In October 2009 Magic of Persia presented a pioneering and unique exhibition of video work by 14 Iranian artists, at the RCA’s Henry Moore Gallery. Curated by Dr Sami Azar, former director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibition was the first in which contemporary Iranian video artists were shown on such a scale in London. Established names such as Farideh Lashai and Avish Khebrehzadeh, were displayed alongside emerging artists, providing a great opportunity to view the diversity of current Iranian video art.

Mania Akbari
Parastou Forouhar
Shahab Fotouhi
Rodin Hamidi
Behnam Kamrani
Simin Keramati
Avish Khebrehzadeh
Khosro Khosravi
Farideh Lashai
Mandana Moghadam
Malekeh Nayiny
Neda Razavipour
Hamed Sahihi
Rozita Sharafjahan

The exhibition was launched with a champagne breakfast, as part of the Frieze VIP programme, at the Royal College of Art on Thursday 15th October 2009. The exhibition came to an end on Saturday 17th October 2009 with a private cocktail reception at the RCA.

Dr. Alireza Sami Azar
Alireza Sami Azar is an art historian and architect and was director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts from 1999 to 2005, and teaches at the Mahe-Mehr Institute for Culture and Art. British-educated, he holds a PhD in architecture and was Professor of the faculty of Fine Arts at Tehran University. During his time at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Sami Azar curated numerous exhibitions and was responsible for the promotion of many Iranian artists onto the international art scene.