Book Launch: Modern Iran and the Avant-Gardes, 1948–78

Modernity in Translation: Art, Architecture and Poetry in Iran

Join us for a panel conversation celebrating the launch of the publication Modern Iran and the Avant-Gardes, 1948–78, which accompanies the forthcoming exhibition of the same name.

Opening on December 11, 2026, Modern Iran and the Avant-Gardes, 1948–78 is the first exhibition in Canada to explore how the complex cultural tensions of the period sparked new forms of artistic innovation.

This panel brings together guest curator Pantea Haghighi, artist and architect Hossein Amanat and scholar Jeff Derksen to examine the evolving relationship between modernity and tradition in Iranian art.

Drawing on his research, Derksen will consider Iranian modernity not as a simple opposition between Western influence and local tradition, but as an ongoing process of translation and negotiation. Amanat will reflect on the design of the Shahyad Tower, exploring how cultural memory, poetic sensibilities and architectural traditions inform modern Iranian identity. The conversation will be moderated by Haghighi.

Focusing on the intersections of architecture, art and poetry, the panel invites audiences to reconsider modern Iran not as a fixed identity but as part of an evolving cultural dialogue shaped by both historical and contemporary perspectives.

A book signing will follow the talk. The catalogue is available for purchase at the Gallery Store now or at the event. Get your copy »

Free for Circles of Giving and Experiences Members, $5 for Ideas Members and $10 for Access Pass Holders. This event is $10 in addition to the cost of Gallery admission for the general public. 

Registration is required. Space is limited. Seating is first come, first served.

REGISTER NOW

If cost is a barrier to you or if you have any access requests for this event, please reach out to learn@vanartgallery.bc.ca or call 604 662 4700.

This event is presented as part of Asian Heritage Month programming at the Gallery.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Hossein Amanat is a graduate of the University of Tehran and student of Houshang Seyhoun. After graduating, Amanat won a national architecture competition in 1966 and designed the Azadi (Freedom) Tower, formerly known as the Shahyad Tower, which was completed in Tehran in 1971. This iconic monument launched his career, and he has since created prestigious modern buildings throughout Iran and internationally. In 1980, Amanat settled in Vancouver, where he continues to practice architecture with his firm Amanat Architect Inc.

Jeff Derksen‘s research and creative work resides in the intersection of poetry and urbanism. His poetry books include Future Works, The Vestiges and Transnational Muscle Cars. His critical books include After Euphoria and How High Is the City, How Deep Is Our Love. With the collective Urban Subjects, he has co-edited The Militant Image Reader and Autogestion: Henri Lefebvre in New Belgrade. As curators, they brought The Vienna Model: Housing for the Twenty-First Century to the Museum of Vancouver in 2017. A former Research Fellow at the Center for Place, Culture and Politics at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, Derksen is currently a professor at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, and lives in Vancouver and Vienna.

Pantea Haghighi is Art Museum Administrator/Curator at the West Vancouver Art Museum. Haghighi focuses her research on modernism in architecture and the visual arts in relation to the politics of language. Haghighi recently curated Parviz Tanavoli: Poets, Locks, Cages, a groundbreaking exhibition of works by the Iranian–born, Vancouver–based artist, presented in 2023 at the Vancouver Art Gallery.