For me, the idea of having international artists participate or contribute is very important and symbolically could show the willingness and desire of world nations to work together towards peace.   More

http://www.wwwebart.com/riverart/paradise/festivals/persiangulf4/peace

During the three last decades we always witnessed wars in the Middle East.  As a result of the militarization of the Persian Gulf we witnessed the death and suffering of millions of human beings and loss of living creatures.   The war is going on and usually innocent people pay the price. 

http://www.wwwebart.com/riverart/paradise/festivals/persiangulf4/flight655

Escape of the Flower Bird 

Many days the small bird flew,
mute from the shock of the noise
and smell of fire.
His shadow caste a dark image
of planes of war.
Weak and hungry, he eyed
a field below and a carpet
of blue flowers.
At the edge of the field
he took refuge in a wood.
Here under cover of trees
he found his place to sleep
and dream of the fragrance
of peace.

 Barbara Roux 2007

A design suggested by my American artist friend, Abigail Doan.  I used local red earth pigment to paint her 'swallows' image on the rocks of Hormoz.

In many occasions, mostly during the night, we had performances and dances related to local ritual. Young artists also depicted patterns of living creatures that lost their life due to pollution, which was caused by war. 

http://www.wwwebart.com/riverart/paradise/festivals/persiangulf4//more

The 14th festival of environmental art at Kerman

Persian Gulf Environmental Art Festival  at Hormoz December

By Ahmad Nadalian

Photos by  Mansour Vahdani,  R. Balochi,  Hassan Bardal, Ameneh Raisi, Gizella Varga Sinai, and Ahmad Nadalian.

In Desember 2007 environmental art festival was held on the coast of Hormoz, in the Persian Gulf. More than 80 artists gathered on this beautiful island to create environmental installations and sand sculptures. The festival also included a number of art performances.

The Hungarian-born artist Gizella Varga Sinai, who is a painter and has lived in Iran during the past forty years, painted on the rocks and created an environmental installation of stones.   Samira Sinai, who has a theater background, filmed and is planning to create video art. More Images

http://www.riverart.net/paradise/festivals/persiangulf3/artistsworks

We also had some noted international artists at this year’s festival:  Two international artists from Germany named Bernhard Bub and Parisa Karimi participated as well. They are the founders of and members of Antagon group. They arrange workshops for young artists. One night we reviewed their works and discussed ideas about theater and  art performance. More Images

http://www.riverart.net/paradise/festivals/persiangulf3/artistsworks

The 13th festival of environmental art at Kerman

From Mountain to Desert  

Photos by Abass Afzali Pour, Ahmad Nadalian and other artists.

On October 23^rd thru 26th, 2007, the Faculty of Art at Kerman University invited me for a festival of Environmental Art. Kerman is a city in south of Iran.  More than two hundred young artists, mostly students, participated in the four-day festival and were able to realize their installation projects and enviro-sculpture pieces in nature.   More

http://wwwebart.com/riverart/paradise/festivals/kerman/index.htm

The 12th festival of environmental art at Shahrod

Future of Environmental Art in Iran  More Images

http://www.riverart.net/paradise/festivals/environmental/index.htm

http://www.riverart.net/paradise/festivals/environmental/index.htm

Two International artists at Paradise Art Center

In September 12 the Iraqi artists, Mohamed Abdull traveled to Iran and stayed in Ahmad Nadalian home. In the past sixteen years he lived in Netherlands.  The initial plan was to visit his family who live in Iraq and now they came to Iran.  However Mohamed stayed a month in Iran and he presented his installation and performance in one Art faculty in Tehran.   More  Images

http://www.riverart.net/paradise/artists/mohamed/index.htm

Jean Francois Pirson in Iran

In October 2007 the Belgian artists, Jean Francois Pirson traveled to Iran. During his stay in Iran he expresses his relationship to space through different practices (drawing, photography, installations, writing and walking in urban and mountainous environments.

In the last few years, Jean-François Pirson combines his travels and his walks with his exploratory practices of space and uses photography as a medium to put in perspective parts of the world. More

http://www.riverart.net/paradise/artists/pirson/index.htm

In his recent book "Draw me a journey"  He says:  "... What's a journey? Can I go with you in your leg? What's an Asia? I can dance across space too. Why do you walk alone? Are you frightened then? I can do the splits too! Where is elsewhere? My den too?

Lou, when I learned of your unexpected birth, so very early, on 12th April 2003, I was in Iran, in Lordegan, a small town in the Zagros mountains, drenched with rain, then tears. I had just been caught unawares by a storm in the irrigated periphery. I was looking for the paths which would have enabled me to accompany the migration of a group of Bakhtyaris. I came back to see you, rather like one of the Three Wise Man, bearing a bottle of rosewater. Soon I would carry you on my shoulders, then hold your little hand, to go for a walk in the district, the park at the back, some wasteland, the forest, next to the pool, further away. Today I am writing to you. At the same time, I think of loved ones, connected by blood, flesh, love, friendship, thought or just empathy. Here and elsewhere. All of them are inhabitants of my solitude. I am therefore writing to the child who dreams of being a grown-up and grown-ups who are seeking their childhood dream. It's simpler with you.  ..."

More

http://www.riverart.net/paradise/artists/pirson/index.htm

The 11th Festival of Environmental Art

Rolina Nell & Paul Giesen  in Iran

In spring of 2007 the Dutch artists, Rolina Nell and Paul Giesen traveled to Iran and stayed for one month in Ahmad Nadalian's mother ‘s home. The initial plan was for both artists to do a residency at The Paradise Art Center in Polour, but the winter was so long this year, they ended up staying in Tehran so that Rolina might realize her art works in the city.

Rolina is an accomplished painter and during her stay in Iran she was able to create a new collection of paintings. In the end she prepared several installations on Pirozi Street (East Tehran). Her art was unusual in for this very traditional neighborhood and in turn generated significant attention and questioning.  Rolina’s artwork, be it painting or installation, is often an effective medium for social communication.  More Images

Music of Bells
 

During the first week of summer 2007 we extended our environmental festival in nature. Young artists from different parts of Iran traveled to Polour to participate and be involved in the center;s environmental art projects. We believe that these young artists have long lives ahead and can perhaps save this world more effectively then their elders.

These participating artists began with a collaborative project incorporating flowers petals and stones arranged in nature installations. More Images

The presence of local sheep and dogs in our workspace was quite funny and reminded us of how contemporary art can sometimes exist far from the city and typical cultural places. 

Some of the young artists were also inspired by the ornament and handicrafts of the nomad’s tents and consequently prepared a colorful installation in nature.  More Images

Other artists created mud by the river and made a collection of statues and relief works. The character of these works recalled primitive art and to some extent Sumerian or South American art works.  More Images

‘Polluted Paradise’ was a video work shown by Ahmad Nadalian.   This piece shows the artist himself walking in nature. He witnesses first-hand how we pollute our surrounding paradise.  At the end of this video the artist sees a lone cypress tree (thought of by Persians to be a tree of paradise) burning in the middle of the garbage.  More Images

There were many artists who developed their own unique works, however most of the pieces were collaborative projects. This year’s festival was rich in performance, music and various entertainments.  The artists used ordinary, every day objects to make audio art.  At the market the worker classes involved music and singing. It was truly wonderful that they shared their happiness with local and ordinary people. Artists, Music, Performance & Entertainment

The 10th festival of environmental art at Persian Gulf

Supported by Paradise International Art Center

Supported by the Paradise International Art Center in Iran,  on 22 January 2007 18 artists from other cities in Iran traveled to the Persian Gulf and continue creating art in nature with local artists.  More

On the 21 of March our national new year will start. We have two weeks of holiday. About two million Iranian people visit the Persian Gulf area. We plan to exhibit selected visual documentations of this event during our national holiday and invite people to experience the beauty of Hormoz and environmental art.

Second section: Persian Gulf Environmental Art Festival

The 9th festival of environmental art at Persian Gulf

Supported by Paradise International Art Center      فارسی

Environmental art festival was held in the coast  of Bandar Abbass, Hormoz and Shykh Andar Abi islands, in Persian Gulf region (January 1-5, 2007). The works were created under the supervision of Ahmad Nadalian. More than thirty artists created sand sculptures and environmental installations.  The event was initially planned as a one-off three-day workshop.  However after consulting with young talented participants, Nadalian suggested to set up the festival every winter.  More
 

At first the main aim at Persian Gulf Environmental Art Festival was arranging a workshop for sand and stone sculptors. This was the initial suggestion of the Cultural office of Hormozgan, the Director of visual art center in Bandar Abbass. As a director of the workshop I changed the approach and now everybody is happy about the result and its extension. What began as a 3 day workshop is now planned to be an annual Winter event.

Persian Gulf Environmental Art Festival

The 8th festival of environmental art at Sistan & Balouchestan

The 7th festival of environmental art

Nests

Nests for Birds: All The Birds Will Have A Nest

A collaborative

Photo by Raheleh Zomorodinia & Ahmad Nadalian

The development and expansion of cities, industrial areas, the continuation of tree cutting, and the increase of pollution in our environment have all created difficult challenges for many living creatures. 

Traditionally there was a balanced, built-in relationship between human beings, our surroundings, and other life forms.  Now more than ever, we need to care for and nurture all living creatures that are currently or potentially under threat in our fragile environment. 

Ahmad Nadalian and his student recently produced a collection of hand-built nests for habitation and installed them in various site-specific regions and ecological zones. 

In the process of producing these delicate works, the artists discovered a variety of hidden mysteries in our environment.  It was their intention to lure the attention of an audience by highlighting the beauty of nature and our interaction with it.

Beyond the important ecological issues related to nest building, Ahmad Nadalian and his artist students also want to extend the message that birds are an allegory for the souls of human beings who also need host and refuge.

Mitham Barza, Mahmood Maktabi, Atefeh Khas, Zahea Shafi'abadi, Raheleh Zomorodinia,  Ali Panahi, Aref Ghazwini Moghadam, Shiva Nourozi, Rabe'eh Molahosseini,  Shahrnaz Zarkesh, Nafiseh Mousawi, Hesam aldin Mohamadian, Taherh Godarzi, and Ahmad Nadalian produced and installed this collection.

Photos by Raheleh Zomorodinia & Ahmad Nadalian

Photos by Raheleh Zomorodinia

Dandelions

Collaborative work

Atefeh Khas, Zahea Shafi'abadi, Taherh Godarzi, and Shahrnaz Zarkesh & Ahamad Nadalian

Photos by Raheleh Zomorodinia

The 6th festival of environmental art

"Presence of People of the Global Village in our Village"      

Work by  Eric Van Hove : Between the 2ed and the 12th of May, he lived and performed his art in the nature of Iran. 

Tanks to Alba Sotorra Spanish visual communication artist and filmmaker who recorded the events and art students: Mitham Barza, Mahmood Maktabi, Banafsheh Khas, Atefeh Khas, Zahea Shafi'abadi, Raheleh Zomorodinia, Taherh Godarzi, and Mohamad Shaf'abadi who assisted Eric to realize his work.

Photos by Ahmad Nadalian & Raheleh Zomorodinia

Eric Van Hove , a Belgian artist who lives in Japan is a resident artist who came to Iran.

Alba Sotorra Spanish visual communication artist and filmmaker

During the preparation of environmental works Alba Sotorra recorded the events

Eric Van Hove, Alba Sotorra and art students at Paradise Center

The 5^th Festival Celebrating the Creation and Exhibition of Art in Nature    

"Presence of People of the Global Village in our Village"

Song Archive

by Yvonne Buchheim

Yvonne Buchheim, a German artist living and working in UK at the University of the West of England in Bristol came to Paradise center and collect Song Archive for a video installation.

The project by Yvonne Buchheim is to create a song archive from different cultures. This archive consists of video recordings with non-professional singers that reflect their oral traditions. Yvonne was assisted by Ronnie Close from the University of Wales, Newport who is working on his PhD, a documentary film project that investigates Ireland and Iran.

She says: my project is to create a song archive from different cultures. This archive consists of video recordings with non-professional singers that reflect their oral traditions.

I began this project 3 years ago during a residency at the ACC Gallery in Weimar, Germany. This 3 month residency was centered on the German philosopher J.G. Herder who developed theories on living culture in the
19^th century through examining song traditions. From this point I have recorded songs in Germany and other European countries in order to reflect on contemporary society.

The international arts center ‘PARADISE’ in Poloo allowed me an opportunity to develop the work in a non-European culture. I was interested in the oral tradition of the rural community who form a connection with the beautiful landscape of the area. I encountered a vibrant and living oral tradition distinct to previous European ones and recorded a broad range of age groups and professions. Also a remarkable level of languages and local cultures were discovered in the social make up of the area.

The residency at ‘PARADISE’ was greatly enhanced by the kind assistance of Dr. Nadalian who aided in translation and also provided many insights into the culture.

The outcome of this project will be to produce a video art piece. This work could be for display in a gallery environment or hosted on the internet. However to bring the work back to the community it emerged from would be a final realization and create a meaningful dialogue.

Mr. Ruud Matthes, a Dutch artist who lives in Greece is another resident artist who came to Iran.

Between the 9th and the 22nd of July, he lived and performed his art in the nature of Iran.

Installation 'Feathers in Ice'

This installation was created by Ruud Matthes during his residency at the Paradise Art Center in Poloor, Iran , during the period July 9-22, 2005, with the help of the director of this center, Dr. Ahmad Nadalian, who also took the pictures.

This installation consists of feathers caught in frozen water being exposed to the heat of the sun, which melts the ice and liberates the feathers, now exposing them to the wind, which will blow them away.

Nature is the inspiration for most of the prints I make in those cases I depict what I have seen or experienced and print it on a piece of paper.

In this installation nature itself plays a basic role in the outcome of the creative process. I put the visual elements together and let nature do its work and watch it.

Change is a basic principle of nature. This installation wants to show two very simple processes of change:

-         that of ice melting and becoming water, and,

-         that of feathers changing place because of the wind.

I like art that allows different interpretation so that the viewer can find his own poetry in it. So I hesitate to give an interpretation of this work, also because I know from experience that the interpretation of my own work can change with time.

But pressed to give my opinion I would say that this installation is about the necessity for change, for leaving one's habitual position and to move and discover new places.

Watching my installation in reality, there was something added to the meaning of it. When I saw the feathers appear from the melting ice I realized that the ice could also be seen as protecting the feathers, giving them a secure position. Once the ice was gone the feathers looked vuluerable, anything could happen to them....

Ruud Matthes

Installation 'Feathers in Ice' by Ruud Matthes

Art students visited Ruud Matthes

Installation ' Ice in the river'

This installation was created by Ruud Matthes during his residency at the Paradise Art Center in Poloor, Iran, during the period July 9-22, 2005, with the help of the director of this center Dr. Ahmad Nadalian, who also took the pictures.

In this installation I put a piece of ice in the river and let it melt completely. A simple process of transformation: ice becomes water, something solid becomes liquid and starts to move, taken away by the current of the river.

What is the meaning of this installation? I find that a difficult question, because I am not sure that for me it has only one meaning. So I think it is better to say that there is more than one interpretation possible.

In this way I also allow the viewer to have his or her own interpretation (I like art that gives me this freedom).

A process of change is the essence of this installation, I think thereby of a change of identity, a change from motionlessness to motion and a change of position (from isolation to being part of).

Art students at Paradise Center

Report:  The 4th Festival of Environmental Art

The 4th festivals has been held  from  20^th to  30^th August when we receive German environmental artist Nadin Reschke Kindlimann.

Her Project titled  [so far so good- so weit so gut]

Nadin Reschke Kindlimann

>So far so good< is a travel project that deals with the idea of transforming public space temporarily into private or >home< space.

A tent construction designed and sewed of parachuting silk builds a portable home while travelling, as it is easy to carry and yet ideal for creating a personal and intimate space.

Nadin Reschke

Daniel Kindlimann and Behzad Nadalian

The tent is one of the oldest forms of transportable accommodation and in times of globalisation and the urgent need for mobility it creates a “perfect” home. The tent is mobile which means it can be pitched or be packed up wherever needed and so create a space for meeting and contact or retreat. The artist aims to transfer public spaces into something new for a temporary time. The project rises questions about nomadic lifestyle and the process of transition an cultural identity. It supports the idea of trans-culture rather than concepts of multi-culture or globalization which are trying to overemphasize or diminish the cultural differences apparent on the globe.

Nadin Reschke-Kindlimann uses the tent silk as a sketch book - embroidering her notions and observations about the different cultures onto the surface. The thread therefore functions like a pen and the cloth becomes a three-dimensional image area. With time more and more embroideries will cover the area and create a complex almost abstract pattern. Cognitively the images will interfere, cover and overlap over one another just like impressions and new experiences happen through the mind. 

The artist chose embroidering because it evidently is a very female tradition connected with everyday life and can be found everywhere in the world. It was always called the >drawing with a needle< and developed over 2000 years ago in China where this project will eventually end. From China the refined handicraft was brought to India and from there spread over all of Europe. Since then embroidering has been a tradition of decorating but also of marking and characterizing space as ones own. Until the beginning of the 19^th century it was the only socially accepted way for women to create imagery before they got entry into the patriarchal art system.

What fascinates the artists about embroidering is the process of permeating which creates a permeability of the cloth. The thread runs on both sides which means there is no inside and outside, no front and rear. It is a very slow, concentrated and focused process that creates a social atmosphere of straightforward nonverbal interaction. Therefore the process itself reaches people who are not involved in fine arts. 

The project takes 18 months going through different countries partly following the old silk route.

Dresden/ Germany   Krzyzowa /Poland      Budapest/ Hungary   Sibiu/ Romania    Istanbul/ Türkei   Teheran/ Iran

Bombay/ Indien     Melbourne/ Australien  Singapore

Jakarta / Indonesien    Hanoi/ Vietnam  Peking/ China

After the project has developed four months through Poland, Hungary, Romania and Turkey it takes place in Iran for three weeks, invited for a residency at the Paradise International Art Center in Polur.

The project so far developed through the following stations:

In Krzyzowa, a the International cultural centre in the south of Poland the tent got first inaugurated. Ten people, an international mixture of Polish, German and Russian met inside the tent to celebrate the opening of the construction with Polish wodka.

In Budapest the project got invited to stay in Dinamo, a non-profit Art Space situated in the 9th  District of Budapest. The working on the tent was accompanied with meetings and discussions with Hungarian artists. The residency in Budapest ended with a presentation of the project and a public art action, pitching the tent at Moskva ter, a very busy traffic junction, meeting place and street labour market in the centre of the city. Aim of this public intervention was to create a intimate and somewhat private space for meeting people in an public area and serve coffee inside the tent to invite passers-by. The action was stopped by the police.

In Romania the project followed the invitation by Monika Brandsch, a Romanian-German sociologist to cook an old traditional Romanian recipe: Coltinasi. The meal got served inside the tent and a lively discussion developed on the question of national and cultural identities.

In Istanbul the project got invited by the artists collective Oda Projesi to start a collaborative embroidering  on the tent with the local neighbourhood. Women from the surrounding Istanbul quarter joined the artist and the process was enriched by discussions about different ways of living in private and public space.

The 4^th Festival Celebrating the Creation and Exhibition of Art in Nature was held in summer 2005.  The first resident artist this summer was Mr. Ruud Matthes, a Dutch artist who lives in Greece.  Between the 9th and the 22nd of July, he lived and performed his art in the nature of Iran.

Report:  The 3rd Festival Celebrating the Creation and Exhibition of Art in Nature: Discussions on contemporary art in the global village.

The 3rd Festival was held in June 2004 a platform for Discussions on contemporary art in the global village. The topic of discussion was Practice of interactivity in Contemporary Art.  The second section of the festival has been held  from  20^th to  30^th August when we receive German environmental artist Nadin Reschke Kindlimann.

"I come from a village, I live and works there, but I cooperate with the people of the global village." Nadalian

Paradise International Art Centre organized the 3ed festival celebrating the creation and exhibition of art in nature in Poloor.

Festival Program: 

Section one: 8^th and 9^th July

Topic for Discussion on July 8th, 6pm till 8pm

The Practice of Interactivity in Contemporary Art.

Dialogue between Lynette Wallworth and Ahmad Nadalian

Discussion was in English and translated in Persian. 

Lynette Wallworth, Australian new media artist is currently staying and working at Paradise International Center in Polour. An Australia Council for the Arts Fellow of New Media Arts, she creates installation environments that are reliant on activation by the participant/viewer. 

'Wallworth's work is about.....relationships between ourselves and our environments, about how we are made up of our physical and biological environment even as we re-make the world through our activities......... technology is used for glimpsing the hidden intricacies of human immersion in the wide, complex world.'

Ross Gibson, Pol Oxygen Magazine Issue Nine June 2004

Lynette Wallworth From Australia

A group of students visited Lynette Wallworth

The Second Festival Celebrating the Creation and Exhibition of Art in Nature

The second festival was held in winter 2003. Most of the participant at this event were art student. 

Paradise International Art Center has held the second festival celebrating the creation and exhibition of art in nature in Poloor.

Festival Program: 

Work By Snow -  Work On Snow

We will play by snow, we will make our own snowman, we will walk on snow and enjoy seeing our feet traces, we will paint on snow ...

The First Festival Celebrating the Creation and Exhibition of Art in Nature

The first festival celebrating the creation and exhibition of art in nature was held at Paradise International Art Centre.

Our subject was the four elements: Water, Earth, Wind and Fire.

Festival Program: 

In 23rd July: Artists arrived, visited  the location and selected the space they wished to work in.

In the evening there was ritual performances.

24th  July : Performances and Environmental Installation

25th July:  Reports, discussion and closing ceremony

Artists:

Poya Aryanpour,  Maryam Amini, Helia Darabi, Neda Darzi, Maryam Fereidoni, Shahabedin Fotoohi, Jamshid Haghighat Shenas, Rokni Ha'eri, Ramin Ha'erizadeh, Behnam Kamrani, Khosro Khosravi,
Simin Keramati, Ramin Malekooti, Amir Mobed, Elahe Moghadami, Ahmad Khalil Fard, Elaheh Moghadami, Mahmood Mahromi, Sharareh Malekim,  Mehrdad Mohebali,  Alireza Ma'soumi,  Krista Nasi, Ali Nedaei, Fereidoon Omidi, Sharareh Maleki, Mahnaz Pasikhani, Simin Keramati,  Neda Razavipour, Farideh Shahsavarani,  Rozita Sharafjahan, Ahmad Vakili, Arash Yadolahi, Shahnaz Zehtab &.....

With these guests: Masoud Hashempour (Germany), Fergus Meiklejohn(U.K),  Nasrin Tabatabaie (Netherland) &  Raha Ra'isnia (USA)

هنرمندان اولین جشنواره:  پويا آريان پور، فريدون اميدي، مهناز پسيخاني، ركني حائري، رامين حائري زاده، مريم اميني،  جمشيد جقيقت شناس، خسرو خسروي، هليا دارابي، ندارضوي پور، شهناز زهتاب، فريده شاهسواراني، رزيتا شرف جهان،  شهاب الدين فتوحي، مريم فريدوني، بهنام كامراني، سيمين كرامتي، كريستا ناسي،  مهردادمحب علي، شراره ملكي، امير معبد، محمود محرومي،  الهه مقدمي، رامين ملكوتي، عليرضا معصومي، علي ندائي، احمد وكيلي، آرش يدالهي، ... و ما لحضات خوبی داشتیم.

رها رئیسی از امریکا، مسعود گراف هشمپور از آلمان، نسرین طبا طبائی از هلند وفرکاس میکل جان از انگلستان فیلم مستند "بعد از پردیس" را ساختند.