Several artists have started creating artworks at different places in Tehran as a part of the new project ‘Baharestan’ to welcome spring and Nowruz, the Persian New Year (starts March 20) in the capital city.
Baharestan - literally meaning place of spring and roughly translated as ‘Springville’ - is organized by the Tehran Beautification Organization (TBO) and seeks to create vitality and dynamism in the urban environment, Mehr News Agency reported.
“Artists will decorate the city with artworks of different forms and styles including graphics, murals, huge colored eggs and sculptures and environmental arts,” Isa Alizadeh, director-general of TBO said.
The secretariat of the event received over 3,000 projects and designs and juries of different sections selected the best projects to be created for the event.
Huge billboards will be covered by large graphic designs, murals will go on walls, sculptures will be placed in every corner of the city and big-sized eggs will decorate parks as a symbol of Nowruz art and culture, said Seyed Mojtaba Musavi, deputy at TBO and event secretary general.
According to the regulations, artists should make use of simple, inexpensive and lightweight materials and consider using recyclable materials.
The event provides artists with a platform and space to get involved in the innovative designing of urban spaces through their artistic creations.
A total of 105 works from 101 artists have been selected in the sculptures and environmental arts category, Alireaza Fazeli, secretary of the section said. Artists will be given $1700 each to create their works which have to be completed within 10 days, starting from Saturday, (March 5).
Locations Specified
“The accepted projects are being created by the artists at specified locations in Tehran so that the residents will have a chance to see the formation of an artwork during its process of creation,” Fazeli noted.
The seven best works will receive a cash prize of $1100 each.
In the graphics section, 36 artists will work on their ideas in three workshops conducted by three graphic masters, Kianush Gharibpur, secretary of the section, said.
In the murals category, 75 works have been accepted and 30 more will be created by 30 veteran guest artists, Ardeshir Mirmangereh, secretary of the category, pointed out.
A total of 30 artistic eggs will be displayed for 20 days in several parks in the city and the best five will be announced, said Meysam Arbabun, secretary of the section.
In this section, artists will work on 1.5-meter-tall fiberglass eggs. The participants will not only dye or design the eggs, but they are to create an artwork out of each. The works should be relevant to the issues of spring and Nowruz.
All the artworks will be exhibited till April 19 in the city; however, the eggs for the ‘Haft Seen’ table, set by Iranians during Nowruz, will be showcased only during the Nowruz holidays.
Haft Seen table includes seven items all starting with the Persian letter ‘seen’ (pronounced in the same way as S in English). Each item has a symbolic meaning.
TBO will also spread 20 huge Haft Seen tables across Tehran during Nowruz.
The closing ceremony at Baharestan will be held on April 19 when the winners of different sections will be awarded.
