Platform for Contemporary Arts2008-2014
AboutVenueTeamProgramsResidenciesLibraryDigital ArchiveVideo LibrarySazmanab TVLive-streamPressCredits / Acknowledgements
About
Founded in 2008 by artist-curator Sohrab Kashani, Sazmanab was an art space and a residency program based in north-west of Tehran. Sazmanab created curatorial projects and supported artistic work in a wide range of media through exhibitions, residencies for artists and curators, workshops, talks, and other events.
Kubideh Kitchen Skype Meal (2010), organized by Sohrab Kashani and Jon Rubin
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From 2008 to 2014, Sazmanab was located in a small apartment (Kashani’s home-apartment) in north-west of Tehran, inside Sazman-e Ab St. and directly across the Tehran’s Department of Water for the Sadeghiyeh district. In 2008, Sazmanab was Kashani's studio which he used as a working space, hosting workshops and meetings with other artists in Tehran. In 2009, Sazmanab expanded into a fully functioning art space where a variety of events and activities were held in collaboration with local and international artists and curators inside the apartment and also virtually using Skype and other communication tools. In 2010, Sazmanab was renovated for the first time. This included the blocking of the apartment's windows. The windows were still visible from outside the apartment, making it look like an ordinary home from outside. Kashani himself also lived in the apartment, sleeping and working in the offices of Sazmanab.
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Team
Founding Director: Sohrab Kashani
Curator: Sohrab Kashani
Interns and volunteers:
Anita Esfandiari (2008-09), Shirin Rezaee (2008-09), Mehdi Alizadeh (2009-10), Reza Asadi (2009-12), Shahrzad Amri (2011), Feren C (2012), Soraya Sharghi (2012), Atousa Khalaj (2012), Maryam Taghavi (2012), Orkideh Rezapour (2012-13), and Deanna Kashani (2013)
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Programs
Sazmanab set up more than sixty events and exhibitions at its Sazman-e Ab St. venue. Events included talks, presentations, lectures, panels, discussions, workshops, performances, screenings, book launches, and audio/visual performances.
Much Love from Tehran (2010), Live audio/visual performances and simultaneous music collaborations by Photomat, Pooya Payvar (Stonail), and SAROSEDA at Sazmanab and the Danish punk rock band Dansk Fløde in Copenhagen, Denmark
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Sazmanab was the first open-call residency program in Tehran. While some residents were housed in the Sazmanab apartment, other residents were provided with living and working space in other locations in Tehran.
Residents:
Susann Wintsch (curator, 2011), Slavs and Tatars (artist collective, 2011), Tanaz Modabber (artist, 2012), Hiwa K (artist, 2012), Sandra Skurvida (curator, 2012), Katharina Stadler (artist, 2012), Maryam Taghavi (artist, 2012), Nesli Gül (curator, 2012), Kardelen Fincancı (artist, 2012), İsmail Egler (artist, 2012), Daniel Kötter (artist, 2012), Anahita Razmi (artist, 2012), Ben Puah (artist, 2013), Ksenia Sorokina (artist, 2014), and Lena Lapschina (artist, 2014)
Posters for mise en abyme (2012) screening curated by Sazmanab curator-in-residence Sandra Skurvida (left) and Touristic City Soundmaps (2012) workshop conducted by Sazmanab artist-in-residence Katharina Stadler
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Sazmanab's library held a variety of books, journals, and other publications related to the arts, cultural discourses, and social sciences. While there was an assortment of texts, there were specific sections dedicated to art history, monographs on artists, and exhibition catalogues featuring the work of artists from Iran, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. The library also held publications produced by Sazmanab. Sazmanab Library was e-flux's official distributor in Iran from 2011 to 2016.
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Digital Archive
The Sazmanab Digital Archive included the documentation of all Sazmanab's projects and events, archived live-stream footage of Sazmanab during its events, episodes from "Sazmanab TV", and Sazmanab's video and film archive “Sazmanab Video Library”.
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Video Library
Sazmanab Video Library (also known as: Lost in Teh(e)ran and Tehran Video Forum) was a database of Iranian video work and film formed by Sazmanab in 2011 and made public in 2012. Sazmanab Video Library was an innovative platform for artists working with video and film. The mission of Sazmanab Video Library was to collect and catalogue a large variety of different works that were made available for screenings, exhibitions, and acquisitions. The database was a resource for artists, educational institutions, museums, galleries, and cultural centers.
Still Lives and Selected Acts (2013) at Dastan's Basement, curated by Sohrab Kashani and Sandra Skurvida
Back to topSazmanab TV
Sazmanab TV was launched in 2011. Sazmanab TV featured exhibitions at Sazmanab and other art spaces and galleries in Tehran, visited artist studios, and made interviews with artists in Tehran part of its program.
Sazmanab TV feature of Tanaz Modabber's exhibition "Terrain" at Sazmanab (video still, 2012)
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Sazmanab's exhibition openings and events were streamed live. Viewers were able to chat and comment online as broadcast happened.
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Press (selected)
The Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Six Degrees, New Museum
Manifesta Journal
Slate
Deutsche Welle
Condé Nast Traveller
Al Jazeera Arabic News
WTAE TV
Interventions Journal, Columbia University
artfridge
Journal #3
Art21
Deutsche Welle
Open Magazine
PBS Frontline
The Independent
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Credits / Acknowledgements (2008-2016)
Photos courtesy of Sazmanab, taken by Mehdi Alizadeh, Farhad Bahram, Mahsa Biglow, Anita Esfandiari, Amirali Ghasemi, Haleh Ghasemi, Kiana Hayeri, Ziba Jassemi, Sohrab Kashani, Atousa Khalaj, Keiman Mahabadi, Omid Mehdizadeh, Maryam Mohammadi, Parichehr Momtahan, Siavash Naghshbandi, Shirin Rezaee, Orkideh Rezapour, Setareh Soheili, and others.
Identity & Art Direction: Sohrab Kashani
Web Development: Sohrab Kashani
Off-site venues and hosting partners in Tehran included: Aaran Gallery, Azad Gallery, Charsoo Art Institute, Dastan's Basement, KAAF Institute, Mohsen Gallery, Silk Road Gallery, among others.
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