Former Iranian soldier named winner of Coventry art competition
The Iranian academic is being celebrated as one of the top artists in the West Midlands.
An Iranian academic, who was enlisted in the military at 14, has been named as the winner of a Coventry gallery’s public art competition.
Mohsen Keiany is a local artist and academic who fled to the West Midlands to escape conflict in his home country.
He is now winner of the 2023 Coventry Open at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum for his painting The Motherland, as well as a £1000 prize.
His work responds to ongoing violence in Iran and his own experiences as a soldier.
Mohsen, who is a professor at Birmingham City University, said: "As artists, we are always working behind the scenes and never really thinking about where our work will end up or who will see it. But to have an event and a project like this bringing together so many other artists with such a high quality of work from is incredible.
"It is an unbelievable honour to be selected by the judges. A lot of time spent alone goes into my work, but I am responding to so much going on in the world and from my past, thinking about others, and I hope that visitors can feel a sense of that in the work."
More than 1,000 submissions were made across a variety of media in January, with the best 108 now on display until Sunday, May 21.
The exhibition showcases the best artworks created by people living in and around Coventry and allows artists to sell their work.
Margeurite Nugent, Director at Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the level of engagement in this year’s Coventry Open and the results have been truly amazing.
"It’s important to have a platform like this as it allows us to celebrate artists living and working in the West Midlands, and also encourage more people to be push themselves creatively.
"We wanted the 2023 edition to be as inclusive and diverse as possible, and I hope that even more visitors will be coming through the doors over the next couple of months to see what their West Midlands neighbours, colleagues and friends have achieved."
For more information about the Coventry Open 2023 visit www.theherbert.org/whats-on/1710/coventry-open-2023.
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