Khayyam Photo Exhibit at Mellat Cineplex

The third edition of the Khayyam International Exhibition of Photography opened on Monday (Nov. 21) at Mellat Cineplex in Tehran.

The exhibition features a collection of selected photos that participated in the Khayyam International Photography contest held in 2015, IRNA reported.

The photo exhibit will run through December 2, between 11 am and 8 pm. On the final day, a ceremony will be held to grant prizes and unveil the exhibit journal.

‘Mother Earth’ was the main theme of the photo contest. The submitted photographs were categorized into various topics such as astronomy, free monochrome, free color photography, rituals, cultural heritage and tourism, my city, environment, agriculture and food industry.

The contest was held last year in cooperation with Focus Photo Club, affiliated to the cultural institute of Khayyam House of Art, which functions as the executive arm of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) in Iran.

Khayyam House of Art and Focus Photo Club, the organizers of the exhibit named the event after Persian polymath and poet Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), who wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, climatology and theology.

A total of 22,194 photos were submitted to the festival secretariat by 1,958 participants from 78 countries. In each category, the photos underwent review at four levels. Those evaluated to be of the least artistic value, comprising over 70% of the works, were rejected in the first review.

Only 134 photos reached the finals, and the winners among them will be announced at the concluding day of the exhibit on December2.

Khayyam International Exhibition of Photography is the only annual Iranian photo exhibit held under the patronage of FIAP and the UK-based Royal Photographic Society (RPS). The first and second editions of the event were held in 2013 and 2014.

Focus Photo Club said in a statement that the cultural event is aimed at sending a message of friendship and peace from Iranian artists to people around the world.