By Syma Sayyah and Paul Sanford, Tehran

Last month we were invited to attend the opening of one of the major artistic events of the year, a photographic exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.  The event was organized by the new director of the TMCA, Dr Sadeghi and Mr Toscano, the Italian Ambassador in Tehran with the relentless efforts of the Italian cultural attaché in Tehran, Ms. Felicetta Ferraro.  Mr Seifollah Samadian is the exhibition curator and manager.  The exhibition is called 'The Inner Eye in Iranian Photography' and is in six sections.  The honored guest was Dr Riccardo Zipoli who as an Iranian scholar and a great photographer has had a close relationship with Iran through his work and his camera lenses.

Venice in windows by Riccardo Zipoli

The ceremony started more or less on time by Tehran standards - well, you know about the traffic here - with a speech by Mr Samadian who informed the audience that they had prepared the exhibition - the task of six months - in six weeks.  The exhibition was divided into six sections which were A Guest - Dr Riccardo Zipoli, A City - Bam - the photographs of M.R. Javadi, A Vision - M.K. Beheshti, A Pioneer - N. Faridani, A Collection - The International Photography collection at TMCA and my favorite part A History of Iranian Photography from the Ghajar period to Today - with the work of over 200 Iranian photographers.

photo by Ebrahim Norouzi

Dr Sadeghi, the new director of the TMCA, welcomed the guests and thanked the exhibition supporters and his collaborator in this wonderful exhibition, Mr Toscano who came on stage next to say a few words, followed by the guest of honor Dr Zipoli who delighted the audience by making his speech in very eloquent and sweet Persian.  We were then shown a 10 minute film of his photographs from his series Windows of Venice which were in the exhibition hall and many others from his travels and in particular many from his trips to Iran.

Photo by Mohammad Kashefi

Photo by Bahman Parsa

Photo by Ali Ghalamsaiah

Finally we joined others to view the exhibition and here I have a few photos for you to share. Among the visitors there were many guests from the diplomatic corps in Tehran and many well known faces in art and culture among them Ms Niki Karimi, Mr Kiarostani, Mr Sarbakhshian and Ms. Fatemeh Motamedara, Mr Farnoud, Mrs Hengameh Golestan, and many young photographers and art lovers in general.

Riccardo Zipoli	Seifollah Samadian exhibition curator

See these related articles for more about the photography of Dr Zipoli.

• Riccardo Zipoli, Photographer
• Exhibition: Riccardo Zipoli's Photographs at Silk Road Gallery in Tehran
• Riccardo Zipoli's Photos of Iran at Tehran's Silk Road Gallery
• My Favorite Diplomatic Couple In Tehran
  I take this opportunity and nominate Mr. and Mrs. Toscano from Italy as my favorite Diplomatic Couple in Tehran. This is for their spirit, knowledge and interest in many causes and issues including art and history; along with their ability to mix so well with ordinary and not so ordinary people and groups with sincere affection and true dedication, both officially and unofficially here in Tehran.
• Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art to showcase Riccardo Zipoli photos