WALLS - March 8 - 15, 2013

Ladan Jazayeri, Parham Didehvar, Azadeh Houshmand, Nargess Alavi, Mahnaz Piroozfar, Hashem Taghavi, Mehraban Mehrabani, Mehd Pourian , Nona Soheilnia, Firoozeh Athari, Hamid Rafinejad ,Farideh shahsavarani, Hadi farahani, Shamsi Shahrokhi, Nazanin Fartash, Bahareh Soltani, Negar pooya, Gholamhossein Nami, Simin Sepehri, Farideh Esfandi, Kamelia Pezeshki
Opening Reception: Friday March 8, 6pm - 9pm

"Where Nature Goes Silent, Art Begins"
--Will Durant

One of Iranian art's noble and enduring legacies has been its ability to break free from the material world's earthly manifestations and embrace the ethereal world of "imagination".
Realization of this invaluable cultural asset has enabled many of Iran's contemporary artists to unravel the mystifying concepts of the world they inhabit and articulate them in their art. Artists who through reverent appreciation of Iranian art's solid values and conscious understanding of their national, ethnic and cultural identity, have secured Iranian contemporary art's place high in global art scene.
In an effort to introduce Iran's ninety-year-old history of contemporary art movement and its principles to Canada's multicultural society and establish an artistic dialogue within

Toronto's Iranian-Canadian community, with the help of a group of Iranian artists and art enthusiasts, Nami Iranian-Canadian Centre for the Arts (N I C C A ) was established in 2008. This non-for-profit group's programs and activities, whose main emphasis is on critical analysis and examination of art theory, critical review of artists' works, art history and philosophy, review of Iran's modern art movement as well as public discussions, has established N I C C A as one of the most effective art forums in Toronto's ever-expanding Iranian community.

"Wall", which is this centre's first group exhibition, is the result of a two-year creative effort of a group of visual artists using wall as their theme. Choice of wall as the theme provided the artists with the chance to freely explore their inner interpretation of wall as a concept and therefore, resulted in creation of a series of artworks that represent each artist's individual approach to the subject, rather than the group's collective understanding of wall as a symbol.

By preserving their unique artistic language while consistently moving forward along with the world's art movement, Iranian immigrant artists can play an effective role in artistic and cultural growth and expansion of Canada, their host country and their second home.

Gholamhossein Nami
Founder of Nami Iranian-Canadian Centre for the Arts (N I C C A )