Protest Art of Iran - Niloofar Haeri;Talinn Grigor

A hidden chapter of revolutionary history—Protest Art of Iran unveils the bold, leftist posters silenced by the Islamic Republic and nearly lost to time.

Protest Art of Iran presents, for the first time, the little-known but visually striking poster art created by leftist students and professors at the Fine Arts Faculty of Tehran University during the 1978–1979 Iranian Revolution. In stark contrast to the Islamic iconography that later dominated the visual landscape of revolutionary Iran, these posters—deeply influenced by international leftist movements, including the Russian avant-garde and May ’68 in Paris—express urgent dissent against the Shah’s regime and reflect the broader ideological diversity of the revolution’s early days.

Suppressed after the revolution and long hidden from public view, this body of work is brought to light through high-quality reproductions, exclusive commentary from founding members of the university workshop, and original essays that place the art in its historical, political, and global context.

At once a powerful visual archive and a corrective to dominant narratives, Protest Art of Iran is essential reading for scholars of Middle Eastern history, art history, political movements, and anyone interested in the intersections of radical art and revolutionary politics.