TEHRAN – “Year Zero,” an international cartoon and caricature exhibition focusing on a year marked by the crimes of the Zionist regimes in Gaza and Lebanon, officially opened at the Palestinian Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran on Monday.
Many cultural officials and Iranian artists attended the opening ceremony.
Organized in collaboration with the North Holasan Art Bureau, the exhibition features 700 cartoons by 65 artists from 42 countries, with 60 selected works being exhibited in the museum.
Speaking at the ceremony, Akram Sediki, Director of the Arts of North Holasan Province, called the exhibition the second artistic event on the Palestinian theme organized by the North Holasan Province, following the tragic events that continued ongoing on October 7th and the Zionist regime’s attack on the private centres of Gaza.
She said there had previously been a previous exhibition titled “Hospitals Are Not War Zones,” centering on the bombing of hospitals in Gaza.
Sejiki emphasizes that the current exhibition is driven by the concerns of artists around the world, and aims to portray a deeper aspect of this humanitarian catastrophe.
Revealed by 600,000 injured individuals, citing the latest statistics on victims of the attack in Gaza, she said the numbers reflect the depth of the ongoing tragedy.
She saw the creation of the exhibition as an opportunity to reflect the artist’s global concerns about the Palestinians.
She concluded that over 60 works have been published and showcases a diverse range of beliefs and nationalities, including Muslims, Christianity, and other religious artists motivated by humanitarian and ethical principles.
On his part, “Year Zero” art secretary and curator Abbas Nasseri pointed to the role of art in confronting harsh reality.
He noted that the presented works are based not merely on hearsay reflections, but on direct experiences of actual images and tragedy, and pointed out that some scenes can only be expressed through the bitter humor of the caricature.
Naseri emphasizes that this artistic event is the result of months of effort and collaboration between artists from around the world, and that the “Zero Year” exhibition is the pinnacle of a variety of works collected within a short time frame fed by the virtual platform through direct collaboration with international artists.
Given his enthusiastic response to the event, Naseri expressed his hope that “Zero Year” exhibitions will be held in other Iranian cities, and that they will gain an international presence. He emphasized the hope that by introducing these works in various countries, he could convey the world a clear message about the current reality of occupied territories.
Furthermore, the ceremony saw the announcement of the book “Zero Year”. This includes a collection of presented works and an explanation of the context of their creation. The book aims to preserve the artistic documents of the event and to continue the narrative of artistic resistance.
The “Zero Year” exhibition exists as an exhibition of dedicated art during times of crisis. Art created for not only beauty but for truth. The exhibition serves both as an artistic event and as a living record of global sympathy for the oppressed Palestinians and as an effort to document the unforgettable historic atrocities.
The “Zero Year” exhibition will be held until May 5th.
Israel occupied Gaza in 1967, and in 2005 they disbanded the settlement. However, since 2007, Israel has placed Gaza under a blockade of land, sea and air, making it the largest outdoor prison.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian resistance fighters launched Operation Al-Axa Storm and launched a coordinated attack on the position of the Israeli regime from the Gaza Strip. The operation marks a serious escalation of the ongoing conflict and features a series of attacks targeting military facilities and settlements within the occupying territory.
The operation was described by organizers as a response to the violence against Palestinians and the dire situation in Gaza, exacerbated by continued lockdowns and restrictions.
The Israeli regime quickly retaliated with airstrikes, killing more than 45,000 individuals, including more than 17,000 children so far. Additionally, more than 109,000 Palestinians have been injured and nearly 2 million have been expelled from their homes. Ongoing violence has led to a humanitarian crisis and exacerbated the suffering of local civilians.
sab/