Bio

Bio

Kamran Ashtary

Kamran through the yearsCPP InvitationKamran Ashtary left Iran as a teenager and did not return for more than twenty years. He became a citizen of the Netherlands where he graduated in art from the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He also completed a one year scholarship at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. Kamran has worked and lived in Amsterdam, New York, San Jose, and Tehran. Kamran is an art director/designer/photographer and has had work published and exhibited all over the world. He is also the co-author of the photo book Iran: View from Here (2007).

After graduating from the Rietveld Academy he was invited by the New York Transit Museum to direct the Children’s Photography Project which he co-founded. Kamran led and organized two summer long photography workshops for children from the nearby Gowanus housing projects. The project was featured on CNN and the Japanese news network NHK and was covered by several New York City newspapers. The children’s work was publicly exhibited to more than 100,000 people.

In 2006, to honor the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth, he was commissioned by Embassy of the Netherlands in Tehran to design and implement first exhibit of Rembrandt’s graphical work. After the success of the show, he designed the exhibit “Rembrandt & the Golden Age” exhibit which was hosted at the Saba culture center in Tehran The show was covered by the press in and outside Iran.

He has also been a member of several professional organizations and presented a number of lectures. Those inlcude:

» Board of directors of Foreign Press Association 1994-95 (FPA is an 100 year old New York based professional organization representing foreign correspondents from around the world)

» Board of directors of Works Gallery 1996 (33 year old professional art organization representing artists in San Jose, California)

» Lecture to United Nations Photography Society on the Children’s Photography Project

» Lecture at Gerrit Rietveld Academy Graphic Design Department on the future of design companies and the influence of the internet

» Presentation in Berlin on the use of design and imagery in Iran’s online press.

Kamran’s photographs published in Dutch, American, British, and Japanese publications.

» Dutch Publications: Vrij Nederlands, Het Parool, Leides Dagblad, Leides Post, Mare, Hollands Licht.

» American Publications and venues: The Guardian,WBAI Program Guide,
ID: International Design, Museum News.

» Japanese Publications: Exex, Kosojyutaku.

» British Publications: Voyager.