Thursday, April 22, 7pm
SVA Theatre
333 West 23 Street, New York City
Free and open to the public

School of Visual Arts (SVA) welcomes Iranian-born artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat for a screening of her first feature-length film, Women Without Men (2009), followed by a Q&A. Presented by the MFA Art Criticism and Writing Department as part of SVA’s Art in the First Person Series, the lecture will take place on Thursday, April 22, 7pm, at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street. Admission is free.

Based on the controversial 1989 novella of the same name by Iranian author Shahrnush Parsipur, Women Without Men takes place during the 1953 British- and American-backed coup d’etat, which removed the democratically elected government in Iran. Engaging the Iranian sociopolitical landscape through four female characters, the film incorporates elements of magical realism as it chronicles the women’s escape from their everyday lives and union in a metaphorical garden on the outskirts of Tehran. Neshat received the Silver Lion Award for Best Director for Women Without Men at the Venice Film Festival in 2009. The film trailer and an interview with Neshat can be viewed on the film’s official Web site: www.womenwithoutmenfilm.com

Shirin Neshat is an Iranian-born artist and filmmaker. Her many video installations include Rapture (1999) and Turbulent (1998), which won her the International Award at the 48th Venice Biennale. Solo museum exhibitions of her work have included those at the Whitney Museum in New York, The Museum of Contemporary Arts in Athens, Serpentine Gallery in London, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin and the Musee D’Art Contemporain in Montreal.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.

Media Contact: For further information please contact Alia Dalal, communication coordinator, at 212.592.2985 or adalal@sva.edu.