Khor Art initiative
"Khor" (pronounced /xor/ or /kɔː/) is an inlet, a small gulf. It is a delicate tidal area with its own ecosystem. This native word for Middle Eastern estuaries is a symbol of middle eastern art, especially in Iran, which represents a unique and highly influential cultural-geological region in the world.
Organized by SARAI Gallery, Khor Art Initiative is a supportive and competitive open call reviewed remotely each year by a first-rate regional and world art expert jury panel. Khor Art Prize is a free-entry event designed to provide local artists with the rare opportunity for world-class exposure by learning the latest criteria for self-presentation and having their work reviewed by an elite art jury. Besides the usual prize, being known to a greater audience and having their works exhibited, Khor's shortlisted artists enjoy the recognition of being associated with what is fast becoming established as a prestigious award in the region. Some of Khor's previous winners have soared particularly high, going from obscurity to being represented by SARAI at top regional and world art venues within just a few years.
Khor Art Initiative was born amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran in May 2020. Despite all the challenges and lack of experience, we were determined to organize an event with major objectives in mind, when we thought it could prove most helpful for our art community. On rather short notice, not only did we succeed in bringing together a group of elite international jurors but also were met with a warm welcome from artists from all across Iran. For more than half of our jurors - who represent a wide range of roles in the world of art - this was the first chance to be exposed to Iranian art today. Khor Art Initiative has since continued to steadily grow and evolve, including the development of a more elaborate selection process, holding curated physical exhibitions by selected artists, diversification of media submitted as part of each artist's practice, and, last but not least, the discovery and introduction of tens of fresh and exciting talents to the Iranian art scene and the art world community. (visit http://www.saraigallery.com to learn more about the past Khor Art Initiatives jury panels, winners, and related collaborations.)
Khor Art Initiative 2023 is now here. The Fourth Khor Art Prize will continue to follow the initiative's long-term goals as we strive to present the event with the highest standards. Looking forward eagerly to another journey of discovery and celebration of talent, quality, and inspiration. Khor 2023 will mark the final annual event. There will not be any Khor events in 2024, and Khor Art Initiative will henceforth become a biennale with the next and 5th Khor scheduled to come back in 2025.
Khor Initiative Goals and Features
• Khor Art Initiative is a free open call for paintings and drawings. All Iranian artists* - living inside or outside of Iran - are welcome to apply. Artists are also encouraged to submit works of a wider range of visual arts media such as sculpture, installation art, NFT art, etc. under the "artist practice" section.
• Khor Art Initiative aims to discover local talents to introduce them both at home beyond the borders.
• In line with our core objective, Khor Art Initiative 2023 jurors, like previous years, will be comprised of a group of highly accomplished regional and international components of contemporary visual arts.
• The entire Khor 2023 selection process will take place online. The jurors' selection process will be done in two stages: first through individual scoring based on a common set of criteria and then through collective evaluation.
• The initial stage results in the selection of around 30 shortlisted artists whose works will be exhibited online on SARAI Gallery website.
• At the end of the jurying process, a handful of finalist artists will be announced. This year, for the first time, Khor 2023 will hold a physical group exhibition by the finalist artists as well as a number of SARAI's own selections from this year's contestants in Tehran.
• The winner will receive a cash prize of IRR 300,000,000.
• At least one artwork from each of the finalist artists will be acquired by the gallery at a maximum price of IRR 150,000,000.
* In line with Khor's supportive nature, this year's open call also accepts submissions from middle eastern natives who currently reside in Iran or certain other countries within the Middle East under specific conditions. Interested applicants please contact us for further details.
Jurors:
Roxane Zand
Melissa Gronlund
Myrna Ayad
Nada Shabout
Event Calendar:
Application: May 22 - June 21, 2023
Announcement of Results (Shortlisted Artists): August 22, 2023
Announcement of Finalists: September 22, 2023
Khor Online Exhibition opening: August 30, 2023
Khor Selected Artists Exhibition: to be announced
Exhibition closing and announcement of Khor 2023 Winner: September 30, 2023
Shortlisted Artists:
Amin Hekmatpanah Dehkordi / Anahita Darabbeigi / Arezoo Shiravani / Ava Ghoreishi / Azadeh Sefidkaran / Bahar Didegah / Elnaz Mostafaee / Faezeh Zandieh / Farnaz Liravi / Fatemeh Ebrahimi / Fatemeh Marfavi / Fereshteh Torki / Gandom Amiri / Hadise Najminia / Hadiseh Emami / Haniyeh Hajjafari / Hassan Nozadian / Katayoun Moadelian / Lohrasb Bayat / Mahya Farahbakhsh / Maryam Baniasadi / Maryam Tavakoli Dastjerdi / Marzieh Tayebianpour / Masoud Roshdi / Nava Sabetimani / Sajad Gomar / Sara Nemati Hesar / Seyed Taher Mousavi / Shiva Khoshbakhtnezhad / Zohre Jafarabadi
Top five artists:
Bahar Didegah
Faezeh Zandieh
Nava Sabetimani
Seyed Taher Mousavi
Zohre Jafarabadi
..
Jury’s Special Mentions:
Fereshteh Torki
Hadise Najminia
Maryam Baniasadi
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Jurors
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Winner
