Firsthand reports from contributors inside Iran
On the eve of a UN vote to restore sanctions on Iran, an independent art book fair in the courtyard of an old house in Tehran provided a rare haven from serial political horrors.
Nearly a hundred self-publishing artists came from across the country, with a few from abroad, filling the yard with books, zines, postcards, sketches and personal projects.
In Iran, every published book must pass through the censors of the Ministry of Culture.
For years, authorities swiftly seized unlicensed works. Yet in recent months, the state often pretends not to see. Unpermitted concerts are staged, books are printed and sold unlicensed, exhibitions openly defy religious and political red lines, independent theaters perform and participants dress freely.
Only when photos or videos go viral and outrage hardliners does the government intervene, eager to placate the constituency it deems vital for survival.
New normal?
That evening, the turnout itself was striking. The organizers had deliberately avoided publicity, fearing a shutdown, but word spread and the courtyard filled with hundreds of people.
Stalls offered original stories, photo collections, paintings, handmade magazines, and designs unseen elsewhere.
Even the clothing became a statement. Women wore sleeveless dresses and shorts. Some men, too, chose shorts—now more likely to be banned than unveiled women.
I spoke with a young woman who had turned her mother’s life into a photo-book, a couple selling posters on Palestine and Gaza, and a Berlin project created by queer refugees and migrants— extraordinary in a country where queer life faces relentless suppression.
The fair lasted three days, with workshops and discussions, all unlicensed and therefore illegal.
It belonged to the wave of activity born of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, shaped by the conviction that freedom must be lived, not pleaded for or postponed.
Live not fight
One organizer recalled the police once stopping by, noticing women in sleeveless tops, and saying: “We don’t care about these things. We see worse uptown. Just don’t block driveways.”
The art they ignored entirely.
No one believes this space is permanent. The same authorities who tolerate unveiled women in cafés one week seal those cafés the next. Crackdowns and reopenings follow in cycles.
Yet people do not retreat. They build communities, collaborate and bring into being what they once thought dependent on systemic change.
Politics may dictate sanctions in New York, but in Tehran courtyards people go on writing, printing, painting and performing—in disregard more than defiance—living the freedom they’re no longer willing to wait for.
