Welcome the arrival of spring at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's annual celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year festival! All events are free with Museum admission.
Explore Persian arts and culture through demonstrations, tours and talks, art making, music and dance—including performances by Persian classical vocalist and musician Sepideh Raissadat. Shooka Afshar and her Sarzameen Ensemble will also perform in concert with artists Bahareh and Farzenah Safarani.
• Visit and view a traditional Haft Seen, a key element to any Nowruz celebration. This traditional arrangement includes seven symbolic items, all starting with the Persian letter "sīn," or "s." Take photos with family and friends, find all seven s’s, and observe the New Year festival. Designed and organized by Farzaneh Fallah, Mostafa Masomi and Mojgan Olia.
• Drop in to enjoy family-friendly stories about Nowruz celebrations, including stories from Ferdowsi’s epic poem, "Shahnameh," the Persian Book of Kings.
• Watch the Boston-based Aftab Dance Group perform classical and modern Persian dance. Aftab is a collaboration of students from many local and Boston-area universities.
• Enjoy live musical performances of traditional Persian music! Germany-based, Persian classical vocalist and musician Sepideh Raissadat performs with musicians Bahareh Moghtadaei (Tombak), Shahin Fayaz (Tar), Amin Reyhani (Santur) and Kousha Nakhaei (Kamanche). Plus, Shooka Afshar's new project "Childhood" transports the audience through the diverse and beautiful lands of Iran. Childhood is an interdisciplinary performance featuring the Sarzameen Ensemble and accompanied by Farzaneh Bahareh Safarani painting on two canvas, portraying the scenes Shooka’s lyrics describe. Farzin Dehghan Manshadi—emerging kamancheh virtuoso—will preform and demonstrate this Iranian instrument.
• Join talks and tours by MFA curators through Islamic and Near Eastern art collections, including a behind-the-scenes look at a selection of Persian works of art taken out of storage for this occasion.
Image courtesy of Helene Norton Russell.
Nowruz is presented with support from Azi Djazani, Mahmood Malihi, and Azita Bina and Elmar Seibel.
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