For centuries, the SILK ROAD was the principal trans-continental link between
Asia and Europe. It facilitated the exchange of goods and carried knowledge
about the respective cultures. The area that corresponds to modern Iran always
played a central role, as the primary branch of the SILK ROAD ran south of the
Caspian Sea past today’s Tehran. Due to this geopolitical situation, Asian and
European cultures met and merged in Iran.

The project ALONG THE SILK ROAD seeks to follow in the tradition of the
region’s artistically and culturally intermediary role. In spring 2008 a group of European and Iranian architects, writers and photographers went on a journey
ALONG THE SILK ROAD. Together they visited the towns along this historic trade route and continued the tradition of exchanging goods – in this case, intellectual and cultural goods.

Participants:


Alireza ABBASI
Alireza ABBASI
Nasrin ABRISHAMI
Mehrdad ADHAMI
Marziyeh ADI
Mojtaba
Meisameh AKBARZADEH
Khadijeh ALIMARDANI
Anita ANDRZEJEWSKA
Mohammad ANSARI
Hamid ARAMI
Shabnam ASGARI-POUR
Tahereh ASSADI
Fataneh ATBAEE
Seyed Mohammad Hossein
 AYATOLLAHI
Elham AZIMI
Hossein BABAEI
Zohreh BABAEI
Fatemeh BADANI
Rezanour BAKHTIAR
Sabaa BAKHTIAR
Maria Chiara BECCARI
Zeynab BEHBOODI
Majid Koorang BEHESHTI
Margherita BERNARDI
Francesco CECCATO
Amir Hassan CHEHELTAN
Sanaz DABIRI
Amin DASHTI-NEJAD
Pegah DAVOODI
Fatemeh DEHGHAN
Mahaneh EFTERAEE

Activities

• A travelling exhibition of photographs, accessible to all and at no cost,
   presenting an overview of European photography to a wide audience

• On-site collaborations in inter-disciplinary creative groups, enabling
   European and Oriental artists to work together across cultural boundaries

• Readings, slide shows and seminars, not only presenting aspects of
   European culture to an interested audience, but also enabling European
   artists from various fields to meet Oriental colleagues (ie. from Iran and
   neighbouring countries) who live with entirely different traditions,
   perspectives and working conditions. Furthermore, the professional
   dialogue will be deepened in discussion forums

• Workshops (on architecture, photography and literature), led jointly by
   European and Oriental artists, giving the opportunity to Iranians,
   particularly the young, to actively engage with the arts

Objectives:

• To support intercultural dialogue and exchange between the EU and Iran,
   and to advance mutual respect and understanding

• Low-threshold presentation of the European cultural sphere to a wide
   audience in Iran

• To invite young artists and creatives from diverse European regions to
   participate in the project and meet young Iranian creative artists

• As the European participants become acquainted with one another, the
   holding of joint presentations will promote between them a collective
   sense of identity based on the wealth and breadth of European cultures

• To advance the acceptance of and understanding between the Oriental
   and European cultural spheres

• To establish a support network for the exchange of individuals involved in
   the arts within and outside Europe

Target groups:

• European and Iranian artists and creatives
• On-site Iranian audiences

Order of events:

• All activities in Iran took place in spring 2008
• Post-processing and presentation of results since Summer 2008



With the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union