A doll museum will be inaugurated in Tehran by the end of January.
The first such professional museum in Asia, it will be an archive for dolls and include over 800 puppets which are considered a part of the national cultural heritage, ISNA quoted Behrouz Gharibpour, head of Aran Puppet Theater Group and project manager, as saying.
Gharibpour said the museum “is a prominent step towards cultural development, particularly in the field of Iran’s puppet theater. The collection will include puppets of renowned Persian poets Khayyam, Saadi and Hafez, and therefore has a direct bearing on Persian literature and history.”
Earlier, Aran group had performed puppet shows inspired by the life story of classical Persian poets, which were enthusiastically received by the audiences.
With the support of the Art Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the museum will be officially inaugurated at Shahriar St., Hafez Ave., by January-end.
Gharibpour, 65, is a pioneer of traditional Persian puppet theater.
He studied theater at Tehran University and at the Dramatic Arts Academy in Rome (Silvio D’Amico). He founded the Tehran and Esfahan puppet theater centers and has vast experience in writing and directorship in the fields of theater, puppetry, cinema, documentary movies, and TV serials.
He is also known for his research studies on Iranian puppetry during the Qajar era.
