Veteran artists meet at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall

TEHRAN,Sept.14(MNA) – A group of veterans gathered to celebrate the first anniversary of the establishment of the Institute of Veteran Artists, an affiliate of the Rudaki Foundation, during a ceremony held at Vahdat Hall on Wednesday. Veteran actors and actresses, theatrical figures, artists and graphic designers, including ShahlaRiyahi, MortezaAhmadi, Qobad Shiva, MahbubehBayat, DariushAsadzadeh, PariSaberi and Loris Tjeknavorian,were among the participants at the ceremony, Persian news agencies reported on Friday. Speaking at the event, Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani said that the institute was established last year to deepen relations between veterans and to be a place where their extensive knowledge and experience can be used. He added that it is necessary to hold such ceremonies to remember the veterans while they are alive. “The artists have learned to forgive and always look forward to the future; they don’t think of the past much. I hope we can achieve good things by looking forward to the future” Moradkhani said. “There have always been restrictions and shortages, but I hope we can solve all these problems with your help; sometimes just your name can remove many obstacles,” he added. The ceremony continued with a reading of part of the message to the ceremonysubmitted by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati. “The sky of the land of Iran is filled with the stars which have been the light for the future, the stars whose lights have always been lasting and have never been faded away; the stars which burned to brighten their land and their nation,” read a portion of the message. “Working in the field of art and trying to create lasting works is a great honor and being a veteran in this field is much greater,” the message added. The minister had expressed hope that the institute couldprovide better support for the veterans in the future. Managing director of the institute Abbas Azimi also delivered a short speech and said that the institute would make its best efforts to respect all the veterans and gather them all from different cities across Iran to meet here in this house. The ceremony was brought to an end with short live music performances, and Siah-bazi led by JavadEnsafi. Siah-bazi is a type of folk play featuring a blackfaced harlequin who stirs the audience to laughter with amusing improvisations. Actress ShahlaRiyahi was invited to cut the ceremonial cake, the date of the eventcoinciding with her birthday.