Shirin Neshat Receives Crystal Award at World Economic Forum

February 6, 2014, Washington, D.C. – Shirin Neshat, an Iranian visual artist and filmmaker living in New York City, received a Crystal Award at this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.  The World Economic Forum’s Crystal Awards honor artists who have used their art to improve the state of the world.

Neshat joined Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon and leading opera tenor Juan Diego Flórez as the three exceptional cultural leaders honored by this year’s Forum.

Through her work, Neshat addresses the social, political, and psychological dimensions of women’s experience in contemporary Islamic societies. Using Persian poetry and calligraphy, she examines concepts such as martyrdom, exile, the issues of identity, and femininity. Her photographs and videos have been included in many international exhibitions. 

“My art has stemmed from a desire to bridge deeply personal issues with critical social, political, historical issues that concern the world that I inhabit,” said Neshat.