Tehran launches second phase of ‘In Women’s Words’ art exhibition
Iran’s Art Bureau inaugurated the second phase of the ‘In Women’s Words’ exhibition at Tehran’s Iranian Artists Forum on Thursday July 24, showcasing works by female painters, ceramicists, illustrators, and pop artists from across the country.
The exhibition expands on a July 23 show at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, where modernist women artists took center stage in the institution’s most extensive gender-focused survey to date. In its second installment, ‘In Women’s Words’ spills into the city’s gallery circuit, offering a broader snapshot of contemporary female creativity across mediums and styles, IRNA reported.
At Thursday’s opening, attended by Deputy Culture Minister Nadereh Rezaei, Iranian Artists Forum CEO Mohammad-Mehdi Asgarpour, and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art director Reza Dabirinejad, artistic director Sajjad Baghban-Maher said the decision to extend the exhibition stemmed from the limited scope of the museum’s collection.
“The vault could only tell part of the story,” he said. “This second part gives space to voices we couldn’t include there.”
Each of the venue’s galleries has taken on a separate curatorial theme. The Momayez and Homa galleries present ‘Trans-Pop in Women’s Words,’ featuring Iranian pop-art-inspired works. The Zemestan gallery, curated by Vard Gallery, highlights 50 hand-printed pieces by 50 women artists under the title ‘Printmaking Through Her Eyes’.
In the Paeez gallery, ‘Regrowth in Women’s Words’ centers on nature-inspired work. The Mirmiran Art Gallery, in collaboration with O Gallery, exhibits modern miniature paintings rooted in Iranian traditions. Urban life takes the spotlight in ‘City Through Her Eyes,’ curated by Saeed Babavand in the Tabestan gallery.
In the Bahar space, Mojtaba Ghorbani has gathered contemporary ceramics for ‘Women Ceramicists in Focus’. Meanwhile, the Namy gallery, in partnership with Gallery H, offers ‘Life Through Women’s Eyes,’ a collection exploring everyday domesticity and emotion.
Baghban-Maher also announced that an additional wave of displays would launch on Friday, July 25, in cooperation with seven more private galleries, including Sohrab and Negar. New installations will include work by women sculptors and younger modernists.
The exhibition at the Iranian Artists Forum will run through August 1 and is open daily (except Saturdays) from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The opening phase of ‘In Women’s Words,’ held at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, remains on view until September 22. Curated by Toka Maleki, Afsaneh Kamran, and Baghban-Maher, it features 125 pieces by 65 Iranian modernist women artists, including Monir Farmanfarmaian, Behjat Sadr, Iran Darroudi, and Fereydoon Lashai.
The museum show draws entirely from its archives and includes rare and previously unseen works in abstraction, portraiture, and social realism. A bilingual catalogue, lectures, and parallel gallery shows are planned throughout the summer.