Accompanied by Ebad Reza Islami Kolaee, the Head of Niavaran Cultural Center, Mr. Hosseini mentioned that Textiles, Clothes, Weaves and their decorations are one of the main subjects in the history of Iranian Culture. He said: “There is not one city in Iran that according to its race and climate does not have the variety in patterns, colors and decorative designs in their textiles. The wide range of figures and patterns prove this art’s wide spread in Iran. Unfortunately, many branches of this art have been left unnoticed. Although, the fact that many intelligent artists have tried to revive this valuable heritage and recreate them on the basis of research perceptions, is precious. Revival of the traditional embroidery and the creativity in design builds specific capacity in the realm of Fashion and Clothing Design and connects todays costumes to the past original traditions.

He continued: “Using creativity while maintaining the originality, we shall combine the arts retrieved from identity and traditions with designing and introduce it to the new generation correctly so that the talented youths would give it the chance of try.”

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance added: “The inspirational capacity of Iranian original art could be very effective in leading and directing different people of the world’s taste of style. Introducing this art to the world other than recognition of the culture and the real feature of Iran, opens a new market in front of the artists. Therefore, the Economy of Art in general and the Iranian arts economy is similar to Resistive Economy. The Endogenous, extroverted and value based economy that is trained by human force in the country, with the effort of all divisions especially the private sector, can cause persistent phenomenon.”

Answering a question about the registration of the Iranian artworks by neighbor countries, Mr. Hosseini pointed out Turkey’s request to register the case of “Islamic Calligraphy” in UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. He noted: “The peak of our artistic era was the time that our arts were in the center of focus in receiving special attention which caused artistic growth and improvement. We are to blame if our cultural heritage is being owned by others. I prepared the same case of calligraphy according to the UNESCO standards and presented it to the Cultural Heritage authorities eleven years ago!”

At the end of his speech, Hosseini explained that our responsibility increases to define and indicate different aspects of an inherited artwork or cultural personality when that heritage is registered in another country’s name. He said: “For example, Rumi, is a phenomenon and originates from Iranian Islamic culture. Although he lived in Turkey for years and was buried there, he does not become Turkish. Or if a country registers Hafiz as their poet, he does not become a native born of that country. Who would believe that Hafiz does not belong to Persia, affected by Iranian culture? Therefore, the attachment of art and artists to their homeland and native culture is not damaged by registration, but the duty of the task of formal registration and introduction of the art and artists should be seriously considered.

G. R.