The status of Iranian painters in the international festivals and arts events

Abstract

The world’s extensive attendance of Iranian artists started with establishing the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in 1983, which paved the way for international activities of artists, particularly painters. Today, the significance of participation in international events is considered a career goal for most Iranian artists. Such a reason causes painters to devote part of their activities to it, which serves as an important reference for evaluating the quality of their work. The present study was intended to consider socio-political developments in Iran and to investigate the position of Iranian painters in the international festivals and events of art over the last decade. The results indicated that Iranian painters actively attended the international events of art from 2010 to 2020, especially during the first four years of Hassan Rouhani’s presidency. However, some factors are of utmost importance: male painters dominated the events, but the mean age of females was greater than that of males. The majority of Iranian painters participating in these events resided overseas and had university education. Also, the end of this decade was associated with a sharp decrease in visual and painting displays, and painters took part actively, when compared with other artists involved in different forms of visual arts. This study is a basic research that adds further knowledge to the actual knowledge on Iranian contemporary art. Moreover, it is a practical research that is useful for solving practical problems in Iranian culture and sociology.