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[NORTH AMERICA]
COLORS OF TRANSCENDENCE:
NEW MUSIC AND NEW INSTRUMENTS FROM IRAN
Mohammad Reza Shajarian and brothers TahmouresPournazeri and SohrabPournazeri join forces in an historic collaboration, presenting music from their soon-to-be-released project Colors of Transcendence. Appearing in a rare set of U.S. concerts, the ensemble will perform in Costa Mesa, Los Angeles and Berkeley in California and in Washington, DC. These concerts will also debut the new instruments created by Mr. Shajarian, and crafted under his direction in Iran. Those new stringed instruments –delodel, shahbang, shahnavaz, and others – refine and renew the long and glorious traditions of Persian classical music.
Tour Dates:
March16 in WASHINGTON,
March 23 in LOS ANGELES
March24  BERKELEY
New Instruments for this new Iranian music, conceived and designed by Mr. Shajarian in his home in Iran, will make their Western concert debut in these shows, some in the hands of American and Middle Eastern musicians. 
www.MysticWorldMusic.com

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 [LOS ANGELES]
2013 FARHANG SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
The Top 6 Nominees of the 5th Annual Farhang Foundation Short Film Festival
have officially been announced. They are And We Pass By (Iran), Distant Words (Australia), Karbafi (Iran), Khourosh Ali Khan: Jazz Fusion in Iran (USA), Namaki (Iran), and Rostam in WonderLand – Sohrab’s Blood (USA).
 More than seventy submissions were received this year from all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Iran, Nepal, Armenia, France, United Kingdom, Australia, and Bangladesh, all competing for top honors at Farhang’s 2013 Short Film Festival and an opportunity to win $10,000 (first place), $5,000 (second place) or $3,000 (third place).
 This year, the screening of the top six films, an award ceremony recognizing the top three films, and an exclusive reception in honor of the filmmakers, with a red carpet arrival, will take place on Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 6pm to 9pm at the Leo S. Bing Theater in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as part of Farhang Foundation’s two-day Nowruz festivities at the museum. Tickets for this special evening, co-sponsored by LACMA’s Art of the Middle East Contemporary and Farhang Foundation, are $35 for LACMA members and $45 for non-members.  To purchase tickets or for additional information, visit
www.lacma.org or www.farhangfilmfest.org

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[NEW YORK]

7th Annual Persian
New Year Celebration
NYC’s Persian Arts Festival, Inc. (PAF), an organization devoted to providing a platform for Persian artists and visionaries, joins forces with Le Poisson Rouge and other Persian cultural organizations to present a New Year extravaganza featuring Persian fusion from three of the city’s top-tiered bands.
The evening will be full of musical surprise and delight, featuring RanaFarhan’s unique blend of classic Persian poetry with contemporary jazz and blues, Vatan’s Persian-meets-country-rock sounds and a blast into the past with MitraSumara’s super group of New York City musicians that pay homage to the vibrant pop and funk music of 60s/70s Iran.
Saturday March 30, visit persianartsfestival.org

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[DUBAI]
Rare Iranian artworks on display at Opera Gallery
Iran’s flourishing contemporary art scene will be the focus of Opera Gallery’s upcoming exhibit, allowing visitors to gauge just how much the meaning of true art has evolved from the days of Persia.
The “Art of Iran” showcase features 30 Iranian artists, including works by celebrated professionals such as Mohammad Ehsai, NasrollahAfjehei, KhosroKhosravi and KooroshShishegaran but also upcoming contemporaries such as NegarVarasteh and ShimaEsfandyari.
The Opera Gallery Group, with founder Gilles Dyan at the helm, and curators Leila Varasteh and Vida Zaim have been actively involved in promoting Iranian art across the globe. With their years of experience and well-developed networks in the country, they were able to gain access to unique pieces of work that make up the upcoming exhibition.
The ‘Art of Iran’ exhibition will be held from March 19th to April 11th at Opera Gallery, DIFC.

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[PHILADEPHIA]
Mona Shomali Exhibit
The title of Mona Shomali’s current exhibition “That Person Who Is Your Creation” comes from a poem by groundbreaking Iranian poet ForoughFarrokhzad, entitled “Call To Arms.” The poem begins: “Only you, O Iranian woman, have remained/ In bonds of wretchedness, misfortune, and cruelty/ If you want these bonds broken/ grasp the skirt of obstinacy…” Farrokhzad’s works questioned Iranian understandings of gender in radical new ways, and Shomali’s paintings embark on a similar task for Iranian-American women.
Mona Shomali’s work is part of the exhibition “That Person Who Is Your Creation,” at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia until April 26.

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