A TV Show for the Rouhani Era: Shahrzad and the 1953 Coup d’etat in Iran
Shahrzad, a historical series directed by Hassan Fathi, reveals how the 1953 Coup is still the site of competing historiographical narratives.
(Red)Framing Baku: Photographing Urban Change in Azerbaijan’s Capital
Ahmad Muxtar’s Red Frame not only documents Baku’s rapid urban transformation, but also explores the ways our perceptions of urban space are framed by social, political, and economic forces.
See You In Tehran: Tips for the Summer Traveler in Iran’s Capital
With more and more tourists visiting Iran every day, Ajam and See You In Iran have teamed up to bring you a travel series to Iran’s diverse cities. This first installation focuses on the vibrant urban life of Tehran, Iran’s largest city and capital.
Translating Game of Thrones into Turkish: The Man who Brought Jon Snow to Turkey
Turkey’s Game of Thrones mania is due to one college student. He goes by the Twitter handle of @esekherif_.
Narges Bajoghli on Paramilitary Cultural Producers of the Iran-Iraq War
In another installment of the Emerging Scholarship series, Narges Bajoghli talks about Paramilitary Media during and after the Iran-Iraq War. Bajoghli explains the rise of war veteran filmmakers who have produced alternative narratives about the eight-year conflict in order to better communicate the “truth of war” to a younger generation of Iranians.
Picturing the Other: Race and Afro-Iranians in Documentary Photography
These types of documentary ventures, both filmic and photographic, identify a racialized community as their subject, visibly recognizable by their visual characteristics. Despite this clear reliance on race, there is rarely much attention given to the issue of race itself. Instead, most tend to emphasize successful assimilation predicated on nationalist sentiments and champion the diversity of these communities. By ignoring race and its relationship to photography, we overlook crucial elements that have structured similar stories in the past.
Bailout: Exploring Credit Card Debt and the Iranian-American Immigrant Experience
Set amid the financial collapse of 2009, Bailout follows the story of Shalah or “Shay,” an Iranian-American woman living in Philadelphia, who struggles to hide her own entrapment in the most American of traditions — credit card debt — from her family members who all harbor their own untold secrets.
گرافیتی به سبک ایرانی: آثار قلمدار، هنرمند خیابانی تهران
گروه رسانهی عجم از سال 1392 تاکنون مجموعه مقالههایی دربارهی هنرهای تجسمی ایرانیان داخل و خارج کشور نوشته و نمایشگاههای هنری نیویورک، هنرمندان خیابانی تهران و برنامهی زیباسازی شهرداری مشهد…
Making Graffiti an Iranian Art: The Works of Tehran-based Street Artist Ghalamdar
The work of Tehran-based street artist Ghalamdar exemplifies a new direction in Iranian street art. While the majority of artists operating in Iran are heavily influenced by motifs and techniques popularized outside of Iran, Ghalamdar is inspired by endemic calligraphic styles and miniature paintings that have been the primary targets for 20th century modernist art. In several conversations with AjamMC, the artist discussed how Iranian visual and literary culture influenced his work and how dominant trends in Iranian street art have solidified.