The Annual Photography Exhibition of Photography Students of University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts was launched in 2016 by the Photography Student Association. This event started with the aim of exploring the role of academic photography in Iran’s art scene.
Over time, additional features like specialized panels, critique sessions, artist talks, and screenings of documentaries on prominent photographers were introduced to enhance its academic value. This annual event provides an opportunity for photography students at all levels at University of Tehran to showcase their work to the public, once it has been approved by a jury, and to gain practical experience in organizing an exhibition.
In the seven years held so far, students’ works have not been limited to single photos or photo series. The exhibition has also featured photobooks, video arts, and photo installations, which have been reviewed by critics in various sessions. The audience for this event is not restricted to students of University of Tehran; each year, during the exhibition week, art enthusiasts are welcome to visit the College of Fine Arts at University of Tehran to view the students’ works and, if interested, participate in the specialized sessions and side events. These panels feature lectures by professors, artists, and critics from Iran’s art community, addressing educational topics, critical analysis and diagnosis of contemporary artistic tren and discussing the photographs displayed in the exhibition.
Participants in these panels gather annually from across the country at the College of Fine Arts, creating a friendly yet professional environment that fosters greater interaction between the national photography community and academic photography.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition and panels were held online, allowing enthusiasts and speakers from around the world to attend. Additionally, the sessions were recorded and uploaded to the exhibition’s website, making them accessible to photography enthusiasts anytime and anywhere.
The majority of critics compare the works presented at these exhibitions to those seen in top-tier galleries in Iran, with several students whose work was displayed at University of Tehran later going on to hold high-level exhibitions in well-known galleries and publish photobooks internationally. Various publications and conferences have described the The Annual Photography Exhibition of Photography Students of University of Tehran as an ongoing event that, on its own, documents the history of photography at this university.
For more details about each edition of The Annual Photography Exhibition of Photography Students of University of Tehran, please read below:
The 1st Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts
February 2017
First Annual Photo Exhibition of University of Tehran was held on February 2017, Organized by the photography students scientific society. This event started with the aim of study the state of academic photography in Iranian art. Overtime, professional session were gradually added to it In order to increase the importance, and raising the scientific level of annual, Such as critical sessions and reviewing the work of photographers, artist talks and screening documentary movie about the world great photographers. This annual has been prepared in three section: single photo, photo series and video art and provided an opportunity for students of photography in University of Tehran to be able to exhibit their works after receiving the acceptance points from the jury, and experience the process of holding an exhibition. Annual jury members: Dr. Mohammad Sattari, Mehrdad Najmabadi, Mehran Mohajer, Ghazaleh Hedayat, Sasan Afsharzadeh and Yousef Zeinalzadeh. At the end the works of twenty-two selected students were exhibited in the Gallery of University of Tehran.
The 2nd Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts
February 2018
The photography students association held the second photo exhibition in 2018. The artworks were exhibited in three categories: single images, photo series and video art.
Similar to the previous year, professional meetings, critique and review sessions and artist talks were held, along with the exhibition of students’ works, Dr. Mohammad Sattari, Mehrdad Najmabadi, Mehran Mohajer, Ghazaleh Hedayat, Hassan Khoobdel, Yousouf Zeinalzadeh, Sayad Nabavi, Shabahang Kowsar and Roham Shiraz judged the received works; among which 19 were selected.
The 3rd Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts
November 2018
The third annual photo exhibition of the University of Tehran, was held on November 2018 with major changes. During this semester, the policy council, decided to choose a combination of non-academic artists and experts, beside the past academic jury. Thus, the jury: Mehrdad NajmAbadi, Ghazale Hedayat, Najaf Shokri, Barbad Golshiri, and Mehdi Vosoughnia, Selected fifteen student’s works, to get featured for the exhibition.
In addition, along this helpful changes which affected next periods, as same as the previous terms, specific meetings and discussions on photography and selected photos, were considered. Also, another precious work, was publishing a photo book from selected photos. This year the annual dedicated to the late Dr. Hadi Shafaie, the founder of academic field of photography in Iran in order to gratitude his legacy.
The 4th Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts
December 2019
The photo annual exhibition of the university of Tehran held its fourth edition while the first edition of executive manual of style was published by scientific association. In other words, the annual photo was held systematic and according to the manual of style. Adding the side section beside the main section, was the most important evolution happened that year. Photos of different photographers from all around Iran were judged by Behnam Sadighi, Hadi Azari, Moein Bahrami and Amirhadi Shirzadi; 10 photographers were chosen to talk about their woks.
Playing documentaries on photography, was another considerable evolution happened that year. The jury of the main section was formed by Mehran Mohajer, Newsha Tavakolian, Mehrdad Afsari, Sayad Nabavi and Neda Razavipour. They nominated 18 students’ works to showcase.
It should be mentioned that in this annual, the jury announced some photo books as well and these books were displayed along with the rest of the works. In addition to these developments, as in the previous courses, specialized meetings and discussions were held in the field of photography and review of works. Also, one of the strong points of this annual which can be mentioned is printing of the photobook of the selected works of the fourth annual photo exhibition of University of Tehran students, as well as the printing of the first and second annual books that were not prepared until now. This year was presented to Dr. Mohammad Sattari, associate professor of University of Tehran, in gratitude for his tireless efforts.
The 5th Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts
December 2021
The Fifth annual photo exhibition of the University of Tehran was held while universities and educational centers were closed due to the covid-19 pandemic. In that unpredicted condition, after several months of pause, the annual policy council decided to make the annual online. For this purpose and, website of annual photo exhibition of the University of Tehran, www.utphotoex.ir was designed and used to display the selected works and meetings.
Mehrdad Najmabadi, Ghazaleh Hedayat, Farhad Fakhrian, Shahriar Tavakoli, and Behrang samadzadeh as the judges of this year, selected the works of 24 students worthy to display. In this year, as in previous years, various meetings and photography sessions were held but on online platforms for the first time. It should be mentioned during this year video conversations took place with some of the fine art photography graduates. The fifth annual was dedicated to Dr. Mohsen Habibi, the late former head of the College of Fine Arts, to appreciate his works.
The 6th Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts
December 2021 online, June 2022 in person
The sixth annual was held while universities and educational centers were still closed due to the spread of the Covid-19 disease. The Policy Council, with the experience of holding the previous Annual Virtually, decided to hold this Annual Virtually with some changes. The jury of the 6th annual main section was formed by Hadi Azari, Helia Darabi, Behnam Sadighi, Niloufar Motaref and Mehran Mohajer. 79 works were sent to the secretariat in the main annual section, and a total of 28 works out of 24 people were chosen as the judges’ choice.
In order to establish a closer relationship with students interested in photography in other universities and to provide an opportunity to talk to these students, the 6th Annual Policy Council decided to discuss the works of these students in the side section of the 6th Annual photo exhibition of University of Tehran. In this regard, all students, in any field they are studying, were invited to send their works to the sixth annual secretariat. As a result of this call, 105 works were sent to the annual secretariat and the judges of the secondary section selected 10 works. The jury of the 6th annual side section was formed by Omid Omidvari, Baran Ataei, AmirHossein Kardouni, Niloufar Mahmoudian, Afrooz Moslaeipour, Keyvan Niktabiat and Delaram Vafai Nejad.
In the Conference section, 6 Conferences were held live on the Instagram account. The presenters in these lives were the graduate students of fine arts photography, and the moderators of the sessions were the bachelor and master students of fine arts photography. From December 18 to December 23, 2021 ten specialized Conferences were held virtually on Skyroom platform. In addition to the publication of news related to the annual meeting and videos of the meetings that were held live on the Instagram platform, some videos were also recorded and prepared on the subject of the history of the photography department of University of Tehran, Faculty of Fine Arts in the form of interviews with some teachers and graduates of this department.
The sixth annual was dedicated to Yahya Dehghanpour for his tireless efforts and irreplaceable influence on photography of Iran
Also, with the reopening of universities in 2022, an exhibition of selected works was held in June 2022. In addition to this exhibition, the unveiling of the 6th annual photobook and the 11th issue of Cheshmak magazine, three discussion sessions with the artist were also held in the 6th annual. Professor Yahya Dehghanpour, to whom the 6th annual was dedicated, was also present at the opening and closing ceremony of the 6th annual.
The 7th Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts
December 2023
The 7th Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran, Faculty of Fine Arts was held in December 2023 in Tehran Gallery. The 7th Policy Council held this year’s exhibition with a one-year delay due to the social conditions after the women, life, liberty movement and the prevailing conditions at the University of Tehran and in order to hold an annual attendance. The 7th annual jury was formed by Hadi Azari, Mehdi Araghchian, Mohammad Ghazali, Mehrdad Najmabadi and Ghazaleh Hedayat. 86 works were sent to the 7th annual secretariat, and a total of 21 works from 21 people were chosen as the judges choice.
In the meeting section, a total of 9 meetings were held, 4 meetings focused on discussions with artists, 4 meetings on photography issues, and one meeting was a discussion with the judges of this course.
In this year, with the decision of the policy-making council in order to establish a closer relationship with the graduates of the photography department of the University of Tehran from the past decades and with the aim of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the photography department in the Fine Arts College, and providing the opportunity to talk with these people, while forming a group in this major, A documentary film titled “Photography of the College of Fine Arts”, a review of forty years of photography in fine arts at the University of Tehran with the efforts of current students in connection with the development of the photography major in the fine arts college of the University of Tehran in the form of interviews with some teachers and graduates of this field, recorded and ready which was finally published on the website, Instagram and Aparat.
The 7th annual photo exhibition of photography students of University of Tehran, college of Fine Arts was dedicated to Mehrdad Najmabadi for his tireless efforts and irreplaceable influence on Iranian academic photography.
