A Utopian Stage

black and white image of two people playing grand piano with a large audience

PROGRAM
A Utopian Stage
WHEN
February 9 – March 30, 2024
CURATOR
Vali Mahlouji

Bowerbird and Asian Arts Initiative are excited to present A Utopian Stage, a multifaceted project curated by Vali Mahlouji that unearths the vibrant history and the unique stage of the little known Festival of Arts, Shiraz-Persepolis, an international performance festival held annually in Iran from 1967 to 1977. The Festival's monumental scale and curatorial ambition created an unparalleled nexus of cultural exchange, but after the 1979 rise of the Islamic regime in Iran, the Festival was banned and many of its archives were destroyed. In the absence of this documentation, the Festival was for the most part forgotten, until Mahlouji (founder of the curatorial platform "Archaeology of the Final Decade") set out to piece together the puzzle and reconstruct its history. This exhibition brings together more than ten years of research and draws attention to Iran’s proactive role in promoting intercultural dialogues in the 1960s and 1970s - an idea that resonates with the hope of many younger Iranian generations, including those who stand up to defend against their inhibited rights and freedoms in the contemporary moment.

A Utopian Stage investigates this radical space and the legacy of the Festival of Arts through three acts:

ACT I. SHIRAZ-PERSEPOLIS: THE EXCAVATED ARCHIVES - features the exhibition of rare archival materials from the Shiraz Festival of Arts, which remains banned in its country of origin, Iran. The exhibition includes photographs, audios, videos, annual catalogues, graphic arts, ephemera, and other rarely seen items.

ACT II. THE SHIFTING SANDS OF UTOPIAS: A CULTURAL ATLAS - investigates the broader historical context and how a fluid artistic, philosophical and political exchange emerged across geographies, histories, and forms on an unprecedented scale. The Atlas examines those from the perspective of the concept "Global South".

ACT III. A UTOPIAN STAGE: INVOCATIONS - A series of performances by living artists that evoke the ethos of the Shiraz Festival of Arts, and A Utopian Stage forms a panoramic exchange of transcultural artistic discourse.

Image: Mantra, for two Pianos, Karlheinz Stockhausen (composer), Alfons Kontarsky, Aloys Kontarsky (pianists) – Saray-e Moshir, 1972; Courtesy Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik / Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives

ABOUT THE SHIRAZ ARTS FESTIVAL

The Festival of Arts, Shiraz-Persepolis (also known as the Shiraz Arts Festival and the Shiraz Festival of the Arts) took place over eleven editions from 1967 to 1977. Accompanied by symposia and debates, the festival program included music, dance, drama, poetry and film, performed in a variety of venues in central Iranian city of Shiraz and surrounding areas, including the ancient ruins of Persepolis (ceremonial capital of ancient Persia, c.6th Century BCE), Naqsh-e Rostam, Hafezieh, Bagh-e Delgosha, Narenjestan, Bazaar-e Vakil, Jahan-Nama Garden, Saray-e Moshir and a concert hall on the Shiraz University campus.

Artists featured included Iannis Xenakis, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Morton Feldman, National Ballet of Senegal, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, John Cage, David Tudor, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Yehudi Menuhin, Martha Argerich, Robert Serumaga, Duro Ladipo pido, Sardono Kusumo, Peter Brook, Peter Schumann and Bread & Puppet Theater, Robert Wilson, and Iranian classical singers Mohammad-Reza Shajarian and Parisa, among many others.

Focused on both traditional and avant-garde arts, the festival brought internationally acclaimed artists from across the world. The festival also sought out and showcased gifted Iranian artists old and young who relished sharing the stage with fellow Asian, African, North and South American and European artists from India, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Uganda, Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Brazil, Argentina, Poland, France, USA, Hungary and many more. The intentional transcultural mixture, and juxtaposition of traditional and experimental, created a platform for an effervescent and unique multilateral exchange of creativity and inspiration.

The festival's progressive and utopian aspirations, and its founding and patronage by Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi (Queen of Iran, and wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, attracted controversies throughout its tenure, and eventually, a religious fatwa was declared by Ayatollah Khomeini against the festival in 1977. Its twelfth edition was canceled due to security reasons in the face of political unrest in 1978. With the establishment of the Islamist regime in Iran, the festival was banned in 1979, many of its Iranian directors and actors barred from work and its documents and archives destroyed.

CREDITS

Curator: Vali Mahlouji
Performance curators: Dustin Hurt and Vali Mahlouji
Exhibition Producer: Pete Angevine
Performance Producer: Andy Thierauf
With additional curatorial and facilities support from Asian Arts Initiative.

FUNDING CREDITS

Major support for A UTOPIAN STAGE has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.

Traditional Music from Korea and Iran

PROGRAM
Traditional Music from Korea and Iran
WHEN
8 PM–10 PM on February 9, 2024

Inspired by the Shiraz Arts Festiva’s curatorial vision, “Traditional Music from Korea and Iran” brings togethers two duos: Jung-Hee Oh, a Korean music artist of “Gayageum Byeong-chang” (Solo zither performance with song) with Song Eun Shin, who performs the 25 String Gayageum; and Mehrnam Rastegari, a Persian master of the Kamancheh (an Iranian bowed string instrument, with Jalal Kimia, who performs the Iranian percussion instruments Daf and Tombak. Iranian traditional music held a central role in the Shiraz Arts Festival’s programming. Prior to the festival, large, high-profile, live performances of Iranian traditional music were rare – with performances primarily confined to private homes and small gatherings. The inaugural 1967 festival showcased Iranian master musicians in multiple concerts at the picturesque Hafezieh (a memorial garden in Shiraz, Iran, housing the tomb of Hafez, a 14th-century Persian poet). By the following year, Iranian music was also being featured alongside music from other cultures. Programs such as “Traditional Music from India & Iran” or “Traditional Music from Morocco & Iran” invited audiences to hear connections and interplay between musical styles and instrumentations in ways that are still rare today.

This event is part of A UTOPIAN STAGE, an exhibition at Asian Arts Initiative from February 9 to March 30, 2024, presented with Bowerbird

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE OPENING RECEPTION OF “A UTOPIAN STAGE” BEFORE THIS CONCERT (FEBRUARY 9TH AT 6PM)

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Ms. Jung-Hee Oh is a Korean traditional music artist in ‘Gayageum Byeong-chang’ (singing with self-accompaniment of the Gayageum instrument) and ‘Pansori’ (a traditional story-telling performed by a solo vocalist). Ms. Oh is recognized as a Korean government cultural ministry’s intangible cultural property No. 23 in Gayageum with song and ‘Sanjo.’ She had performances in numerous significant musical events and was featured as the main guest in many Korean Cultural events in prominent institutions. She received her master’s degree in Korean music from Chung-Ang University in Seoul Korea. She currently serves as the music director of the music band G-Hwaja and performing artist based in NY & NJ metropolitan area.

Song Eun Shin has established her reputation for her outstanding performance and detailed expressions of the unique musical language. In addition, she has been a pioneer in spreading across the world the sound of Gayageum, traditional Korean string instrument. She started to play Gayageum when she was 10 years old. She graduated from Korean National Traditional Arts High School and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Chung-Ang University with top honors. She won Seoul Gayageum Competition and has continued to advance her career through great concerts and performances, including Shanghai Expo, the G20 Summit, and Hong Kong national holiday events.

Mehrnam Rastegari is a well-established Iranian music and film score composer, singer, violinist, and master Kamancheh player. She has performed in concerts in more than ten countries, including the United States, Germany, Switzerland, France, Finland, Iran, and Kazakhstan, and music festivals such as the WOMEX World Music Expo, Tampere, Finland, and the Fajr International Music Festival, Tehran, Iran. Mehrnam’s main instrument is the Kamancheh, for which she has been recognized by some of the best Kamancheh performers and instructors globally, who certified her as a master Kamancheh player. She was a guest speaker at the TEDx event Oasis: Existence in Nothingness. Additionally, she composed the score for multiple award-winning films, including Dispirited, for which she won the Best Original Score Award at the Melbourne City Independent Film Awards (MCIFA), A Poetess, presented at the Cannes Film Festival 2022, and the Rotten, nominated for the original score in Japan Kadoma Festival.

Jalal Kimia, a talented Persian Percussionist, was born and raised in Iran. He embarked on his musical journey by learning the famous Iranian frame drum, Daf, at an early age, guided by Meysam Afshin and Behzad Mahjoobi. Later, he felt compelled to learn the other main Persian percussion instrument, Tombak, and continued his training under Master Dariush Eshaghi and later continued his training with Master Pejman Hadadi, further developing his skills as a percussionist.

Major support for A Utopian Stage has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage with additional support from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.. Presented in collaboration with Bowerbird, Fire Museum Presents and Philly Iran

Xenakis: Persepolis, Listening Sessions

PROGRAM
Xenakis: Persepolis, Listening Sessions
WHEN
6:30 PM–9 PM on February 10, 2024

LISTENING SESSIONS

Approximate 60 min run time. Limited space available. Advanced tickets required.

Saturday, February 10th @ 6:30 pm: Buy Tickets
Saturday, February 10th @ 8:00 pm: Buy Tickets

In 1971, the Greek-French composer Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) was commissioned to create a piece for the opening day of the fifth edition of the Shiraz Arts Festival. The event commemorated the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire and took place at the ruins of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (~550 – 330 BCE), situated about 45 miles northeast of the modern city of Shiraz. Xenakis created a site-specific, open-air spectacle called “Polytope de Persepolis”. The original performance included a 55-minute long 8-track electroacoustic composition distributed over 59 speakers, two laser beams, army searchlights, a choreography of 150 children carrying torches and several large bonfires on the surrounding hills facing the ruins.

For this event we have collaborated with the LA-based listening non-profit BLACK HOLE to present a special new rendering of “Persepolis”. This event, under the sound direction of Micah Silver, offers a rare chance to hear Xenakis’ original source audio material in a multi-speaker arrangement specifically devised for the Asian Arts Initiative Theater.

This event is part of A UTOPIAN STAGE, an exhibition at Asian Arts Initiative from February 9 to March 30, 2024, presented with Bowerbird

Pictured above: Iannis Xenakis in preparations for the premiere of “Persepolis” music and light spectacle, at the ancient ruins of Persepolis, 1971. (World Premiere, festival commission for the opening event); Courtesy Les Amis de Xenakis / Archaeology of the Final Decade Archives

Major support for A Utopian Stage has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage with additional support from the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia.

A Utopian Stage

PROGRAM

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CURATOR