Episode 2: Legal and Unlawful Barriers against Arts and Cultural Affairs in Iran
The second session of Siamak Pourzand Foundation’s Legal Salon podcast series focuses on legal and unlawful impediments in the way of arts and cultural production in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This conversation highlights those cultural activities and productions that, despite having governmental permission, face judicial and security challenges when publicly displayed. Guest experts argue that such challenges emerge due to the differences of opinions amongst the various governmental entities. For instance, while one entity (i.e. the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance) approves of a cultural product, the other (i.e. as the Basij Resistance Force) does not acknowledge this approval, considering it un-Islamic and illegal by nature, thereby confronting the artists, affiliates and at times even audiences involved accordingly. In the second part of the podcast guest experts discuss the specific judicial and security challenges that the producers of these cultural works often face in contemporary Iran.