The Middle Eastern financier Mohammed Afkhami is putting his collection of Modern and contemporary art by Iranian artists on public display once again. The exhibition
Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians is due to open at the Asia Society in New York this autumn (10 September-16 January 2022), featuring works by 22 artists including Farhad Moshiri, Shirin Aliabadi and Afruz Amighi; the touring show has already been seen at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
This time though, the political context is different. When the show opened in Canada in January 2017, it coincided with Trump’s controversial travel ban targeting travellers from mainly Muslim countries. “The timing is very good for a couple of reasons: New York should be fully open from July and the US is driving ahead with its vaccination programme. The Biden administration and the Saudi government are keen to come to an accord with Iran; it’ll come to a head around the UN meeting due to take place late September in New York. This gives the exhibition a topical perspective,” Afkhami says.