Dear Community and Supporters,
We are excited to announce our 2018 crowdfunding campaign on Generosity. We plan on raising $25,000 in order to sustain our operations and efforts in supporting artists in diaspora.
Since last year, we've organized over 40 events, bringing hundreds of artists and audiences together in celebration of the harmony and understanding the arts can bring any community. We know we could not have accomplished this without the help of those who contribute to our organization, those who buy the tickets and attend the events, those who volunteer at our events, and those who share our news and events on social media. We thank you for your contributions in any capacity.
At Diaspora Arts Connection, we believe all artists deserve the right to a platform to express themselves, regardless of their political, religious, or ethnic backgrounds. Our organization strives to fulfill its mission through producing and promoting performances and installations for artists of diaspora, providing them with the necessary resources to bring their art to a receptive and supportive audience.
Diaspora Arts Connection is committed to enriching the community through exposure to a diverse range of arts and artists including music, dance, theater, film screenings, poetry and book readings, and art exhibitions which would normally not have a high chance of being seen, heard, or experienced. We have helped hundreds of artists to take to dozens of popular stages, enabling them to be seen and heard so that their art may be appreciated. We have built sustained collaborations with Bay Area organizations and venues for our nearly 150 events since our establishment in 2013, which have served more than 10,000 patrons.
Please help us by making a tax-deductible donation during our 2018 campaign. No matter how small, your donation will help us to continue, deepen, and spread our activities to help the arts and artists. Thank you in advance for your generosity!
Nazy Kaviani, Founder and Executive Director
Diaspora Arts Connection
I did years before they ever did at a time when everyone was shying away ... notably during Ahmadinejad's presidency and prior to 2009.
For more than 20 years I published articles and interviews on major diaspora creators, artists, film directors, theater and music prodigies which are available on all the pioneering websites ( Iranian Dot Com ( prior to being taken over ), payvand.com, Irandokht, Roozaneh Magazine, Kayhan, Persian Mirror, SBS Radio Melbourn, Radio Zamaneh, VOA Persian to name a few ) and which brought to light so many people many of whom were hardly heard of yet later thanks to my articles and interviews caught the eye of major western publications and news organizations.
Google my name and you will see ...
Yet I Never got even a thank u note for it ...
Oh and mind you to claim Art is NOT political is a falsehood
For better or worse everything I have observed for the past 20 years when it comes to the Diaspora Arts is Political.
The themes , the subliminal narrative and angle chosen are always done with a political and ideological subtext.
I made a donation. Very very proud of Nazy's hard work for the community.
Your ART is Political ...
When Artists remain silent in the face of the horrors carried out by the very "civilization" they claim to represent and showcase to thw world it means they are either living in Self Denial or are consciousless
bbc: Assad's Airstrike kills 500 ( including 121 children) in one week
And your Silence IS as Political as when you aren't !
7 Years into a conflict which could have been avoided were it not for the support that the Iranian Regime got from the Iranian American Diaspora including it's so called Arts Community
Asghar Farhadi, at Oscars 2017, Blasts Trump's Travel Ban – Variety
While being silent on the crackdowns back home should be a reminder of what Cultural Resistence Truly means or rather truly should mean but isn't in our community at least ...
How Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl divided a world between them. (New Yorker)
Arts and Artists can Raise Mountains not just money
Art is not just about creating Beauty ... it is also about making a statement that resonates with the rest of humanity.
It is also about having the courage to face genuine criticism and not just indulge in autocongratulation and appraisal and awards !
Greece at the height of its dictatorship revealed bold filmmakers like Costa Gavras who never even got an Oscar !
We have to be content with the likes of a former Terrorist Chereekee turned Filmmaker like Makhmalbaf or a fellow Like Asgar Farhadi whose Oscar was clearly the result of a highly political lobbying effort and not a genuinely deserved one based on merit.
So sorry folks but ART Is Political ... always has been even when it claims not to be !
لیلا حاتمی برای کسب جایزه فیلم برلین سیاسی شد و رفتارش را با مردم فراموش کرد_پخش زنده رودست