living in San Francisco, work as interior designer and enjoy volunteering with
different organizations to support kids, who are in pain or challenge, and their families.
Niaz Ziabakhsh
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in her dreams and in her expectations, hearing my mother and father’s boisterous
laugh and wondering how they could be so happy while I am so worried.
I was thinking about death, while my mum and dad were waiting for my birth.
I tried so hard to not be born, but no one noticed, no one heard and no one
understood. I very much liked to be heard and seen but Maybe my shout was not
loud enough.
So then I founded painting as a tool to express my dreams, my aspirations and my
words, and then putting them display on the walls of my house. Maybe that was
my only chance to communicate with my parents.
After a while, my paintings start to invite more than two audiences. This also
taught me how to establish relationships and communicate those who even speak
different languages.
Whatever I have done or learned in my life so far had one goal, a way to relate to
and to communicate with others.
Today, I am listened without saying a word. My voice is so loud enough to make
people listen to me and speak for others. This could be the most important reason
that I studied Graphic, Illustration and advertising and I am able to publicize the
words of many people via my images.
Niloufar Ghaderinejad
Niloufar Ghaderinejad- Born in 1957 in Tehran. She got her diploma
from Behzad painting school and proceeded to study in the Fine Art
College at Tehran University in 1975. Her study was completed in 1979
with a B.A. in painting, at which time she was making portraits for use
in books and magazines, as well as wall-paintings. Teaching design and
painting was one of her favorite activities since she was a student and
remains so, occasionally, even now. She has had many individual and
group shows in Tehran and other cities, numbering to about 35, including
two biennial shows of the Contemporary Art Museum.
Niosha Nafei-Jamali
Niosha was born in Tehran, Iran in 1971, where she started dancing at age 5. In
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Negin-e- Iran. The same year she also founded the Niosha Dance Academy
(NDA) in the US, dedicated to teaching children and adults Persian styles of
dance. Niosha and her academy travel extensively and perform at numerous
“Heritage Day” and “Cultural International Festivals” celebrations and she has
been awarded best choreography and best performance in several competitions.
Niosha went on to graduate from UC Santa Cruz in 1997 with a degree in
Psychology. As an active member of the Iranian community, Niosha has been
recognized by The World Affairs Council, The Society of Iranian Professionals,
The Persian Center, and numerous other organizations for her contributions
toward preserving, promoting and expanding Iranian culture, heritage and art
in the US. In 2002, Niosha was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a
form of cancer that affects the Lymphatic system of the body. Through a rigorous
routine of chemotherapy, radiation, and most importantly the support and love of
her friends, family and community, she was able to overcome this illness and to
continue her valuable contribution to dance. Under the passion-driven leadership
of Niosha, NDA has received Commendations from the Mayor of Los Gatos and
The American Cancer Society for her support and fundraising efforts towards
cancer research. Niosha is married and has 3 sons, Fardeen, Afsheen, and Rameen.
It is with the support of her wonderful husband Fardad Jay Jamali, that she has
been able to bring Persian dance and culture to the Iranian-American community.
Niosha can be reached at 408-656-6565 or [email protected] and the web
address of the academy is: www.niosha.com
Orly Minazad
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master degree in professional writing from USC. Her work has been
published in LA Weekly, The Nervous Breakdown, Persianesque
Magazine and the Examiner.
Parisa Vaaleh
Parisa Vaaleh was born in an art-loving family in Tehran. Her early childhood
stage performances were suddenly halted by the revolutionary upheaval in
her native country of Iran. However her unwavering love for singing never
diminished. By listening to songs of different nationalities, Parisa recognized the
common bond created by music between the people of all nations regardless of
race or creed. This led her to a special fusion style of music that helps to connect
and unite a multitude of people. Marriage, immigration, and motherhood, has
kept Parisa from dedicating more time to her passion of music, although she has
sporadically performed through the years to much critical acclaim. In 1995, she
recorded a song composed by Peyman Abdali and entered it to a competition
held by the “XDot25 Music Production Company”. The song was one of many
recorded in an album by the name of “Nevag”. The song became a number one
hit and Parisa was awarded best vocalist. Though busy in her private life, she
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Parisa Vaaleh relaunched her career in 2007 by working with Henrik Naji, Reza
Abaei, and Aldoush Alpanian on an album named “Ascent”. In 2010, due to
social the movement and her empathy with her compatriots in Iran, she sang the
unforgettable song “Ma Ra Beboos” with a new arrangement by Kamran Thunder.
This union also resulted in the recording of a new song, “Bahar-e Ghamangiz”
with the lyrics from a poem by Hooshang Ebtehanj and a melody by Parisa. Her
second album, “Fasl e Entezar”, she collaborated with Siavash and has been
acknowledged as some of the best Iranian music released in the summer of 2010.
Parisa Vaaleh’s shares her message of love, peace, and spirituality through her
haltingly honest, stunning voice and music.
Persian Center
It is the mission of the Persian Center to create an environment to
conduct various social, cultural, educational and recreational activities
designed to strengthen the sense of integrity of all Iranians and people
of Iranian descent, to engage individuals with an interest in or relation to
the Persian community and culture. The Persian Center encourages and
facilitates individual and institutional initiatives that contribute to the
advancement of the Persian Community.
Rebecca Setareh
Rebecca Setareh, a resident of Southern California , is the creator of
objects of power and impact. Rebecca received her Bachelor’s in Fine
Arts from the Institut des Beaux-Arts St. Luc in Liege, Belgium. Her
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then-Minister of Education. Her work was also awarded a second place
prize in a national competition juried by then-Prime Minister Hoveida
and Queen Farah Diba Pahlavi. Featured in numerous exhibitions
nationally, and known for her unique integration of rock and bronze,
Rebecca’s work has garnered the attention of a global audience.
www.artofrebecca.com
Sanam Salehian
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University. She was born in Tehran-Iran in 1984 and has moved to
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and moved to Northern California in a mission to go to UC Berkeley
for Computer Engineering. But because of her interests for arts and
photography she changed her major to photography and has been
passionately continuing her work as a photographer. Sanam has been
taking pictures at Persian events, concerts and on her spare time she is in
the nature taking pictures.
Shabnam Amini
Shabnam Amini was born in 1984 in Tehran and started her career in
art and design in Iran. She studied Product Design in Iran University of
Science and Technology and moved to USA in August of 2010 to pursue
her dreams. Currently, she is working towards her masters in Advertising
in Academy of Art University in San Francisco, planning to be a Creative
Strategist. She is proud of herself as an Iranian woman and eager to
share her passion for Iranian art and culture with all art lovers. She is an
activist, interested in spreading her motherland culture among IranianAmericans by teaching farsi and participating in cultural activities.
Shabnam Bahmanian
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Persian, born and raised in Berkeley, CA.After graduating from Albany
High School, Shabnam went on to pursue her passion-art. She received
a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) from The California College
of Arts and Crafts. She then went on to complete a special three-year
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Metal Arts, where she also worked as a teaching assistant. Her work
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about sharing that voice with the community. Shabnam is co-founder of
Boostan Kids (boostankids.com) a language immersion preschool in the
Bay Area peninsula. She has had over 6 years of teaching experience
and has taught art to both adults and children.
Shaghayegh Cyrous
Shaghayegh Cyrous is an artist living and working in San Francisco. She
was born in Tehran, Iran in 1987. She got her undergraduate degree in the
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2010. The situation in Iran makes her think a lot about Iran`s culture.
The great and colorful culture that has in many ways been swallowed
by the authorities. Her works are based on Persian colors, motives,
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identities and rights in nature.
She uses different recycled materials such as cardboard, wood, fabric,
etc. Recycle materials recreate and remind us about the culture we had.
She has been focusing on Persian color and culture for more than 4
years and has completed the following projects relating to these issues
“Musical instruments, Golestan Palace, Motivation, Lost and Peace”.
She has been involved public art since 2009 and has done some projects
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performances through the city of Tehran and many installations and
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exhibitions in art galleries, museums and palaces in Tehran, London,
Mexico City and San Francisco. Also She is member of the art
communities known as Drawing House and Rang House.
Shahnaz Zehtab
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Has held 7 Solo exhibitions
Participation in 84 sgroup exhibitions in Iran and abroad
Member of 30+ Group
Member of Society of Artist Painters of Iran and member of board of
director since 2008
Member of Institute for Promotion of Visual Arts
Editor of two books “Pioneers of Iranian Modern Art” by Tehran
Museum of contemporary Art
Writer and editor of 10 articles about Contemporary Art and Artists of
Iran and the World
Guest Lecturer in Azad University, Soureh University, Jame-Elmi
karbordi University and Honar University
Publishing License holder of“Art Tomorrow “magazine.
Sharaf Jahan‘Rozita
Sharaf Jahan‘Rozita was born in: 1962, Tehran, Iran
Education:
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2008), London-United kingdom, was a writer, editor and, under the name
of “Shusha”, a singer of Persian and Western folk songs. She had lived in
London since the mid 1960s.
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Revival, she was writing and singing some of her own songs, as well as
covering the works of many contemporary singer-songwriter. She gave
successful concerts in Britain, America and continental Europe, and
appeared on television and radio programs. She gave concerts in Holland
and Belgium in 1975 with Lori Lieberman and Dimitri Van Holen.
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follows the annual migration of the nomadic Bakhtiyari tribes in southern
Iran. The soundtrack was later released in the USA. How much she
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“What has saddened me, and frankly made me angry, is not the money
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DLP²EXWWKHIDFWWKDWDOOWKHFUHGLWVZHUHWDNHQIURPPHRQ3HRSOHRI
the Wind of which the idea, the production, and the text were mine.
Susan Ghaemmagham
Susan Ghaemmagham is a Graduate of Fine Arts from Tehran University
and has worked professionally in the press and advertising industries
since 1972. Driven by her love and devotion to visual arts, in particular
miniature paintings, she has produced over 100 works in her own unique
style. Modern miniature painting seeks to preserve Iran’s proud and rich
artistic legacy.
Her work is inspired by the basic and fundamental themes of humanity
including love and hope, happiness and grief, and war and peace.
Ghaemmagham has brought her training in graphic design to the ancient
art of miniature painting and thus crated a new approach to this art form.
Her work has been displayed across the world, including Iran’s Museum
of Contemporary Arts, and the Green Art Gallery, as well Columbia
University in the United States.
In recent years she has been working on creating a print collection to
preserve her life work of over 30 years for future generations.
She currently lives in Tehran.
Tahmineh Javanbakht
Tahmineh Javanbakht is an Iranian-born artist. As a child, she was exposed to
art and beauty by living in Isfahan, a major city in central Iran. Isfahan once
thrived as the capital of ancient Persia, and for centuries was regarded as the
cultural heart of the eastern Islamic world in terms of language, science, art, and
architecture. Tahmineh immigrated to the USA in 1977 to pursue her studies,
graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1986, and then
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Since the beginning of her professional career, she has produced commercial
works of painting, sculpture, video and set design for established companies
such as Gianni Versace, Chanel, Sebastian International, Procter & Gamble and
Wella. She has also done commissioned paintings for private clients and public
galleries, and has been part of many group and solo shows.
Together with her partner Enrico Bressan, Tahmineh founded Artecnica, an
award- winning Los Angeles based design company that collaborates with
the most established and emerging international designers to create inspiring
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Director, and her lighting and product designs have been exhibited at (and been
part of the permanent collections of) such international museums as: Museum of
Modern Art New York San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and many more.
Taraneh Golozar
Taraneh Golozar (born May 27, 1989). She was born in Mashhad . She
moved to Tehran with her family when she was 9 years old. Taraneh
believes in change, power and role of the media. This led her interest
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Technology in Malaysia. In 2012 she moved to San Francisco, to pursue
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completes her Masters program at the Academy of Art University.
Ziba Karbassi
Ziba Karbassi was born in Tabriz, northwestern Iran. She had to leave her
country with her mother in the mid-1980s when she was a young teenager
and for most of the time since then she has lived in London, England. She
has published eight books of poetry in Persian, two books in English and
Italian and is widely regarded as the most accomplished Persian poet of
her generation. Her dense and revolutionary lyrical poetry achieves an
intensity and balance that is rare in contemporary poetry. She has read
widely across Europe and America. She was chairperson of the Iranian
Writers Association (in exile) from 2002 to 2004 and editor of Asar.name
and one of the editors of Exiled Ink Literature Magazines in London.
Last year Ziba won Golden Apple Poetry Prize for Azerbaijan. Her
poems have appeared in many languages throughout Europe, UK and US.
Translations by Stephen Watts have appeared in such journals as Poetry
Review and Modern Poetry Translation.
“Tahmineh”
March 8, 2013