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3 Iranians in Global Nomadic Art Project

3 Iranians in Global Nomadic Art Project
3 Iranians in Global Nomadic Art Project

The second edition of the Global Nomadic Art Project (GNAP) is underway in Gujarat, India, with international environmental artists including three nature artists from Iran, participating in the event.

Organized by TREES (Training and Research in Environmental and Ecological Sciences, an Indian non-profit organization) in collaboration with YATOO (Korean Nature Artist’s Association), the event hosts 13 Indian and 23 foreign artists who have united to work together in natural environments, ISNA reported.

Inaugurated on November 17, artists from Germany, South Africa, France, South Korea, Romania and the US spend a few days together to create artworks from what they find relevant in nature and environment while travelling from place to place.

The project started as an idea by a group of artists from South Korea which has turned into a movement, travelling globally across continents to reinvigorate man’s awareness, concern, learning, and responsibility towards the environment through creating artworks by natural elements. The artworks are documented and archived for educational purpose.

  Sharing Expertise

‘Nomadic’ artists also indulge in inter-cultural dialogue and interact with groups of students at various educational institutions and share their expertise.

The project will be followed in other countries, in Iran and South Africa in 2016, European countries in 2017 and America in 2018.

Nature artists Mahmoud Maktabi, Makan Ashouri and Reyhane Omid-Qaemi are the Iranian participants at the event.

Maktabi, 30, is a graduate of painting who has turned to environmental art and performance since 2005. He has participated in more than 40 exhibitions and festivals in Iran, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Canada, France, India and the US.

He was also Iran’s representative at the first edition of the project in South Korea, 2014. There he introduced some works by Iranian environmental artists in a lecture and explained about Paradise Art Center (PAC) in Hormuz Island, an international residency center for the promotion of environmental art in the Persian Gulf.

“Iran is one of the hosts for next year’s edition and Hormuz Island, which is part of Hormuzgan Province, will probably be the main venue, but the details about the program are not yet finalized,” Maktabi said.

On his return to Iran, he will hold sessions with environmental artist Ahmad Nadalian, proprietor of the PAC and founder of the Nadalian Museum on Hormoz Island, on organizing the event.

  Documentary Film

Speaking about the current project, Maktabi said, “During the one-month trip, we visit areas that normally few tourists and artists are willing or able to venture into, from dense forests and dry deserts to traditional villages with harsh living conditions.” The approach in the nomadic trips is not touristic but for artists to get an actual view of each region and their culture.

The Iranian team is also making a documentary film of the international project.

“I made the suggestion last year which was approved by the organizers. So now the first part of the documentary series ‘Nomadic Art’ is being made in India. Ashouri, 38, is director and producer, Omid-Qaemi, 26, is the assistant director and cameraman while I am project manager,” Maktabi said.

Creating installations, drawings, photos and videos and holding workshops, the artists will continue to travel to different parts of the beautiful Indian state of Gujarat until the end of the project on December 20.

 

Financialtribune.com