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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Lifestyle
David Smith

‘I must continue until I die’: inside the fight to bring Iran’s thriving art scene to the world

Iran Continuum Sanctions Tehran Shiraz
Man floating in sea
Untitled, Aryan Dabbagh, 2021. Digital photography. 30cm x 45 cm. Photograph: Courtesy of the artist and Continuum: Artist Relief for Iran, presented by Duran Art Projects. © Aryan Dabbagh, 2021.

When the call came early one morning, Tehran resident Elham Issari knew it must be urgent. The voice on the line was offering something precious. “Miss Elham,” he said excitedly, “I have a single tube of white paint! It’s overpriced and I know it’s overpriced but, if you want it, you have to buy it right now because there’s this other guy in this other city who wants it and you have to tell me within the next five minutes.”

The tube of white paint would have cost Issari 5m tomans (about $36), she recalls. “I was like, I don’t think so, because that’s overpriced, and the next thing you know is it’s 4am and I’m on YouTube watching how to make lead white in your backyard without getting lead poisoning.”

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