The non-government Institute for Promotion of Contemporary Art has launched an art market dubbed ‘Saturday Art Market’ at Iran Art Gallery in Tehran which offers works of young artists at suitable prices.
Organizers of the market say that the initiative focuses on presenting young artists’ works at a fair price so that people from different social classes including those with a low income can also afford to purchase at least one artwork and take it home, ISNA reported.
Artworks of different medium including pottery, photo, calligraphy, painting, illustration, sculpture and handicrafts are presented at the gallery.
“We work within the framework of the economics of art; this is a platform for artists to sell their creations,” Rahim Siahkarzadeh, CEO of the institute said.
He said the artists should assess the value of their works themselves. As they are not familiar with the pricing mechanism, they will face problems and their works will remain unsold. “So we use experts to help with pricing the items.”
The first round of the event, held on January 30, was dedicated to handicrafts; however, in the second round, February 6, “a mix of visual arts and handicrafts were presented,” Khadijeh Rajabi, director of the gallery said.
In the first round, the highest sales were of decorative pieces and works on the theme of ‘Haft Seen’ (Seven S) - seven symbolic items all starting with the Persian letter S (seen) which are traditionally displayed for the Nowruz (Persian New Year) festival.
Artists pay an entrance fee for the space provided for their works plus 10% of their total sales. The rest are the artists’ earnings, she added.
“We only invite the young artists as this is a way to help them introduce themselves to the public and sell their works; we also welcome renowned artists only if they are interested, but it is not our policy to invite them”.
The art market is held every Saturday at the venue located at No. 19, Next to Vahdat Hall, Khark St., Enqelab St.
