TIRGAN: Iranian Festival |

With its basis on affirming borders in ancient times, Tirgan offers a challenging and thought-provoking opportunity to take a new look at borders in time, space, taste, and artistic disciplines and their place and relevance to art and culture at present time.

Event Days

Thursday, July 17, 2008

7:00PM - 10:00PM Iranian Art Today:

Featuring Abbas Kiarostami, Aydin Aghdashloo, Gholamhossein Nami, Javad Mojabi, Mohammad Ehsaei, Nasser Ovissi, Farshid Mesghali, Reza Basiri, and Morteza Momayez, Farideh Lashai, Khosrow Sinai, Bahram Dabiri, Khosrow Bayat, Sirak Melkonian and Mahmoud Javadipour.

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9:00PM Mohamad Reza Lotfi and Shayda Ensemble:

Lotfi takes the audience on a journey down memory lane by offering improvisations on old favourites of Persian music and offering new compositions.

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Friday, July 18, 2008

6:00PM - 10:00PM Iranian Art Today:

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6:30PM - 7:30PM Dance Workshop by Anna Djanbazian:

With over thirty years of experience in teaching and training dance, Anna Djanbazian is a distinguished instructor in various styles of dance. In Tirgan, she is holding two dance workshops to teach basics of Persian Dancing.

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7:00PM Mahshid Amirshahi:

The author of more than ten novels and collections of short stories reads from own books.

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7:00PM Saeid Shanbehzadeh:

For the first time in Toronto, this ensemble will present a fusion of live music and dance of southern Iran.

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7:00PM Visual Art Presentation- with opening remarks by the artists, introduced by the Director/Curator, Firouzeh Athari (in English and Persian):

This exhibition explores the concept of the Artist in Exile, The Artist at Home. Can artistic and cultural identity be defined beyond geographical borders?

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8:00PM Staging of "Blind Owl" - Directed by Niloofar Beyzaie:

Focusing on the subject of identity, exile, freedom and oppression, and women’s political and social restrictions.

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8:00PM - 9:00PM Talk on Myth of Arash the Archer: Houra Yavari:

According to legends, Tirgan is the outcome of a dispute over borders between two ancient empires of Iran and Touran.

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8:00PM Dance: Kurdish House: