Opening Reception: Thursday, November 5, 2009, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

The Fridge DC is pleased to present our November 2009 exhibition, I RAN Home (In America), running November 5 through November 29, 2009.

Iranian artists have become players in the national and international contemporary art scene, but too often, this genre is tied to politics. In reality, Iranian-American artists are multi-faceted with different and conflicting identities and influences. Their work may be affected by political realities, but not decided by them. In I RAN Home (In America), these diverse influences unite in profoundly personal artworks which strive to achieve acceptance and understanding from all viewers. Moreover, the genre educates the American public about Iranian culture and reveals the effects of Diaspora on community identity.

Straight from the Beijing Biennale, works from New York based Pooneh Magazehe's Pioneer series feature raw meat branded with an Islamic pattern used in architectural detailing throughout Iran. Utilizing a custom made branding iron inscribed with this pattern, an act of re-contextualization implies the historic representation of cattle branding, offers a metaphor for migration, references mass marketing, and alludes to branding identities.

Originally from the DC Metro area, New York based Eric Robert Parnes appropriates contemporary images and intentionally revises them to reveal the ways in which they have driven war, religion and fashion through time.

Locally-based and Iranian-born, Hadieh Shafie explores the fundamental aspects of process, repetition and time throughout her works, which take direct inspiration from the whirling dervish of Sufism.

In an effort to increase public awareness and appreciation of Iranian-American culture, we will be hosting public programming events in conjunction with the exhibition:

• Bastani & Branding, Saturday, November 14, 6-9pm, features exhibiting artist Pooneh Magazehe performing her branding process on items from the public, such as bags and hats, along with a bastani ice cream social (Persian ice cream).

• Youth Poetry Night, Wednesday, November 18, 6-8pm, features award-winning students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Literary Media and
  Communications Department, who will create and perform poems based on their experiences with the exhibit, their views on Iranian culture, and talk with the artists at the School on November 5. This event is free.

• I RAN I DANCE, Saturday, November 21, 9pm-1am, is a dance party with Persian beats from DJ Dariush. There will be a $10 suggested donation.

The artists will create one-of-a-kind designs which will be featured on limited-edition wearable merchandise, available for sale through the duration of the exhibition.

A free opening reception will be held Thursday, November 5, 2009 from 7 to 10 pm

A Project for Art in Curating Production

THIS PROJECT IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF:

• Albus Cavus (http://www.albuscav.us)

• DJ Dariush (http://www.djdariush.com)

• Duke Ellington School of the Arts (http://www.ellingtonschool.org)

• Persianesque Magazine (www.persianesquemagazine.com)

• The Pink Line Project (http://www.pinklineproject.com)

• Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) (http://www.paaia.org)

• Turkish Coffee Cafe (www.turkishcoffeecafe.com)

Pooneh Maghazehe
www.poonehspeaks.com
Based in New York, Pooneh Maghazehe is currently exhibiting in Iran Inside Out at The Chelsea Art Museum and will show her work in the upcoming Beijing Biennale. She is particularly interested in cultural iconography, especially that of Iran combined with the American experience. This fall, she begins MFA studies at Columbia University.

... Payvand News - 10/24/09 ... --

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