Iranica gala 2001, Washongton
Office of Special Events
2828 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Suite 510 Washington, D.C. 20007
Tel: (202) 486-5600 Fax: (202) 337-6254
A benefit gala for the Encyclopaedia Iranica is to be held in Washington,
D.C. at the elegant Four Seasons Hotel on Friday, March 2, 2001.
The theme of the event is "East and West: A Cultural Celebration."
There will be both a live and silent auction run by the Christi's auction
house. The Persian New Year menu will be designed by Najmieh Batmanglij,
author of New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking
and Ceremonies, and prepared by the famous Four Seasons chef, Doug McNeil.
Seven distinguished individuals will be presented with the following
awards:
Corporate Award: Anousheh Ansari, CEO of Telecom Technologies;
East and West Award: Elaine Sciolino, New York Times correspondent
and author of Persian Mirrors;
International Filmmaker Award: Jafar Panahi, Director of The White
Balloon and The Circle;
Ferdowsi Award: Dick Davis, Poet and Shahnameh scholar and translator;
Heritage Award: Massumeh Farhad, Curator, Freer Gallery of Art and
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, The Smithsonian Institution;
Visual Arts Award: Firooz Zahedi, Photographer of the Stars; and
Rumi Award,
Franklin Lewis, Author of Rumi: Past and Present, East and West.
The Iranica project began at Columbia University in 1974 and since 1979,
it has received financial support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Encyclopaedia Iranica is a detailed record of the Iranian heritage
and a true reflection of the history, life, culture and national identity
of the Iranian people and their contributions to the broader history and
culture of the world.
From the biographies of notable men and women in every field of endeavor
to descriptions of all Iranian cities and monuments, from oil installations
to major banks, from Zoroastrian scriptures to Jewish shrines to Islamic
rituals, from Persian classics to modern novels, from Iranian flora and
fauna to Persian music and folklore, from philosophy and mysticism, and
Persian calligraphy to Persian and Afghan architecture, no aspect of life
in Iranian and related cultural areas is neglected in the Encyclopaedia
Iranica.
According to Professor Richard Frye of Harvard University, "There
is no project in the entire Middle Eastern field more worthy of support
than the Encyclopedia Iranica."
Nine volumes of the Encyclopaedia Iranica have been published, the tenth
is in the press but there remain fifteen additional volumes before the
project is completed. This gala event will culminate the organization's
fundraising campaign and the funds raised will go towards publishing the
remaining Encyclopaedia Iranica series.
Funds raised at this gala event will be matched by a grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities. This gala is an opportunity for
Encyclopaedia Iranica to call to action members of the Iranian community
and their friends to preserve the Iranian legacy.
For more information on this event or to schedule interviews with Encyclopaedia
Iranica editors or event organizers, please contact Farinaz Akhavan (at
202-637-6576 or by e-mail at farinaz@bellatlantic.net),
Bahareh Amidi Sharghi (at 202-237-8603 or by e-mail at bsharghi@aol.com)
or Mojdeh Bahar (at (703) 305-1007 or by e-mail at mbahar@yahoo.com).
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