FAQ:
Why ARSEH?

We made the observation that a rising number of Iranian artists find recognition outside of the country, but this pleasant (?) development is more or less a one way street. Only very few foreign artists find their way to Iran.
In our view, art should be an exchange of ideas. Therefore we want to bring more foreign artists to Iran, which benefits the Iranian artists as well.
Where ever we can, we will try to support Iranian artists, but our focus is the exchange.

Who is ARSEH?

At the moment we are just two people who love art and want to make a contribution.
We are not collectors or gallery owners. We see ourselves more as facilitators. We want to bring foreign artists in touch with the Iranian art scene. The ideal model is a foreign artist who wants to show his work in Iran. We could get her/him in touch with a gallery or some public art space. We could help with translations, organisation, financing, promotion, catalogue and whatever else is needed.
The same would work the other way around, if Iranian artists wants to show their work abroad.
We want to build a network that makes this kind of exchange as easy as an exhibition of an artist from Cologne in Mumbay or a Norwegian artist in New York.
We see a great potential in the private sector. Official institution are often a bit inflexible, bureaucratic, slow moving. Therefore we prefer to cooperate with private galleries, art initiatives, private collectors and – which is not so common in Iran – with the business sector.

How independent is ARSEH?

We are not affiliated with any governmental institutions – neither in Iran nor abroad.
Of course, we have to finance what we are doing. We prefer to work with the private sector and try to find new ways to raise funds. At the same time, we are not afraid to accept money from public funds – as long as no strings are attached. Let’s see how far we get with this attitude.
In addition, we will try to be as transparent as possible in what we are doing. That will include the financing.

How is ARSEH financed?

At the moment, we try to find financing from project to project. We try to find sponsors for each endeavour we take up.
In the log run, we hope to find a group of supporters who are willing to commit themselves to some form of long term financing.
We have a number of ideas how we can raise money which are not tested in Iran. Why should a big company that sponsors a sports team not finance an art event? We are sure that there are also a number of art enthusiasts in this country who would be willing to contribute.

How do you choose your projects?

This is a mixture of several, hard to define factors. To name just a few: the art should be relevant, we should be able to find the right partners, the timing should be right and there should be a chance to get it financed. And, yes, we should be personally interested in the art that is supposed to be shown.

When you say art, you just mean visual art?

Visual art is the core of what we do, but if we get interested enough in other projects, we will try to realize them as well.

Do you call the artist or does the artist call you?

We are happy about everybody who gets in touch with us. We are always looking for new ideas, new projects. This implies artists as well as galleries, art initiatives, schools, publishers, and anybody who wants to help.
Our resources are limited, but we will try to do what we can.