Mohsen Keiany

Dr. Mohsen Keiany (Iranian/British) is an internationally known artist born in Shiraz (Iran) in 1970. He is also a highly experienced researcher and an art lecturer. .His art promotes a commonality between art and tradition: ‘historical sense, placelessness and timelessness’, as the source of his creativity. Mohsen is an award-winning artist whose work has been showcased at more than seventy national and international venues. He completed a PhD at the prestigious Birmingham Institute of Arts and Design, Birmingham City University, which explored the symbolism of mosques in Baluchistan and a book based on his findings (Baluchistan; architecture, crafts and religious symbolism was published by Oxford University Press in 2015. He is very interested in exploring multi-cultural influences and traditions in art and architecture.

The position of Muslim countries in Western societies is under the spotlight now more than ever. Much Western media coverage tends to polarise into negative images of Islam as socially disengaged, inward facing and often tending towards political extremism, while Muslim been victim of wars themselves. Within this field of tension many artists feel their role is to emphasize the peaceful aspects of Islamic culture, to serve as reconciling agents. Very few Muslim artists feel able to engage critically with their own counties and heritage, and most particularly with its politicization and manipulation.