The impetus of the Children of Persia calendar lies in the curiosity and artful eyes of a photographer and an artist. Hameed Gorani is the
photographer, whose volunteer services to Children of Persia began with a trip to Iran. On this trip he visited the Goltapeh Education Center, the first children's facility to benefit from Children of Persia's efforts.
Hameed was struck by the beauty of the children he met, despite the poverty around them. Upon his return from Iran, Hameed approached the president of Children of Persia, Shiva Davoodpour, and together they launched the first Children of Persia calendar for 2001 with photographs of children from the northern region of Iran. Viewers of these photographs could not help but be moved by the children's faces, their glowing spirits, and peaceful souls.
The following year, Hameed donated his striking collection of photographs of the historic sites of Iran for the 2002 calendar.
The Children of Persia calendar project rose to a new level when artist
Negar Assari-Samimi joined the project. Her vision and connection to the artistic world of Iran made the calendar project a vehicle for promoting and spreading the majesty, diversity, history, and mystery of Iran.
Negar, with the support of a non-profit organization she founded, Art of Iran, developed the themes that were used in subsequent issues of the calendar: Scenes of Nature (2003); Glimpse of Persian Art (2004); Rituals and Celebrations of Iran (2005); and Modern Artists (2006). In each of these endeavors, some of Iran's most prominent artists, art commentators, and scholars contributed to the calendar project, including Dr. Mina Marefat, Sina Goudarzi, Majid Fadeian, and Aydin Aghdashloo..
Since its inception, Children of Persia has never simply seen its role as a collector of donations, but equally important, as a resource for education. Children of Persia educates the American and the Iranian-American community about the needs of children around the world, in particular in Iran, and offer opportunities to help. Children of Persia also educates the general population about Iran, its culture, history, and people.
Every year, the Art of Iran organization coordinates the annual Children of Persia calendar. If you are an artist who would like your work to be considered in a future calendar, please e-mail us at Calendar@ArtofIran.org. Also for specific submittal information and other general questions, contact the above e-mail or visit ArtofIran.org/calendar.
Children of Persia
2008 calendar theme was Persian Architecture: Dignity in
Details with beautiful photographs
from Iran, an introduction by Dr. Mina Mareft,
and translation by Dr. Karimi-Hakkak.
This year's calendar theme
is Iran: Children of Hope
with
with beautiful photographs of children from
different regions of Iran.
The calendar is available for $20 donation.
If you like to get a copy of
any of our calendars, you cab
purchase one on-line by using Paypal.
