Tehran, 5 October 2005 (CHN) – An exhibition of paintings by Federica Matta and calligraphy by Towhidi Tabari on poems of the great Persian poet, Mowlana Rumi, is held in Iran’s Cultural Center, Paris, from 30 September to 20 October 2005.

The exhibition opened in Iran’s Cultural Center of Paris on 30 September, the birthday of Rumi and the 4th day of the week of foreign cultures held in Paris under the theme of “Etrangement Proche”.

Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi, also known as Mowlana (1207-1273 CE), is a Persian poet famous all around the world for his mystic Sufi words, focused on unity, and the longing to reunite with the primal root. His major work Masnavi Manavi is still a favorite among not only Iranians but many people around the world, even becoming a best seller in the US.

Federica Matta from France and Towhidi Tabari from Iran join together in the exhibition to create a new ambience of painting and calligraphy in commemoration of Rumi and his long-lasting philosophy of life

Born on 8 July 1955 in France, Federica Matta traveled to Iran for the first time in March 2005 accompanying Iranian Nahal Tajadod for preparing a book on Rumi; she then came back along a group of French poets under the program “Caravane des Poetes” who visited the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Shahr-e Kurd, Shiraz, and Firouzabad, from 30 April to 5 May 2005. The French poets joined their Iranian counterparts for having dialogues about translation and composing and reading poetry with habitants of cities and villages throughout Iran.

During the second trip, Matta also created some works of art with Iranian children and with cooperation of Iranian Kanoon Center, a center for the intellectual development of children and young adults. (To see some pictures of the trip and paintings go to: http://www.federicamatta.com/iran.html).

That experience was her first step in her dialogue with children and poetry. Her next trip to Iran is arranged for October 2005 to Shiraz, the city of two great Persian poets, Saadi and Hafiz.