Tirdad Zolghadr

Infobox Person
name = Tirdad Zolghadr
occupation = Curator, Art Critic, Writer

|220px|Tirdad Zolghadr works as a freelance curator, writes for Frieze Magazine and has also contributed to Parkett, Bidoun, Cabinet, Afterall, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Straits Times Singapore and other publications. He is co-founder of the Tehran-based feminist online magazine [ [http://www.badjens.com Bad Jens - Iranian Feminist Journal ] ] (1999) and co-director of Tehran 1380 [ [http://www.transmediale.de/page/detail/detail.0.projects.438.3.html transmediale06 ] ] (with Solmaz Shahbazi), a documentary on mass housing estates in Tehran (2001). [ [http://www.friezefoundation.org/biography/profile/tirdad_zolghadr/ Frieze Foundation | Tirdad Zolghadr ] ] Since 2004, Zolghadr has curated events at Cubitt London, IASPIS Stockholm, Kunsthalle Geneva, various Tehran artspaces and other venues. He was co-curator of the International Sharjah Biennial 2005. [ [http://www.unitednationsplaza.org/seminar_zolghadr.html unitednationsplaza ] ] Zolghadr is a founding member of the SHAHRZAD design collective. [ [http://magazines.documenta.de/frontend/profile.php?IdMagazine=132 Documenta Magazine ] ]

Background

Zolghadr grew up in Tehran, Zurich, North- and West Africa. He studied Comperative Literature [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Tirdad_Zolghadr] in Geneva, then worked as a cultural journalist and translator before starting to work as a freelance art critic and curator. [http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/zolghadt/b-aut.html]

Curator

examples of curated exhibitions:
*‘Ethnic Marketing’ at the Kunsthalle Geneva with M. Anderfuhren, 2004
*Various venues in Tehran in April 2006
*7th International Sharjah Biennial
*Contributions to Manifesta 6
* Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie: 2006-2009 Gasworks [ [http://www.gasworks.org.uk/exhibitions/detail.php?id=219 Gasworks - Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie ] ] , London, Platform Istanbul, Tensta Konsthall [ [http://www.tenstakonsthall.se/ Tensta Konsthall ] ] , Townhouse Cairo (2008) [ [http://www.thetownhousegallery.com/ Townhouse Gallery ] ] , Arnolfini Bristol (2009)

Writer

Tirdad Zolghadr has also published a novel "Softcore", published by Telegram Books in the UK (2007) and Kiepenheuer & Witsch in Germany (2008)

“..Tirdad Zolghadr’s debut novel tells the story of the Promessa nightclub in Tehran, once a glamorous cocktail bar of the 70s and soon to be reopened as a heady mix of art, fashion and culture. Narrated by an art-enthusiast who soon finds himself locked into a complex political detective story, Softcore traces the story of modern-day Iran with wit and panache..” [ [http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/softcore-uproar/ 3:AM Magazine » Softcore Uproar ] ]

Filmmaker

Tropical Modernism (Iran/Switzerland, 2005, 23 min) by Tirdad Zolghadr is a short film about the Iranian Left. [ [http://www.documenta12.de/1130.html?&L=1 documenta12: Tropical Modernism ] ]

References