VIRTUAL EXHIBITION NOW ON VIEW

WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM. :YEAR OF HOPE

An arts-based expression of hope for the future of Iran.

In the spirit of renewal and hope, and in cross-cultural celebration of Norooz 1402, MOZAIK Philanthropy opened its second international call for WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM. in Spring of 2023.

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.

Art has the power to express pain and suffering but also to illuminate hopes and dreams. “Year of Hope” was a call to imagine a free future for the Iranian People.

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 Iranian women artists and art professionals in diaspora to receive the 2023 Future Art Award. Their creative contributions, dedicated to the bravery of Iranian people, are on view in the Year of Hope Virtual Exhibition.

WOMAN.LIFE.FREEDOM.:YEAR OF HOPE

Featured Artworks

The WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.: Year of Hope virtual exhibition features over 100 contemporary artworks by artists inside Iran and beyond its borders. The exhibition serves as a dedication to the bravery of the Iranian people. All artworks are shown anonymously for security purposes and in solidarity with all those who have and continue to risk their lives for freedom.

Honoring 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.

(women life freedom) زندگی آزادی
Anonymous

A Moment in Eternity
Anonymous

After the Fight
Anonymous

As long as Ferdowsi is alive, Iran is alive
Anonymous

Deliverance
Anonymous

Do Not Remember My Eyes
Anonymous

Embracing the Light: A Tale of Two Realities
Anonymous

Flight of Fancy
Anonymous

Free Iran (Digital Collage)
Anonymous

FREE IRAN (Mixed-Media)
Anonymous

Freedom
Anonymous

Freedom Phoenix
Anonymous

Future Spring
Anonymous

GASP
Anonymous

Home, Hope, Freedom
Anonymous

Hope In Darkness
Anonymous

I Hear Them Crack
Anonymous

I.r.Iran
Anonymous

Illumination
Anonymous

Iran in New Year
Anonymous

Jin-Jian_Azadi
Anonymous

Khodanoor
Anonymous

Last day…First days…And 43 years in between…
Anonymous

Light
Anonymous

No 5
Anonymous

Not Far
Anonymous

Requiem & و نمی‌دانم ز روی دیده‌ام گه رام و نآرام/ کیست می‌رقصد به سوی این دل آرام، نا آرام؟
Anonymous

Revolution/ Us out side of Iran /Sarina/Bahar
Anonymous

SHED
Anonymous

Simurgh
Anonymous

Spring is on the way
Anonymous

The Freedom Monument, Iran
Anonymous

There is a crack in everything, that’s where the light gets in
Anonymous

To be a woman
Anonymous

Touch of Freedom
Anonymous

We will Grow One Day
Anonymous

WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM. (Digital Art Series)
Anonymous

Woman Life Freedom – Super Strong Revolutionary Hair Spray
Anonymous

Woman Life Freedom
Anonymous

Woman Life Freedom (blood)
Anonymous

woman life freedom (omide Iran)
Anonymous

Woman Life Freedom (video performance)
Anonymous

Woman Life Freedom Collection
Anonymous

Woman, Life, Freedom-Courage
Anonymous

Woman, Life, Freedom, Rebel Girl
Anonymous

Woman, Spring and Protest in Iran
Anonymous

ZZA
Anonymous

WOMAN.LIFE.FREEDOM.:YEAR OF HOPE

Meet The Jury

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. Their creative contributions, dedicated to the bravery of Iranian people, are on view in the Year of Hope Virtual Exhibition.

Katayoun Bahrami

Multidisciplinary Artist and Curator

Katayoun Bahrami is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist and curator living and working in the Bay Area. Through her art, Bahrami delves into the intricate relationship between women’s bodies and boundaries, examining their dynamic interplay as subjects and dominators and how their limits catalyze change and transformation. Drawing on Iranian women’s history, Bahrami creates work that combines social practice, performance, and textile-based installations.

Bahrami’s artistic practice is diverse, utilizing a range of mediums, including mixed-media pieces, installations, textiles, videos, and photographs, to communicate her ideas. Her work has been exhibited extensively across the United States and internationally, with her pieces featured in galleries such as the LoosenArt Gallery in Rome, the Broad Art Center in Los Angeles, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, and the Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition at SOMArts Gallery in San Francisco.

In addition to her exhibitions, Bahrami has produced performances and artist-led participatory projects for various venues, including the Clarion Alley Mural Project, the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, and Berkeley Art Practice. She continues pushing contemporary art’s boundaries and exploring themes of femininity, identity, and culture.

Bahrami completed her BFA at the University of Science and Culture in Iran before earning her MA in Arts and Cultural Management—Museum Studies from Michigan State University in 2017. She continued her education at California College of the Arts, where she received her MFA in Studio Arts in 2022.

Dr. Persis Karim

Poet, Essayist and Distinguished Chair of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, San Francisco State University

Persis Karim is a poet, essayist, and editor. She holds the Neda Nobari Endowed Chair and is the director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University where she also teaches in the Department of Comparative & World Literature. She is the editor of three anthologies of Iranian Diaspora Literature.

Neda Nobari

Founder & Chief Catalyst Officer, MOZAIK Philanthropy

Neda Nobari is an Iranian-American justice advocate and founder of Mozaik Philanthropy.

Nobari earned her B.S. in Computer Science in 1984 from SFSU and her M.A. in Liberal Studies in 2015 from Dartmouth.  She was the Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of bebe stores from 1984 to 2006.

Nobari established her private foundation in 2007 and has served on over a dozen nonprofit boards and advisory boards catering to both Iranian and non-Iranian communities.

A benefactor of social issue film, Nobari has executive produced and supported over two dozen documentary films that have received international film festival recognitions and awards.

In 2016, Nobari established the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at her alma mater, San Francisco State University where she is the current Chair of the University Foundation Board.

Nobari was named the Alumna of the Year in 2020 and inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame at SFSU.

In 2023, Nobari received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

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