Iranian cities to host Fajr Intl. Festival of Visual Arts

TEHRAN,Dec.13(MNA) -- All provincial capitals across Iran will be hosting the 4th edition of the Fajr International Festival of Visual Arts running from January 30 to March 4, 2012. Several other countries are also expected to join the event, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) director Mahmud Shaluii said at the press conference held here on Monday. Participants will be competing in different categories including painting, sculpture, pottery and earthenware, miniature, calligraphy, and graphic designs, while the three sections of photography, poster and cartoon will be held internationally, Shaluii said. Organizers have also added a new special section to the festival in which the top artwork with the central theme of Islamic Awakening will be presented a top prize. Filmmakers are asked to submit their short films with the central theme of visual arts to the secretariat of the festival, he said. International seminars, visual arts market, and honoring veterans with lifetime achievement awards are also arranged on the side section, he noted. Registration is still continuing and most of the submitted artworks are coming from Tehran, Alborz, Isfahan, West and East Azarbaijan, he added. Secretary of the event Mohammad-Ali Rajabi, also present at the ceremony, said that each section will have its professional panel of judges. “A seminar on Islamic Awakening is also arranged on the side section of the festival in which several scholars will be invited to speak,” Rajabi added.