AKArt

06/02/2025

Looking for the perfect way to stay warm and dry on a cold, rainy San Francisco evening?

Join us for tonight’s Downtown First Thursday screening at 5:30pm of the award-winning HBO documentary ‘A Revolution on Canvas,’ followed by a 7:15pm curator-led tour with of the exhibitions ‘Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political’ and ‘Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time‘ at YBCA.

—the documentary film which inspired the exhibitions, tells the story of one of Iran’s most revolutionary artists, Nickzad (Nicky) Nodjoumi, and his former wife and fellow artist, Nahid Hagigat. Part intimate documentary, part art-heist thriller, the .pictures film chronicles the search for 120 missing paintings, while examining religious and political extremism, the sacrifices required for creative freedom, and activism, and the ageless power of art and family.

Through paintings, etchings, drawings, animation, film, music, and personal family archives from two revolutionary artists, their daughter, and grandchildren, the exhibition invites us into the lived experience of three generations of artists and an enduring devotion to truth, democracy, justice—and one another.

Exhibitions and programming supported by and Gallery

Photographs and artwork courtesy .nodjoumi, HBO, .nickynodjoumi._ Hagigat, and ADVOCARTSY Gallery. Installation photos by Corey Marsau and Vafa Khatami courtesy of and Farhang Foundation

07/01/2025

Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking panel discussion exploring the intersection of art, activism, and cultural identity through the lens of revolutionary creativity. Acclaimed Iranian artists Shiva Ahmadi, Ala Ebtekar, and Taraneh Hemami, renowned art historian Talinn Grigor, and curator Amy Kisch will come together to discuss how art can serve as a powerful tool for resistance, transformation, and dialogue.

Held on Tuesday, January 21 at 4pm during San Francisco Arts Week in conjunction with the solo exhibitions, 'Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political' and 'Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time,' currently on view at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts through March 23, 2025. This program is open to all and free with registration courtesy of Farhang Foundation.

REGISTER HERE: https://ybca.org/event/art-of-resistance-iranian-diasporic-perspectives-on-revolutionary-creativity/

11/12/2024

Join us for a live virtual talk this Saturday, December 14 at 11am PST / 2pm EST, featuring internationally-renowned Iranian contemporary artist Nicky Nodjoumi in conversation with esteemed scholar and curator Dr. Layla S. Diba. Together, they will dive into Nodjoumi’s groundbreaking solo exhibition, 'Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political,' currently on view at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts through March 23, 2025.

The conversation—followed by a Q&A with exhibition curator Amy Kisch—invites us to further learn about Nodjoumi’s powerful, surreal paintings, which use bold, kaleidoscopic imagery to reveal the nuanced and often unsettling realities of political power and its influence on the human experience. Join us as Nodjoumi and Dr. Diba unpack the artist’s distinctive style and the deeper narratives woven into his art.

This virtual program is open to all and free with registration courtesy of Farhang Foundation. The exhibition and related programming are supported by Farhang Foundation and Advocartsy Gallery.

REGISTER HERE: https://farhang.org/workshops-lectures/nicky-nodjoumi-the-personal-is-political

Photograph of Nicky Nodjoumi by Vafa Khatami

09/12/2024

Join in for these upcoming opportunities to take a deeper dive into “Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political” and “Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time,” as well as the HBO documentary film "A Revolution on Canvas,” by Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder of .pictures that inspired the exhibitions.

👂👀 Saturday, December 14 at 11am: “In Conversation: Nicky Nodjoumi & Dr. Layla S. Diba” a virtual event presented by Farhang Foundation to unpack the artist’s distinctive style and the deeper narratives woven into his art. Visit Farhang.org to register.

🎥 Every Wednesday at 2pm: screenings of “A Revolution on Canvas” on one of YBCA’s free days

🎥 👀 Every 1st Thursday during : film screening at 5:30 pm followed by a curator-led tour at 7:15pm

🎥 👀 Every Second Sunday: film screening at 12 pm followed by a curator-led tour at 2pm on one of YBCA’s free days

Visit Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to learn more about these opportunities and to explore Nahid Hagigat and Nicky Nodjoumi’s works.

These exhibitions and accompanying programs are supported by Farhang Foundation and Advocartsy Gallery. (Exhibition photos by Vafa Khatami)

04/11/2024

DOWNTOWN FIRST THURSDAY
Thursday, November 7, 5-8pm

FILM SCREENING: 5:30pm
'A Revolution on Canvas'

CURATOR-LED TOUR: 7:15pm
'Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political'
'Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time'

This Thursday, November 7, for Downtown First Thursdays SF, please join us for a screening of the award-winning HBO documentary 'A Revolution on Canvas' followed by a curator-led tour of the exhibitions 'Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political' and 'Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time.' Tickets are FREE with registration. (Due to limited seating for the film, advance registration is encouraged. First come, first served.)

Through paintings, etchings, drawings, animation, film, music, and personal family archives from two revolutionary artists, their daughter, and grandchildren, we are invited into the lived experience of three generations of artists and an enduring devotion to truth, democracy, justice—and one another.

Exhibitions and programming supported by Farhang Foundation and Advocartsy Gallery

See a documentary and experience a curator-led tour to go deeper with the work of Nicky Nodjoumi & Nahid Hagigat.

25/09/2024

Sunday, Oct. 6 Opening Day Celebration: Nicky Nodjoumi + Nahid Hagigat in San Francisco at YBCA

Join us for a daylong celebration of the exhibitions 'Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political' and 'Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time' with a screening of the HBO documentary 'A Revolution on Canvas,' followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder, an opportunity to meet the artists and curator, and a concert by the Brooklyn-based band LuNika.
https://mailchi.mp/akart/nodjoumi_and_hagigat-665717

25/09/2024

Thank you Emmanuel Fonseca and Mission Local for including 'Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political' and 'Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time' in 'Here’s what to see at San Francisco museums this fall.' Opening, Sunday, October 6 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

What's open at different San Francisco museums this summer? Check our listing of exhibits and regular programming across the city.

17/09/2024

Opening to the public October 6, 2024, 'Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political' and 'Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time' are two distinct solo exhibitions with a shared history. Together, they tell the story of a family of artists and an unwavering commitment to creative expression in the face of challenges—both personal and geopolitical. Nicky Nodjoumi’s surreal and kaleidoscopic paintings investigate the trappings of political power, while Nahid Hagigat’s evocative and intimate etchings describe women and their ongoing struggle for freedom.

The exhibitions will be presented alongside monthly screenings of the film 'A Revolution on Canvas,' an HBO documentary produced by Nodjoumi and Hagigat’s daughter Sara Nodjoumi and her partner Till Schauder of Partner Pictures, which inspired the premise for the exhibition. The film begins by investigating the disappearance of 120 of Nodjoumi’s artworks in Tehran after his 1980 exhibition, which led to his family’s exile from their native country. Through an attempt to find the missing paintings, Sara Nodjoumi and Schauder present a layered exploration of her family’s history, her parents’ individual work as artists, and the indelible impact of politics on their lives.

Supported by our Cultural Partner the Farhang Foundation and Advocartsy Gallery, and on view at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts through February 23, 2025.

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27/08/2023

Interdisciplinary social practice artists Sean Fader and Maureen Towey have unveiled the design for 'Q***r American Memorials,' a nationwide project which aims to unearth erased q***r histories and reclaim q***r spaces lost to hate. Inspired by the Stumbling Stones in Germany and the Stonewall riots, it is an evolution of Fader’s 'Insufficient Memory'—an interactive Google Earth map which allows you to engage with a digital memorial to LGBTQ+ lives. In 2018, Fader began combing through historical archives to compile a database of every LGBTQ+ person who was murdered in a hate crime in the United States while the Hate Crimes Prevention Act was being debated from 1999 to 2000. The artists have spent the past year working in partnership with MASS Design Group’s the Public Memory and Memorials Lab to develop physical memorials to mark these locations. They now will be working with local communities and organizations to create a constellation of memorials in cities across the U.S..

06/10/2022

SIGN UP NOW for the
"On the Horizon: Bucket Brigade"
Sunday, October 9 at 11:30am
San Francisco's Mission St. from the Embarcadero to 3rd St.

Join us in San Francisco this Sunday, October 9 at 11:30am in San Francisco as we carry ocean water from the Embarcadero waterfront to Mission St. in the historic SF tradition of bucket brigades as part of Ana Teresa Fernández’ "On the Horizon." This participatory art activation connects local communities to the sea and moves them to an empathic and proactive approach to address rising sea levels.

"On The Horizon" will be at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for The New York Times York Times event, ‘A New Climate: Can Technology and Art Inspire Change in a Warming World?’

We must all carry the water.

SIGN UP HERE:

Join us as we carry ocean water from the Embarcadero waterfront to Mission St. in the historic SF tradition of bucket brigades.