Khor (pronounced /xor/ or /kɔː/) is a delicate tidal area with a distinct ecosystem. This native word for Middle Eastern estuaries is a symbol of the region's art, which represents a unique and influential if not cultural-geological identity in the world.
SARADIPOUR Art Gallery (SARAI) is pleased to present Khor 2021 Artists Exhibition I, a group show by Ali Saeedi (1971), M.Smart (1998), Mani Mehrzad (1981), Neda Kashani (1983), Niloofar Mohammadifar (1987), Nima Sayyadian (1990), and Shiva Noroozi (1980). Khor 2021 Artists Exhibition I opens to the public on November 5 and it will continue until November 18, 2021. It is the first part of a program presenting this year's top artists in two consecutive shows held at SARADIPOUR Art permanent gallery space in Mahshahr. Khor 2021 is the second edition of Khor Art Initiative, an independent art prize defined to discover and support local talents, introducing them to a global audience. These talented, mostly young Iranian artists were selected during a nationwide open call for paintings and drawings reviewed by an international jury of highly established experts in Middle Eastern and world contemporary art, including, Roxane Zand, Max Presneill, Murtaza Vali, Anna Wallace Thompson, Lila Nazemian, and Lee Ann Biddle. While Khor art initiative 2021 focuses on painting and drawing media, the artists emerging from the open call form a diverse collective, from their personal backgrounds and experiences to their art training and ultimately painterly approaches. The list consists not only of academically trained artists but also those coming from different educational backgrounds and even self-taught creative individuals. What brings their works under the same space is each artist's serious pursuit of their craft, original vision, and refreshing ways of visual story-telling. Summer 2020 saw the first "Khor Art Initiative" organized by SARADIPOUR Art Gallery: a supportive and competitive nationwide event in a bid to revitalize the Iranian visual arts scene amid the COVID19 pandemic. Follow #khorartinitiative for more updates on this initiative.
