The 2023 Future Art Awards exhibition is titled "Year of Hope" and features over 100 contemporary artworks that imagine a free future for the Iranian People.
LOS ANGELES, May 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the spirit of renewal and hope, and in cross-cultural celebration of Norooz 1402, MOZAIK Philanthropy has opened its second virtual exhibition in honor of the WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM. movement in Iran. Titled "Year of Hope", the exhibition features contemporary artworks created by artists inside Iran and beyond its borders, serving as an arts-based expression of the pain, suffering, hopes and dreams of a free future for the Iranian People.
Courageous women, men and youth throughout Iran continue to rise up in defiance of a brutal regime that is escalating its repression and violence against its own people while executing peaceful protestors. The demands of the Iranian people for a society free of discrimination, oppression and inequality continue to resonate with people around the globe.
Founder of MOZAIK Philanthropy, Neda Nobari, served on the jury for the Year of Hope global call for art, alongside multidisciplinary artist and curator, Katayoun Bahrami, as well as poet, essayist and Distinguished Chair of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University, Dr. Persis Karim. Similar to MOZAIK's first WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM. exhibition in January 2023, spotlighting art from the first 90 days of the revolution, all artworks featured in the Year of Hope virtual exhibition are also shown anonymously for security purposes and in solidarity with all those who have and continue to risk their lives for freedom.
"Artists in Iran and across its diasporas are using the power of art to support and sustain the Woman. Life. Freedom. Revolution, demanding Universal Human Rights for this generation and the next. With fearless courage, these creative catalysts have become the voices and vanguards of change. As MOZAIK Philanthropy, we are honored to amplify the voices of artists and activists at this pivotal moment in history, " said Neda Nobari, MOZAIK Philanthropy's Founder and Chief Catalyst Officer.
Over 400 artists across the globe of all ages and creative practices submitted work in solidarity. Fifty artists were selected by an independent jury of 7 Iranian women artists and art professionals in diaspora to receive the 2023 Future Art Award. Of the 7 jurors, 4 elected to remain anonymous given the severe security concerns in Iran. Over 85% of the exhibiting artists are women and over 50% of the exhibiting artists are from Iran. Collectively, their creative contributions serve as a dedication to the bravery of Iranian people.
Since launching the Future Art Awards in 2020, MOZAIK Philanthropy has awarded over 500 global artists with grants and virtual exhibition exposure, covering front-line social and environmental justice issues nationally and internationally. Winning artists have included photographers, painters, sculptors, street artists, muralists, mixed-media artists, visual, multi and interdisciplinary artists, illustrators, animators, 3D artists, NFT artists, cartoonists, technologists, filmmakers, poets, art writers, composers, weavers, dancers, and creative performers. Selected artists are honored for their outstanding contemporary artworks for creative excellence across the following categories: originality, personality, quality of composition, creativity, skills, concepts of activism, justice or representation, overall emotional impression, and adherence to the awards' interpretive theme: WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.: Year of Hope.
The WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.: Year of Hope virtual exhibition is free and open to the public at https://mozaikphilanthropy.org/year-of-hope-exhibition/.
Media Contact:
Keely Badger
Executive Director
MOZAIK Philanthropy
keely@mozaikphilanthropy.org
SOURCE MOZAIK Philanthropy