Presented in collaboration with Farhang Foundation, Focus Iran 3: Contemporary Photography and Video is the third biennial juried exhibition of international photography and video works that offer multiple perspectives about Iran and Iranian culture. Featuring a wide spectrum of emerging and mid-career artists from around the world, Focus Iran 3 democratizes the art form of image making by giving novices and professionals an equal opportunity to offer distinctive visions of Iran from both inside and outside the country. This year’s theme positions a lens on Iranian youth culture with works selected for their multi-faceted and intriguing views into young Iranians and how they navigate their lives. Some portraits reveal personal style or street fashion, while others show time spent participating in leisure activities such as sports, music, or hanging out. Other works explore queer identity, gender representations, and the relationship of youth with their religion, family, and the state.

The exhibition jury panel consisted of prominent Iranian photographers Mehrdad Afsari, Babak Tafreshi, and Maryam Zandi; Iranian cinematographer and director Seifollah Samadian; the J. Paul Getty Museum’s associate curator of photography Amanda Maddox; Iranian gallerist and educator Aria Eghbal; and Craft Contemporary exhibitions curator Holly Jerger. The jury panel selected three top prize winners: a photograph by Hushidar Mortezaie and Jiyan Zandi; a video work by Labkhand Olfatmanesh and Gazelle Samizay; and a photograph by Milad Karamooz.

The other selected artists are Pouya Afshar, Mahsa Alikhani, Farzad Ariannejad & Shaghayegh Marzban, Ali Bagheri, Parna Baharali, Bahar Behbahani, Linda Dorigo, Mozhgan Erfani, Maryam Firuzi, Maseeh Ganjali, Anahid Ghorbani, Payam Ghorbani, Milad Haddadiyan, Bahador Hadizadeh, Hamed Heydari, Changiz Jalayer, Babak Kanaani, Mehdi Kazemi Boomeh, Ghazaleh Keshavarz, Fatemeh Khajehnouri, Reza Khodayar, Saman Khosravi, Sanaz Khosravi, Hamed Kolahchian Tabrizi, Sheida Koufigar, Negar Latifian, Seyed Shahabeddin Montazeri, Mona Morsi, Parham Pashaei, Ehsan Rahimpour, Maryam Rassapour, Arash Rod, Reza Rohani, Samira Roostaie, Hadi Safari, Farzad Shad, Majid Shahrabi, Ghazal Sheei, Sepideh Salehi & Kamran Taherimoghaddam, and Morteza Teimouri.

This exhibition is made possible by the support of Farhang Foundation. Generous support also comes from the following presenting donors: The Gramian-Emrani Family Foundation, Nushin Sabet and Farhad Mohit, and Ali C. Razi. Support also comes from major donor ADVOCARTSY.

Lead Image: Hadi Safari, The Holy Healing Pole, 2015. Digital photograph, Courtesy of the artist.