The "Iranian Miniatures Exhibition," supported by ENG Company Union and the Yeditepe Biennial, has opened. Comprising of illuminated manuscript works and miniatures of 20 artists from Mim Elif Art Gallery in Iran, the exhibition welcomed art lovers at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum recently.

Iranian Consul General to Istanbul Bahtiyar Esedzade attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition. Speaking at the ceremony, Esedzade said Turkish and Iranian cultures are actually quite similar. "Culture is one of the most important means connecting two societies. As our cultures resemble each other, our dialogues should be close as well," he said.

Cultural ties to improve

Feride Özal, the coordinator of the exhibition, thanked everyone who contributed to the exhibition. Özel added: "We are coordinating such a project for the first time. We will continue to organize similar exhibits. We hope the commercial collaborations will improve between the two countries together with cultural activities."

Historian and academic, professor İlber Ortaylı was a guest of the ceremony and examined the works.

Noting that the artists had represented classical and modern art and the Iranian and Ottoman world successfully, Ortaylı explained: "I hope such projects will continue. We need to introduce these arts to those who conduct works in modern genres."

'Modern art tries to take precedence over traditional art'

One of the managers of Mim Elif Art Gallery, Azam Eisazadeh, who also has some pieces in the exhibition, reported, "Our aim was to take visitors on a journey through Iranian history with our works. Modern art tries to take precedence over our traditional art. We show that traditional art will not be forgotten with this exhibition for Turkish art lovers."

In the exhibition, sultan miniatures of Iranian and Savafid periods and portraits of Khalifa Ali, Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi and Ottoman sultans along with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are on display.

The exhibition, featuring nearly 150 works of 20 artists who focus on the historical process of Iranian handicrafts, can be visited until June 10.