A city built by its people.

If you want to understand Tehran not only through its streets but also through the minds and behaviors of its people, the book "Cultural Anthropology of the City of Tehran" offers a glimpse into both the visible and hidden layers of the city’s urban culture. It is a journey in which the city is not merely a geography, but a human experience. "Cultural Anthropology of the City of Tehran" is a book first published in 2016 by a group of researchers and writers under the supervision of Dr. Nasser Fakouhi. Written with an anthropological approach, the book spans 516 pages. According to the content presented in the book, the central aim of this research is to provide a foundation for conducting deeper anthropological studies within the geographical context of Tehran.

The city of Tehran is connected to each of us through a particular image, even if we have never consciously thought about it. Surely, certain frames evoke a sense of belonging to Tehran within us. What we often gaze upon—repeatedly, at certain hours of the day—from behind our windows or inside our homes, usually consists of a dense cluster of buildings or a gathering of cars, sometimes adorned and softened by the green backdrop of trees. The contrast between the tall trees and the even taller buildings that appear before our eyes has gradually shaped a new definition of visual beauty in our city.

Looking at ourselves through the mirrors of a building from the past, part of which now remains, takes us to a distant but enduring place in Tehran's history; where "Tehran" was once "Tehran."

Tehran stands suspended somewhere in the twilight of its residents' sense of belonging. At times, it is a capital for migrants who have come in search of opportunity and a better future. At other times, it is the birthplace of those who entered the world here, have lived each day in this city, and who—each day—grapple with an inner struggle born of a feeling deeper than what others may know: a conflict between love for the city and concepts such as frustration, crowding, speed, noise, and smog.

The group exhibition “Tehran,” organized in collaboration with several galleries, will open on Friday, July 18 at Artibition Gallery. This exhibition has been shaped in remembrance of those lost in this war and as a tribute to the significance of the capital.

The French philosopher Blaise Pascal considered it absurd and incomprehensible that his life would end simply because two rulers on opposite sides of a river were at odds. Now, if we find ourselves in the hypothetical situation that Pascal described, the meaning of the river suddenly becomes associated with insecurity, whereas until a moment before that situation, the river had been synonymous with beauty and recreation.Each word and element, in specific time contexts, brings to life a concept that is more or less different from what we normally remember, and sometimes the difference in concepts is so different from our previous experience that a new world is presented to us.Those twelve ambiguous days have created a strange encounter with the surroundings for many of us, even those who remembered scenes from past wars, because the invasion of the homeland, no matter how many times it is experienced, is still accompanied by astonishment and bewilderment.

What we know about the poet is not just poetry, but the artist's ongoing consciousness that takes on another life in every artistic and biological context. The intertwining of arts by artists is not a new phenomenon, but the artist's distinctive footprint in the works of every artistic field reminds us of a common boundary between her poetry and painting.The word, as the birthplace of thought, is a bridge for the birth of arts, and the image and color in painting are also created from this birthplace. This common boundary between the arts of an artist can be read as follows, in the words of Martin Heidegger:"All art is poetry in its essence, and every poem has a breadth as wide as the length of the language." Therefore, every painting by a poet can only be recognized through familiarity with their poetry. Encountering the works in this exhibition contains poetry and a passion for the poets' unspoken layers."

Shahrzad Royaee: In the first conversation with Alfred Yaghoobzadeh, his value and respect for the human condition, on the one hand, and his love for photography, on the other hand, are evident in his attention to the art of young photographers from near and far. At the same time, the answer to the question of how he has been present in numerous wars and events, including Iran and Iraq, Lebanon, the 1957 revolution, and so on, is also evident in his emphasis on humans, both in his expression and in his photographs. Yaghoobzadeh is one of Iran's most prominent photojournalists, a product of the era of revolution and war. Photojournalism in Iran grew considerably during this turbulent decade, and a group of the country's most talented photojournalists emerged from these conditions.

A group exhibition titled “Poets” will open on Friday, June 29, at Artibition Gallery. The exhibition features works by contemporary Iranian poets who have had a presence or experience in the art of painting. The artists in the “Poets” exhibition include: Sohrab Sepehri, Abbas Kiarostami, Forough Farrokhzad, Yadollah Royae, Ahmadreza Ahmadi, Mohammad Ebrahim Jafari, Javad Mojabi, Ardeshir Rostami, Rasoul Younan, and Sara Jafari.

The photo exhibition “14 Elegies” featuring works by Alfred Yaghoubzadeh on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr will be on display at the Artibition online gallery starting Friday, June 2nd. Alfred Yaghoubzadeh is a war and documentary photographer born in 1955. Yaghoubzadeh has captured lasting images of the most important political and historical moments in contemporary Iran and the world.

In Niloufar Mohammadi's works, bodies, fabrics, and empty spaces are depicted with a measured gaze, not to represent a specific moment but to reflect on a life that is present yet disjointed. In these frames, humans stand side by side but in a contactless coexistence. In these works, the artist invites the viewer to silence and pause. It is as if time has stopped in these frames and humans are caught in the middle of a "non-being." This is while the fabrics have a dominant and meaningful presence. An element that sometimes creates the scene and sometimes draws a boundary. Perhaps behind these folded fabrics, our fears are hidden.

At first glance, Ali Chitsaz has created simple works with transparent colors that are more reminiscent of pop art, but with a little reflection, aspects of his critical art and his irony become apparent to the audience. He has included sarcasm in his frank and unabashed expression, and in this vein, he has also shown portraits of himself in his collection of works. He avoids beauty in expressing his vision and exaggerates the creation of elements.