On March 22, 2024, the Iran 1400 Project spoke with Dr. Katrin Nahidi about her book “The Cultural Politics of Art in Iran: Modernism, Exhibitions, and Art Production.” Dr. Nahidi explored how artistic creation and critical analysis reflected the discourse surrounding gharbzadegi (westoxification), a significant critique of Iran’s adoption of Western modernity. She highlighted how this dynamic served as a platform for negotiating an anti-colonial conception of Iranian artistic modernity. During the Q&A segment, she provided insights into the future trajectory of Iranian art history within the Islamic Republic, Iran’s involvement in international exhibition circuits, and the impact of Iranian artists, notably focusing on Sohrab Sepehri.
Katrin Nahidi is a postdoctoral researcher in the department of arts and musicology at the University of Graz. She has taught at the University of Graz, the University of Osnabrück, and the LMU Munich. Her research interests lie in global art, historiography of modern art, non-Western modern and contemporary art production, art theory from the global South and postcolonial art history.
