A solo painting exhibition ‘Girls of Turquoise Land’ by Iranian painter, miniaturist and calligrapher Behzad Bozorgi, 45, is underway at Vali Art Gallery in north Tehran.

The exhibit opened on May 5 and will run through May 16 on all days except Saturdays from 4-8 pm, Honaronline reported.

It is a showcase of acrylic paintings on canvas, highlighting the rich and ancient Persian school of miniature painting “in a modernistic way.”

The paintings have a particular focus on the rendering of faces. In form and aesthetics, they follow the Persian school, but not in technique.

“I departed from my special interest in Iranian miniature a few years back and decided to adopt a new approach in my paintings,” Bozorgi said.

His new approach includes large dimensions, figures against abstract backgrounds, painterly rendering of calligraphy scripts and stimulant colors. He has deliberately distanced his style from the customary forms and norms expected in Iranian miniature. Where there was once a poetic dance of forms, he now creates a concept of peace and tranquility.

In an introduction to the ongoing exhibit, Bozorgi said: “I have tried to focus on prominent elements of the Isfahan School of Art, to express my perspective in painting and portray a traditionalistic look at the works by the old masters.”

He said he has also tried, through a modern approach with colors and in an abstract atmosphere, to have a new look at the works of the great master of the art, Reza Abbasi (1565-1635), who was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the late Safavid period.

Vali Art gallery is located at No. 72, Khodami Street, Vanak Square./ Financial tribune /

Over six million foreign tourists visited Iran during the past Iranian calendar year ended on March 20, 2017, bringing eight billion dollars of foreign currencies to the country, an official at Iran’s chamber of commerce announced.

Head of the tourism commission at Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Ahmad Asghari-Qajari, made the announcement in this southwestern Iranian province on Sunday evening.

Asghari-Qajari said that the number of the tourists had a two million growth compared to the preceding year.

It is predicted that Iran’s tourism industry will flourish after due infrastructure is supplied in that field, the official noted.

Referring to Iran’s tourist attractions, Asghari-Qajari said that the country is among the top ten world tourism destinations.

He noted that efforts should be made to replace reliance on oil industry by tourism.

Iran is the safest country in the world to which the foreign tourists can comfortably travel without being concerned about security issues, the official concluded. / Tehran telegram /

Economic relations between Iran and Japan will enter a new phase after a planned $10 billion credit line is opened, said a senior assistant to the dean of Asian Development Bank Institute in Japan.”Three Japanese big banks, namely the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank and Mizuho Bank, have started interactions in the form of telegraphic transfer—an electronic method of transferring funds—and L/C at sight  with a number of Iranian banks. These banks’ transactions are taking place through Japanese yen, which reduces the risk of transaction,” Farhad Taqizadeh-Hesari was also quoted as saying by ISNA. Taqizadeh-Hesari said Japan’s crude oil imports from Iran witnessed a growth of 130% in the wake of the nuclear deal, while adding oil products to Iran’s export basket to Japan.

/ Financial tribune /

With four medals gold medals, and one silver and two bronze medals Iran has won title at the Asian Senior Wrestling Championships in India.

Ramin Taheri, Hossein Nouri, Mostafa Salehizade and Behnam Mehdizadeh snatched gold medals in the event while one silver was gained by Afshin Biabangard who overcame his Indian opponent 3-1 and the Kirgiz opponent 5-4 on Thursday.

Saman Abdevali and Ali Arsalan won bronze medals to rise the total medals of Iran to seven, which made Iran the champion of the continent for the the 11th time.

Kazakhstan and South Korea stood at the second and third places, respectively.

The Asian Senior Wrestling Championships kicked off in New Delhi, India, on May 10, and will run through May 14, 2017. / Meher news /

Iranian documentary ‘Poets of Life’, directed by Shirin Bargh Navard, will go on screen at the 14th Green Film Festival in Seoul (GFFIS).

Poets of Life is a poetic narration of the life, work and concerns of Shirin Parsi, an environmentalist and social activist in women affairs.

The Green Film Festival in Seoul (GFFIS) is the first film festival in Korea to highlight environment issues.

GFFIS is a festival that seeks to share the hope for a better world where all the lives can be in harmony with environment and nature. Through cinema, the festival hopes to promote ideas of environmental protection and life respect to encourage public awareness and action for positive changes.

/ Meher News /

Twenty-five Iranian films are on screen at the 11th edition of the International Philosophy Film Festival, which is underway in Krakow, Poland.

The motto of this year’s festival is “Cinema, People of the Orient, Dreams and Reality”, therefore it focuses on screening independent Iranian films, the organizers have announced on the festival’s official website.

Among the films are “Vision” by Soheil Amirsharifi, “The Gambler” by Karim Lakzadeh, “Survival” by Masud Hatami, “Delete” by Kazem Molai and “Monolog” by Keveh Qahreman.

The screenings are followed by review sessions attended by Iranian filmmaker Ashkan Ahmadi and Polish film critic Artur Zaborski. /Tehran times /

Automakers are aiming at a production rate of 3 million units over the next eight years, says the investment director of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO).

“The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade aims to increase Iran’s annual auto production to 3 million units by 2025,” Fardad Daliri said in an interview with the news website Iran Online.

According to plans, 30% of the cars would be exported, he added.

The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers says Iran automakers produced 1,074,000 cars and 90,710 commercial vehicles in 2016, recording an 18.6% growth.

If the automakers maintain this rather ambitious growth rate until 2025, they will have reached a production figure of 4 million cars per year. Therefore production of 3 million cars by 2025 “is not farfetched.”

However, Daliri admitted that “The current [poor] quality of locally-produced cars limits Iran’s target markets to a handful of countries.”

As per the Trade Promotion Organization, affiliated to the Ministry of Industries, local automakers exported vehicles worth $36.6 million in the last fiscal (ended March 20). Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Syria were the main destinations.

Question of Quality

Daliri said the Iran Standard and Quality Inspection Company (ISQI) and the Ministry of Industries are working on a new protocol to help upgrade standards for the automotive sector.

“Emission standards, fuel consumption and safety features will be upgraded.”

He noted that several models that are being produced for over a decade would fail to comply with the new standards unless their production platforms get up-to-date.

A recent spat between the director of ISQI and CEO of SAIPA brought the issue of the ageing auto production lines into the spotlight.

The managing director of SAIPA dismissed public comments made by the ISQI chief, Nayereh Piroozbakht, about “outdated cars and the need to ban their production.”

She was obliquely referring to the low quality SAIPA’s Pride and Iran Khodro’s Peugeot 405, which have never risen above one star in ISQI’s five-star ranking system.

SAIPA boss Mahdi Jamali said, “Ms. Piroozbakht is overstepping her boundaries…The ISQI is simply not in a position to say whether or not a car should be produced.”

He claimed that “there is ample demand for Pride and SAIPA will continue producing the model till there is demand.” Pride models made by the second-biggest carmaker in Iran are the cheapest cars in the domestic market.

Daliri is of the opinion that “Carmakers will not quit profitable but unsustainable projects [like production of Pride] unless mandatory policies and stringent implementation rules are demanded by the state.”

Iranian carmakers are trying to upgrade their production platforms through joint ventures with foreign firms and local research centers, he said.

The IDRO official warned that in case the Pride and Peugeot 405 platforms do not get upgraded by March 2018, “their production will be banned.”

“The vehicles’ body design, engine and gearbox need to change.”

SAIPA’s Pride has been produced since 1993 in Iran. The model is based on KIA Pride which was first produced in 1987 in South Korea and Japan.

Peugeot 405 — which latter was offered as Peugeot Pars with slightly different options — has been domestically produced since 1991. The model was first released by the French carmaker in 1987.

/ Financial tribune /

Harvesting Damask rose, known as Gol-e Mohammadi in Iran, is an annual practice in Meymand, a city in the southern province of Fars.  The city produces over 10,000 tons of rose water out of the flower, accounting for over 60 percent of Iran’s rose water export.  Iranians use Damask rose in cooking, tea serving, and celebrations in its various forms, although it doesn’t play much part in the Western societies.  The flowers are also renowned for their fine fragrance, and are commercially harvested for extracting rose water and oil.  /Tehran times /