Call for Entry
The Fourth International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts
In the Name of God
On the auspicious occasion of the anniversary of the glorious Islamic revolution and in honor of martyrs of the truth, and supported by devoted artists in the field of visual arts, Director of the Visual Arts Center at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is organizing the Fourth International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts, 30 January to 4 March 2012, in association with the Institute for Promotion of Contemporary Visual Arts and General Directorate of the Provincial Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The festival will be held in a variety of fields: painting, sculpture, ceramic art, miniature painting, calligraphy, illustration and film as national events, graphics design (posters), photography and cartoon. The event will be accompanied by a conference in which Iranian and international scholars are invited to present their scientific articles.
Objectives
The event aims at paying homage to the great evolution in the history of Iran during the days leading to the victory of the Islamic revolution. The aim is summed up as below:
· Recalling the changes in Iranian visual arts after the Islamic revolution;
· Honoring the efforts of artists active in Iranian Islamic art as well as spiritual art;
· Paving the ground for artistic creativity and presentation of values through visual arts;
· Improving relations between Iranian contemporary artists and their counterparts across the world;
· Introducing the latest achievements in visual arts.
Sections of the Festival
a) A section with the theme of “Islamic Awakening” will be held as a contest in all the nine fields.
b) Main sections:
1- Exhibition and contest
2- Conference
3- Film
c) Collateral Events
1- Presentation of medals to prominent artists participating in the International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts;
2- Holding the Ejazeh (permission) ceremony - a great tradition in Iranian Islamic art;
3- Exhibition of works by masters and participants;
4- Exhibition of works from collections of national Iranian art;
5- Educational workshops in all fields with the collaboration of Iranian and international artists;
6- Exhibition of works selected for the festival in the fields of graphic design, photography and cartoon in ten countries;
7- Simultaneous exhibitions in 32 provinces;
8- A review of works relevant to the event and created during the interval between the 3rd and 4th International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts;
9- Development of the first Fajr Market.
Policy Making Committee
- Mahmood Shalooei, Chairman of the Committee
- Mansour Azari
- Manijeh Armin
- Davoud Samari
- Mahmood Javadipour
- Mohammad Khazaee
- Mohammad Ali Rajabi
- Jalil Rasouli
- Seyed Hassan Soltani
- Abdolrahim Siahkarzadeh
- Gholam Ali Taheri
- Bahman Abdi
- Ali Fereidooni
- Mostafa Goodarzi
- Seyed Abbas Mir-Hashemi
Council of Secretaries
- General Secretary: Mohammad Ali Rajabi
- Executive Secretary: Abdolrahim Siahkarzadeh
- Secretary, Illustration: Ali Hashemi Shahraki
- Secretary, Calligraphy: Hossein Gholami
- Secretary, Ceramic Art: Manijeh Armin
- Secretary, Cartoon: Seyed Massoud Shojaee Tabatabaee
- Secretary, Graphic design (poster): Agha Gholizadeh
- Secretary, Photography: Mohammad Mehdi Rahimian
- Secretary, Film: Heidar Rahimi
- Secretary, Sculpture: Nader Ghashghaee
- Secretary, Miniature painting: Khashayar Ghazizadeh
- Secretary, Painting: Gholam Ali Taheri
- Secretary, Conference and Scientific Articles: Mohammad Khazaee
Festival’s cultural themes
a) Artistic Sections
1- Manifestations of spiritual changes in the cultural and social issues of Iran and the world
2- Free artistic experiences with an emphasis on the rich Iranian–Islamic heritage
3- Sublime values of the Islamic revolution
4- Liberation of modern man in the light of monotheistic doctrine
b) Scientific Conference
1- Presentation of scientific articles underlining new finds from studies made on the evolution of the post-Islamic revolution art;
2- Comparative studies of contemporary Iranian art and changes in global art;
3- Essays on principles and fundamentals of religious art;
4- Spiritual impulses in modern art across the world;
5- A review of the eternal values in Iranian art;
6- Identification and introduction of resources and references of Iranian art;
7- Critical review of the status quo in visual arts education before and after the Islamic revolution;
8- Critical review of the evolution of contemporary art in Iran.
Regulations
Painting (National):
1- Subject of works must be relevant to the themes of the festival with an emphasis on personal experiences of artists;
2- Technique is free;
3- The width of the works should not be less than 50cm and the length must not exceed 250cm;
4- Each artist is allowed to submit a maximum of 5 works;
5- The quality of images of works must be good enough to clearly show all the details.
Sculpture (National):
1- Subject of works must be relevant to the themes of the festival with an emphasis on personal experiences of artists;
2- Technique is free;
3- Minimum dimensions must be (30 x 30 x 30cm) and maximum dimensions (100 x 100 x 100cm);
4- Each artist is allowed to submit a maximum of three artworks;
5- Images of works submitted for primary evaluation must be of high quality and taken from different angles to show all the details.
Ceramic art (National):
1- Subject of works must be relevant to the themes of the festival with an emphasis on personal experiences of artists;
2- Technique is free;
3- Size of artworks must not exceed 120 cubic centimeters (120 x 120 x 120cm), while each side of the bas-relief works must not exceed 150cm;
4- Each artist is allowed to submit a maximum of 5 works;
5- Works with patina and unfired paints will not be accepted;
6- All works must have been fired at a minimum temperature of 900o Celsius,
7- Replicated works (presented in market) and replicas of other works will be rejected;
8- Images of submitted works must be of high quality and taken from different angles to show all the details.
Persian painting (National):
1- Subject of works must be relevant to the themes of the festival with an emphasis on personal experiences of artists;
2- Technique is free;
3- There will be three divisions: Persian painting (miniature painting), gilding and flower and bird (gol-o-morgh);
4- Works executed with conventional paints used commonly in miniature painting, gilding and flower and bird style painting will be accepted;
5- Each artist is allowed to submit a maximum of three artworks in any style;
6- The quality of images submitted for primary evaluation must clearly show all the details;
7- All works selected for exhibition must be submitted with a suitable frame;
8- Replicas of works by others will be rejected.
Calligraphy (National):
1- Subject of works must be consistent with rich traditional and modern Islamic-Iranian literature or doctrines of the Islamic revolution with regard to cultural themes of the festival with an emphasis on personal experiences of the artist;
2- Style of execution is based on the criteria set forth for each field;
3- Calligraphy will be held in four styles: Nasta’liq, Cursive Nasta’liq, Iranian Thuluth and Naskh and new trends. Nasta’liq and Cursive Nasta’liq are permanent features of every festival, whereas other fields in this section will be held periodically;
4- The maximum dimension of each side of the works must not exceed 150cm;
5- Each artist is allowed to submit a maximum of 3 artworks in any sections of the festival;
6- Copies of works by masters will be rejected;
7- All works selected for exhibition must be submitted with a suitable frame.
Poster (international)
1- Posters must:
- conform to the cultural criteria set forth in the festival;
- possess cultural, social, political and traditional elements of different nations;
2- Technique is free;
3- Each artist may participate in the festival with a maximum of five artworks;
4- Participants must comply with the regulations - articulated on the website of the festival – on the quality and size of their works and submit a digital file of their works accordingly;
Photography (international)
1- Photographs must:
- conform to the cultural criteria set forth in the festival;
- rely on the artist’s personal experiences in addition to the predetermined cultural criteria of the festival;
2- Each artist may participate in the Festival with a maximum of 7 photos;
3- No manipulation by computer software is allowed;
4- Participants must comply with the regulations - articulated on the website of the festival – on the quality and size of their works and submit a digital file of their works accordingly;
Photography sections of the 4th International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts are as below:
A) Competition:
1- Special section:
- The subject of this special section is “Islamic Awakening” and it includes all the works of international photographers that deal with acts of rebellion, political and social evolution of Islamic countries during 2010 and 2011.
2- Main section:
- The subject of this section is “manifestation of color and light in spiritual art” and includes photographs that explore the effects of light in architecture of spiritual spaces in different ethnic groups, cultures, religions and nations as well as the interaction of light, space and human beings;
- The subject of the main section is “man’s portrait in the third millennium” and includes creative portraits that depict the conditions of man in a modern world. They show men in a variety of situations such as working, having fun, happiness, loneliness, being together, in pain and illness, etc.
B) Collateral event:
Exhibition of works of photographers under the above themes;
Cartoon (international)
1- Cartoons must:
- conform to the cultural criteria set forth in the festival;
- address the issues of modern man, including resistance of nations and hope for the future;
2- This section is organized in two sections: thematic cartoons and portrait cartoons;
3- Each artist can participate in the festival with a maximum of 5 works;
4- Participants must comply with the regulations – articulated on the website – with regard to the quality and size of their works and submit a digital file of their works accordingly.
Film
1- Only works related to one of the fields of visual arts (drawing, painting, graphic design, Persian painting, cartoon (animation), calligraphy, photography, sculpture and illustration) are allowed to participate;
2- Length of the film must not exceed 30 minutes;
3- There are no limits on the number of works submitted by participants;
The first national festival of films on visual arts consists of:
A: Competition: under the theme of Visual Arts and the Silver Screen: feature, documentary and short films;
B: Side event: under the theme of Visual Arts and Islamic Revolution: feature, documentary and short films;
C: Guest section: Feature documentary and short films (a selection of works of famous filmmakers on visual arts).
Competition prizes
1- First Prize, feature film: Letter of Commendation – Festival’s statuette and 5 gold coins
2- Second Prize, feature film: Letter of Commendation – Festival’s statuette and 3 gold coins
3- Third Prize, feature film: Letter of Commendation and 1 gold coin
4- First Prize, documentary: Letter of Commendation – Festival’s statuette and 5 gold coins
5- Second Prize, documentary: Letter of Commendation – Festival’s statuette and 3 gold coins
6- Third Prize, documentary: Letter of Commendation and 1 gold coin
General conditions:
- Competition is open to all government organizations as well as producers in private sector;
- Applicants are required to fill in the application form and submit it to the secretariat along with a copy of DVD;
- A copy of the film will be kept at the secretariat for further review and will not be returned;
- No film will be withdrawn after submission to the secretariat and admission to the festival;
- The secretariat will determine the screening time of the films;
- The secretariat reserves the right to use excerpts of the submitted films for publicity purposes;
- Final decision where no provisions have been made in certain circumstances will be made by the secretariat;
Note: Signature on the application form signifies full acceptance of the terms and conditions stated herein.
It is obvious that any liability arising from the submitted works shall be borne by the signatory of the application form.
Illustration
1- The section is divided in two: “children and adolescents” and “adults”
2- Subjects for children and adolescents must be around:
· subjects set forth in the festival
· illustration of poems and stories with free topics
· illustration of poems and stories with the theme of “hope for the future”
3- Subjects for adults must be around:
· subjects set forth in the festival
· illustration of poems and stories with free topics
· illustration of poems and stories with the theme of “Islamic awakening”
4- Each artist can participate in the Festival with a maximum of 5 works in each field
5- The works can be either square or rectangular
6- Participants must comply with the regulations – articulated on the website – on the quality and size of their works and submit a digital file of their works accordingly.
Requirements for submission of articles
· Articles submitted for this conference must not have previously been presented or published;
· Texts must be prepared and presented in the framework of a scientific–research article;
· The language of articles submitted for the 4th International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts is grammatically and stylistically correct Persian or English;
· Articles must include an abstract, keywords, introduction, main body, conclusion and reference and must be consistent with one of the five subjects of the conference;
· Articles must be in MS WORD format and the inserted images must have a resolution of 300 dpi and A4 size, relevant to the article’s main subject;
· Each participant may submit only one paper, explaining how it fits into any one of the five subjects of the conference;
· In articles with more than one author, the main author’s name should appear first as the one in charge, and names of co-authors must appear below the name of the main author in order of priority.
· Articles need to bear the name, phone number, and email and postal address of the authors. Those who are members of scientific boards must also mention their position and name of the university in which they are employed.
· Authors are required to initially submit an abstract of their article which clearly indicates the subject, objective and hypothesis;
· Authors will be informed of acceptance of their articles through their email address as well as the festival’s website.
· Abstracts will appear in a booklet. Authors whose articles have been approved of will receive a copy of the book in which full articles will appear.
Terms and conditions for films on visual arts
1- The competition is open to all government organizations and producers of the private sector;
2- Applicants are required to fill in the application form and submit it to the secretariat along with a copy of their DVD;
3- A copy of the film will be kept at secretariat for further review and will not be returned;
4- No film will be withdrawn after submission to the secretariat and admission to the festival;
5- The secretariat will determine the screening time;
6- The secretariat reserves the right to use excerpts of the submitted films for publicity purposes;
7- Final decision where no provisions have been made in certain circumstances will be made by the secretariat;
Note: Signature on the application form signifies full acceptance of the terms and conditions stated herein.
It is obvious that any liability arising from the submitted works shall be borne by the signatory of the application form.
General terms and conditions
· Participation in the 4th International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts is open to all artists.
· The painting, sculpture, ceramic art, Persian painting and calligraphy sections will be held in two stages (initial selection on the basis of submitted images, and final selection of the main artwork). Therefore, initial acceptance does not necessarily amount to full admission into the festival, and participants are required to submit the original work to the secretariat; otherwise the work will be removed from the list of exhibits.
· Applicants need to log on to www.ivafestival.ir to register their names, complete the application form, and submit images of their works.
· The information provided on the application form and labels will be used in the exhibition materials. Participants must therefore make sure the information is accurate.
· Participants who do not have access to computer may go to the secretariat in person;
· The registration code provided by the festival’s website will be used for communications between the secretariat and the participants;
· The completion of application form and submission of works shall be construed as the acceptance of the festival’s rules and regulations;
· Participants whose works have been selected for the festival will receive a certificate of participation and an electronic book of the festival.
· Organizers reserve the right to use the images of works in the book and data bank, and cite the artist’s name wherever his work appears;
· Final decision where no provisions have been made in certain circumstances will be made by the General Secretary and Executive Secretary;
· The secretariat will not be liable to any damages arising from transportation of the works;
· Participants in the painting, Persian painting, sculpture, ceramic art and calligraphy sections must collect their works at most two weeks after the end of the exhibition; otherwise, the secretariat will not be responsible for any loss or damage whatsoever;
· Artworks must have been produced within the last two years and must not have been submitted to previous Fajr festivals.
Prizes
Special Section:
Golden “Tooba” statuette + letter of commendation + 50 gold coins for artists in each field
Prizes of painting, sculpture, ceramic art, Persian painting, calligraphy, illustration, photography, graphic design and cartoon:
First prize: Golden “Tooba” statuette + letter of commendation + Rls. 50 million
Second prize: letter of commendation + Rls. 40 million
Third prize: letter of commendation + Rls. 30 million
Winners of the international sections of photography, graphic design and cartoon will receive their prize either in Iranian Rials or the equivalent in Euros
Prizes for illustration, Persian painting and calligraphy sections will be awarded on the basis of each field.
Prizes of the cartoon section
Golden “Tooba” statuette + letter of commendation + Euros 2000 or its equivalent in IRR awarded to three top artists in any of the sections.
Prizes for articles:
Seven of the selected Persian articles will receive a sum of Euros 1000 or its equivalent in IRR.
Prizes (side events) for films on visual arts
1- First Prize, feature film: letter of commendation – festival’s statuette and IRR 25,000,000
2- Second Prize, feature film: letter of commendation – festival’s statuette and IRR 15,000,000
3- Third Prize, feature film: letter of commendation and IRR 5,000,000
4- First Prize, documentary: letter of commendation – festival’s statuette and IRR 25,000,000 Second Prize, documentary: letter of commendation – festival’s statuette and IRR 15,000,000
5- Third Prize, documentary: letter of commendation and IRR 5,000,000
The festival’s executive calendar:
Beginning of registration and submission of images of works: 01/10/2011
Deadline for submission of images of works: 31/12/2011
Final selection of posters, photos and cartoons: 10/01/2011
Initial selection of paintings, sculptures, ceramic art, Persian painting and calligraphy: 05/01/2011
Deadline for submission of original works (painting, sculpture, ceramic art, Persian painting and calligraphy): 15/01/2011
Final selection of paintings, sculptures, ceramic works, Persian painting and calligraphy: 30/01/2012
Deadline for submission of an abstract of articles, including the gist, objective, research method, hypothesis and subject: 20/01/2011
Deadline for submission of the original article: 05/01/2011
The final judgment in all sections will take place during the exhibition.
Calendar of the film festival:
Deadline for submission of works: 05/01/2012
Screening and selection of works: 21/01/2012
Acceptance note to successful participants: 25/01/2012
Films must be submitted to the secretariat only on DVD
The original copy of the accepted works must be submitted to the secretariat.
Venues:
· Tehran: Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Saba Cultural Center, House of Artists, Niavaran Cultural Center, Imam Ali Museum
· Provincial capitals: According to the plans for the 4th International Fajr Festival of Visual Arts, all entries admitted to the Festival will also be displayed in all provinces.
· Foreign countries: The festival’s secretariat plans to exhibit the selected works in 10 different countries, the names of which will be announced in due time.
Festival’s Permanent Secretariat:
#17, Shahid Sodooghi Alley – Opposite Laleh Park – North Karegar Ave. Tehran
Postal Code 14185 – 414
Phone: + 98 21 6694 6910 - 11
Fax: + 98 21 6643 7254
Website: www.ivafestival.ir
Email: info@ivafestival.ir