Thursday 19 March 2026 from 18:00 to 22:00
Ask Nowruz not to come this year!
Ask Nowruz not to enter the land of blood-soaked shrouds!
Ask the nightingale not to sing any joyful melody in the meadow!
A smile does not suit the lips of mourners.
Alas! Blood is oozing from the graves of those who sacrificed their lives for the homeland:
Alas, homeland, alack homeland! (K. Khalili [1907–1987])
At our university, we normally celebrate the beginning of the Persian New Year, Nowruz, on March 21st. Due to the horrific events, this year we have decided to commemorate the people who were killed in Iran on 8 and 9 January 2026, and the days after, so that we can pay our respects to the bereaved and to the courageous individuals who offered their lives for freedom and democracy.
The Chair of Iranian and Persian Studies and the Faculty Club have put together a programme that provides space for reflection, meeting, and contemplation. In a subdued atmosphere, we wish to come together with the hope that a new year can dawn for an Iran where freedom, equality, and human dignity are at the center.
Programme Faculty Club (6:00–7:30 PM):
- 18:00 – Words of welcome
Asghar Seyed-Gohrab (Utrecht University) - 18:05 – Persian Music
Maryam Imanizadeh (vocals & daf/tanboor), Mehmet Polat (oud), Milad Ahmadi (vocals), Karvan Mustafa (kamanche), Arman Kavian (tombak), Ali Soltaninejad (santur) - 18:20 – Exhibition: Remembering the Rainbow God
Sara Emami - 18:35 – A Video Talk: January 8th
Arash Ghajarjazi (Utrecht University) - 18:45 – Persian Poetry Recitation
Zhinia Noorian (Utrecht University) - 18:55 – Exhibition: Les demoiselles de Tehran – Women, Identity and Resistance in Contemporary Iran
Aynaz Najafi
Location: Faculty Club, entrance via the University Hall (Domplein 29, Utrecht)
Programme Aula, University Hall (7:30–10:00 PM)
- 19:30 – Pooyan Tamimi Arab (Utrecht University)
Visual Triggers of Iranian Feminism - 19:45 – Nilou Yekta (Utrecht University)
“Don’t cry. Be Joyful.”: Funeral Videos as Protest in Iran - 20:00 – Misagh Javadpour (University of Amsterdam)
When the Bazaar Burns: Memory, Violence, and the Struggle for Public Space in Iran - 20:15 – Break
- 20:30 – Keynote Lecture by Professor Kamran Talattof (University of Arizona)
National Narrative and the Lion and Sun Revolution - 21:00 – Q&A
Location: Aula, entrance via the University Hall (Domplein 29, Utrecht)
Register for Voices from Iran 18:00 – 19:30 here (Location: Faculty Club)
Register for Voices from Iran 19:30 – 22:00 here (Location: Aula)
Please note: each programme segment requires a separate registration. If you wish to attend both, you must register twice.