The “artistic” handshake between Michael Ackerman (Israel) and Ramak Fazel (Iran) at the MIA Photo Fair in Milan

An “artistic handshake” for peace. At MIA Photo Fair international art event dedicated to photography in Italy which ended on Sunday 14 April, the artists Michael Ackerman (Israel) e Ramak Fazel (Iran) have decided to exchange their works, exhibited respectively in the Spot Home Gallery and Viasaterna galleries, within the section «Beyond the borders of the Mediterranean», curated by Rischa Paterlini.
Both galleries, at the request of the artistsin agreement with MIA Photo Fair and Fiere di Parma, they did break down the wall that separated them standsto send a message of peace, hope and coexistence, expressing solidarity And nearness to both populations, Iranian and Israeli.

Fazelpresent at MIA, as soon as he heard the news of Iran’s attack on Saturday night, he immediately called his friend Michaelagreeing to to break down the wall that separated the stands and exchange their respective works, in a symbolic handshake and friendship.

Ramak Fazel he grew up between Iran and the United States. After graduating in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, he moved to New York, where he studied graphic design and photography. At MIA he exhibited the work «Miniatures», a series of works depicting the cultural and social ferment of Iran experienced by Fazel between the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, a period of strong tensions and at the same time of profound social, cultural and economic for the nation. With his work in particular he investigates geographical uprooting and the concept of identity.

Michael Ackerman, born in Tel Aviv, spent his childhood and youth in the United States, where his family emigrated in 1974. He began photography at the age of 18. In 1998 he received the prestigious «Infinity Award for Young Photographer» from the International Center of Photography in New York. All of his work explores time and timelessness, personal history and the history of places. At MIA he exhibited «Varanasi» (India), where he returned over 20 years after his first major project «End Time City», published in 1999.

“With this performance artistic, MIA Photo Fair wanted to express a very strong message of peace and coexistence. A moral signal of closeness to Iranians and Israelis. We immediately accepted the requests of the artists and their galleries, requests that arrived when we learned of the attack by Iran. We wanted to be close to them, as well as to the people and their respective countries” he declared Ilaria Dazzi Exhibition Director of MIA Photo Fair-Fiere di Parma. «This performance best expresses the message and meaning of the section “Beyond the borders of the Mediterranean” curated by Rischa Paterlini. A section that goes beyond borderswhere the Mediterranean is a hope, a wish for peace for all those who live in those regions.”

April 15, 2024

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED