میــدان / Maydan: A Living Agora

Leila Heller Gallery and Dastan Gallery present Maydan: A Living Agora, a collaborative exhibition exploring the Maydan as both a physical space and a symbolic framework.

Deeply rooted in Middle Eastern, South East Asian, and global cultures, the Maydan—like the Greek Agora—has long served as a site for gathering, exchange, and negotiation.

Beyond its historical role, the exhibition examines the evolving intersections of space, society, and collective identity through diverse artistic perspectives, reflecting on the fluid dynamics of cultural expression in an ever-changing world.

About the Curator

Behrang Samadzadegan (b. 1979, Tehran) is an Iranian artist, curator, and professor. With a BFA from Tehran University of Arts and an MFA from Tarbiat Modares University, his career spans international residencies, including Spike Island (UK), Salzamt (Austria), and the Cleveland Foundation (USA). He has lectured on art theory since 2004 and served as a visiting artist at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2015. Behrang has been a jury member for several prestigious art events and curated Minimalism and Conceptual Art in the Mid-20th Century at Tehran MOCA in 2022. His work examines the limits of truth, identity, and history in aesthetic representation, constantly challenging artistic norms and frameworks.