On view at MAM March 20 through June 1, 2003
Members Preview and Artist Lecture
on Wednesday, March 19, 2003, 6:00 p.m.

MIAMI, February 24, 2003-- Miami Art Museum presents a compelling exhibition by celebrated Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat. The exhibition offers visitors an unprecedented opportunity to experience Neshat's work in depth through six of her internationally acclaimed video-and-sound environments and related photographs in her first major solo exhibition currently touring North America.

The exhibition, which will only be seen in Montréal, Minneapolis, Miami, and then in Houston, brings together the largest collection of Neshat's video environments ever presented including: Soliloquy of 1999, Pulse and Passage of 2001, as well as Turbulent, Rapture, and Fervor-a trilogy of films made in 1998, 1999, and 2000, respectively. The films are accompanied by mesmerizing soundtracks by such contemporary composers as Sussan Deyhim and Philip Glass.

Born in Iran in 1957, Neshat immigrated to the United States at age 17 to attend the University of California at Berkeley. In 1986, she returned to Iran for the first of several visits and found the country transformed by the Islamic Revolution. Her resulting sense of displacement and exile inspired her to create works that investigate the collision of tradition and modernity in the East and West within an increasingly globalized world. According to Neshat, she engages in "universal dialogues while keeping within the specificity of the Islamic culture."

Neshat's epic tales are told through sweeping panoramas of striking opposites: the desert and the sea; the architecture of East and West; and women of Islam in black chadors and Muslim men in crisp white shirts. The installations differ from traditional cinema in that they are seven to 17 minutes in length and present wall-sized projections, often two to a room, that play continuously. The viewers, positioned between sound and image, enter and leave as they choose.

The exhibition, presented in MAM's Upper Level Gallery, also includes 12 stunning, large-scale photographs related to the videos. Interspersed between the video rooms, the photographs encourage further contemplation by placing us at the threshold of two cultures, illuminating the differences and similarities between them.

"In presenting Shirin Neshat MAM fulfills two important aspects of its mission," said Suzanne Delehanty, MAM Director. "We are pleased to present the work of this internationally acclaimed artist to audiences in South Florida and we are committed to serving as a forum for the exchange of ideas. In this way, MAM reflects Miami's globalism and diversity."

Organized by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal in Quebéc, Canada. The exhibition's Miami presentation is coordinated by Lorie Mertes, curator, MAM.

Shirin Neshat Biography
Born 1957 in Qazvin, Iran. Lives and works in New York. Shirin Neshat's photographs and videos have been included in many major international exhibitions, including Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany; Moving Pictures, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Art, New York 2002; Arte Contemporaneo Internacional, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City 2001; Lyon Biennial, Lyon, France 2000 ; Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 2000; Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA 1999; the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy 1999 ; and Trade Routes: History and Geography: 2nd Johannesburg Biennale 1997. Solo exhibitions of her work have been presented at: Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy 2002; Irish Museum of Art, Dublin, Ireland 2001; Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York 2001; Serpentine Gallery, London 2000; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas 2000; Wexner Center, Columbus, Ohio 2000; and the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago 1999. In 1996 Neshat was awarded a grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.

Members Preview and Lecture By Shirin Neshat
A special members preview takes place on Wednesday, March 19 from 6 to 8pm. MAM members free; non-members $10 (may be applied towards membership). To RSVP call 305.375.1708.
6:00-6:30 pm Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres
6:30-7:15pm Illustrated talk by Shirin Neshat. MAM is happy to announce that due to such popular response to Shirin Neshat's lecture, the auditorium is sold out. We are expanding seating capacity on the plaza, using a live feed, to accommodate additional guests.

Related Programs
Free Sundays at MAM and tours of Shirin Neshat
Museum admission is free every Sunday, which includes admission to special
exhibitions, MAM's collection, the MAM Store, and free guided tours at 2 p.m.
Sponsored by The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald.

Second Saturdays are Free for Families Focus on Shirin Neshat
Saturday, April 12, 2003, Palm Prints, 1-4 p.m.
Persian Storytelling by Fereydoun Kian, 2 - 3:30p.m.
Explore the world of signs and mark making as tools for self-expression and communication in the exhibition Shirin Neshat. Afterward make a unique palm print using light-sensitive paper and letters. Just like a fingerprint, your palm print will be totally unique and make a personal statement about you. Also enjoy Persian folktales told in traditional Persian mural theater style by Fereydoun Kian.

JAM at MAM
Thursday, March 20, April 17, and May 15, 2003, 5 - 8:30 p.m.
Every month JAM at MAM, the museum's happy hour with an artful twist, features an intriguing mix of things to do from gallery tours and book readings to poetry slams and slide JAMs. Unwind after work in a relaxed environment that includes guest DJs, a Martini Lounge, and donation bar. MAM members free; non-members free with $5
museum admission.

March 20, 2003
6-6:30 p.m. Guided tours of Undercurrents
6:30-7 p.m. Peggy Nolan, photography teacher at FIU, examines the work of Shirin Neshat
7:30-8 p.m. Tamalyn Dallal, director of the Mideastern Dance Exchange, performs many facets of Persian dance in celebration of the Persian New Year.
Music by: DJ DHM. Featured Martini: Classic Cosmopolitan

April 17, 2003
6-6:30 p.m. Guided tour of Shirin Neshat
6:30-7 p.m. Reza Filsoufi performs traditional Persian music in the galleries
7:30-8 p.m. Persian poetry reading in the galleries by Fereydoun Kian in English and Farsi
JAM Resident DJ Frederic D'Inca a.k.a. DJ NEMO

Scholl Tours
School tours led by MAM's professional gallery teachers are offered March 25 to May 30, from 10
am to 12 pm, call 305.375.4073.

Group Tours
Private guided tours, led by museum docents, are available in English and Spanish. For
details and reservations, call 305.375.4073.

Publication
A fully illustrated exhibition catalogue published by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal in English and in French is now available in the MAM Store. Hardcover. MAM Members: $35.95. Non-members: $39.95

Additional items related to the exhibition available in the MAM Store include four-color postcards of works in the exhibition. An audio CD featuring the mesmerizing soundtracks from the Fervor, Soliloquy, Rapture, and Turbulent videos is also available.

To reserve your copy of the catalogue call the MAM Store at 305.375.1729.

Funding
Shirin Neshat is organized by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. The United States tour of the exhibition is sponsored by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec.

In Miami, the exhibition is supported by MAM's Annual Exhibition Fund. Benefactors: Tina Hills, Joan Reynolds Linclau, Neiman Marcus, Patricia & Emanuel Papper. Donors: The Cowles Charitable Trust, Espirito Santo Bank, Rose Ellen Meyerhoff Greene, Nedra & Mark Oren, Podhurst Orseck Josefsberg Eaton Meadow Olin & Perwin, P.A., Mellon, Northern Trust. Sponsors: Ferrell Schultz, Deborah & Larry Hoffman, Darlene & Jorge M. Pérez. Patrons: Christie's, George Lindemann, Ned S. Offit, Toni & Carl Randolph, Mica & Elias Selman, Roz & Charles Stuzin, Sally & Earl Wiener. Additional support received from the Funding Arts Network.

Miami Art Museum receives both private and public funding. More than 50 percent of its annual support comes from corporations, individuals, foundations and MAM members. MAM is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners.