Instructions for…, a Group Exhibition

January 24 - February 14 2025

Artists: Saba Hasanzadeh, Morsal Halimi, Ali Khatamsaz, Mahshid Rajaei, Maryam Ghorbani, Danyal Mohebali, Mina Mohseni, Mahmoud Maktabi, Mo Mo

In conjunction with this exhibition, a talk titled “Artistic Instructions: Possibilities Between Performativity, Agency, and Ultimately, a Rehearsal for Life” was held, featuring Helia Darabi and the exhibition’s curators.

Statement

Is the creation of art based on instructions possible?

Instructions for creating art are provided by the artist in the form of suggestions, guidelines, or even directives to be purposefully carried out or intentionally rejected. These instructions function as abstract models or, in other words, unexecuted forms of the artwork that must take shape through interaction with the audience or recipient. Through these instructions, conveyed in the form of language or images, artists enable creative intervention, participation, and agency within their artwork.

Such agency, within the framework of the "Instructions for..." project, is viewed both as an exercise for daily life and as a way to confront new situations. It also serves as a method for democratically interpreting and executing an artwork, as art is not only an invitation to think but also an invitation to act.

About The Curators(s)

Akram Ahmadi Tavana
She holds a bachelor’s degree in painting from the University of Science and Culture and a master’s degree in painting from Alzahra University in Tehran. She is a member of the Iranian Painters Association and the Institute for the Development of Visual Arts of Iran. She has taught at the University of Science and Culture and Tehran Technical and Vocational College. In addition to her curatorial work, she is active in research and writing and has published several books and articles on art, including the translation of The Shahnameh of Ebrahim Sultan (Academy of Arts, 2018), the authorship of Agha Najaf Esfahani (Peykareh, 2024), and several essays on Persian miniature painting, illustrated Shahnamehs of the Timurid period, and contemporary Iranian art.

She has curated numerous exhibitions, including:

Shahnameh, the Perpetual Narrative (Act II) – Aaran Projects Gallery, 2021
Word by Word (Text-based Art in Contemporary Iranian Art) – Aaran Projects Gallery, 2021
Pendulum (Exhibition of Hadi Hezavehei) – Aaran Projects Gallery, 2019
Primeval, Art of Wood – Aaran Projects Gallery, 2017
Shahnameh, the Perpetual Narrative (Act I) – Aaran Gallery, 2015

Baharak Omidfar
An independent art curator and critic based in Germany, she explores and experiments with curatorial methods, including interventionist and process-based approaches, with a special focus on knowledge production and cultural education. Her research interests include the relationship between contemporary and experimental art and social approaches, as well as themes of identity, migration, and history as subjects within art and art history.

She has an academic background in both artistic and theoretical fields. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication in Iran and later earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Art History (with a focus on modern and contemporary European art) and Islamic Studies (with a focus on Islamic architecture) in Germany.

She has curated numerous exhibitions of experimental art in Germany, France, and Switzerland and has collaborated with several museums in Germany.