This exhibition describes an open-ended, evolving project that “explores how in the aftermath of the collapse of European hegemonies and the rise of the Global South a fluid artistic exchange was possible across geographies, histories and forms in ways and on a scale that had never been possible before”.
The Festival of Arts was held around Shiraz every summer from 1967 to 1977; the ancient Persian ruins of Persepolis were a spectacular backdrop for what has been described as “one of the most adventurous and idiosyncratic festivals in the world” and “perhaps the most radical commissioning festival in history”, a melting pot of traditional and avant-garde music, theatre and performance. The festival, which came to an end with the Iranian revolution, featured artists from both East and West. This exhibition includes archive film and photographs, original theatre programmes and posters, and the gallery describes the overall project as a “reconstruction of a complex space of international modernity … defined by the ‘third worldist’ sensibilities of the immediate post-colonial period
