Professor Pamela Karimi听explores听the spatial and temporal turns that have animated Iranian art scenes since the 1990s. She听illuminates听the economic, social, intellectual, and visceral forces that have driven Iran鈥檚 creative agents toward increasingly original forms of site-oriented听and durational artmaking.听Predominantly ephemeral, most of these artworks听don鈥檛听enter 迟丑别听global听art market, at least not in the conventional sense of the term.听Hence,听outside their听local contexts, these听creative enterprises听have听remained largely听unexplored.听Played out听across听private homes,听garages,听pop-up venues, dilapidated听buildings, and other听informal听platforms, these听radically alternative art forms听are听nonetheless听profoundly听influential听on the ground.听听
Post-revolutionary places where unconventional and grassroot activities take place, are frequently rendered as 迟丑别听underground, a perception that is highly contested by many artists inside Iran.听Indeed, while there is听arguably听a bit of听鈥underground-ness鈥听in every听artistic event听outside the purview of 迟丑别听authorities,听nothing is entirely hidden or covert.听听Moreover, despite their ostensibly radical characteristics,听alternative art forms听are not听always听political听or controversial; rather, they convey wide-ranging messages. While some听exude听social or subversive听meanings, others听simply undertake听novel aesthetic听considerations. Through a series of significant case studies, this lecture elucidates an understudied aspect of contemporary Iranian art which is intimately intertwined with everyday life, urban space, and architecture.听
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Pamela Karimi听is an architect,听an architectural historian听and an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts听Dartmouth. She is the author of鈥Domesticity and Consumer Culture in Iran听and co-editor of鈥Images of the Child and Childhood in Modern Muslim Contexts,鈥Reinventing the American Post-Industrial City&The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in the Middle East: From Napoleon to ISIS. Her听writings have听also听appeared in听JSAH,鈥Harvard Design Magazine,鈥and听ArtMargins,听among others.听Karimi鈥檚 major听curatorial projects include听Black Spaces Matter, and听Contemporary Iranian Art & the Historical Imagination.鈥疘n 2018听Karimi听received the鈥UMass system鈥檚听Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching,听and more recently听she听was the co-recipient of a major grant from the Getty Foundation, which听involves听extensive research on art听historical听education in 迟丑别听MENA听region. Co-founder of鈥Aggregate Architectural History Collaborative,听Karimi currently serves on the鈥痚ditorial and scholarly boards of听Thresholds Journal听and the鈥Association of Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey, respectively.听The current presentation听features selected case studies from听the research听Karimi听conducted听for a听forthcoming听monograph,听which was听partially supported by an Iran Heritage Foundation Fellowship at SOAS.听Based on personal interviews with over a hundred artists, gallerists,听theatre听experts, musicians听and听designers,听the book tells 迟丑别听hitherto understudied听stories of听alternative听art scenes听in Iran.听
Organised by Dr Robin Schuldenfrei (The 天美传媒)听