Persian Culture and Heritage

The British Museum and the Iran Heritage Foundation

Click on lecture title for abstract and on name of speaker for brief biography

Thursday 6 October, 18.30
The Art of Achaemenid Persia: Origins and Influences
John Curtis, The British Museum, evokes the history and distinctive eclecticism of Persian art and architecture during the Achaemenid period.

Thursday 27 October, 18.30
Persian Fire
Tom Holland, popular history writer, resurrects the first East-West 'clash of empires', when Xerxes, King of Persia, invaded mainland Greece.

Thursday 3 November, 18.30
From Exile to Transnationalism in the Iranian Artistic Diaspora
Amna Malik, Slade School of Art, explores the practices of different generations of artists in the Diaspora, from post-revolutionary poetics of exile to an engagement with Iranian modernity and its image in the West.

Thursday 10 November, 18.30
'Alexander' and Persia: Film and Reality
Robin Lane Fox, scholar and horseman, is best known for his books on Alexander the Great. He talks about his role as advisor on Oliver Stone's Alexander and the film’s relationship to the history of the Persian Empire.

Thursday December 1, 18.30
Islamic Art in Iran: The Sasanian Heritage
Robert Hillenbrand, a leading expert on Islamic art, traces the legacy of the Sasanian Empire in the art and culture of Iran.

Thursday December 8, 18.30
Posters in the World of Iranian Graphic Arts
Peter Chelkowski, New York University, unfolds the political and cultural role of poster art in the identity of modern Iran.

Full rate 5 GBP
Concessions 3 GBP

Book tickets through the British Museum box office 44 20 73238181 (tel), 44 20 73238616 (fax), 44 20 73238920 (Minicom), boxoffice@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk.