Shirin Neshat: Iran and Islam Through a Cultural Lens

Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat left Iran to study art in the U.S. not long before the Iranian Revolution, which changed the traditional Islamic trajectory of her upbringing and opened the door to a creative career in photography, video art, film, and opera.  Her life and her work since then have focused on the social, political, and psychological contradictions that surface when interpreting Islamic culture from a Western perspective – regarding women and men, public life and private life, antique culture and modern culture.  And her personal life and her creative experience have given her a unique opportunity to engage with the visual and performing arts to interpret the complexities of the Middle East in ways that also resonate with and illuminate the contradictions and complexities of other cultures worldwide. 

Executive Chair of the Jerusalem Foundation and Director Emeritus of the Israel Museum James Snyder will host this timely conversation with world-renowned visual artist Shirin Neshat as part of his ongoing "In Conversation" series with the Middle East Initiative.