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Any additional money raised will contribute towards producing more copies of the boo...
Uniting Iran and Cornwall through song and art
Helston, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Aim
Help me bring Afsoon Shahriari, a female Iranian artist, to Cornwall for respite and to display her art work away from an oppressive regime.
Hi, my name is Patrick Aston. I create alternative acoustic folk music, under the name of Dark Leaves. I’m inspired by the land, sea and sense of place, where I live with my wife on the West Cornwall coast.
I met an incredible Iranian artist on Instagram, called Afsoon Shahriari, at a time in 2022 when I was recording some new music. Her art and my my music found a connection through natural, like minded, creative inspirational sources. We began to collaborate and communicate through instagram messenger.
Afsoon's images feature on my latest album. Since that time, Afsoon has been creating wonderful images from her incredible imagination, sometimes inspired by the lyrics of my songs and my songs have also been inspired by the originality and like minded themes of her art.
As we built our creative relationship and friendship, through our online chats, it became clear to me that Afsoon is working and trying to make a living as an artist, under considerable pressure and restrictions, both from the USA's enforced sanctions on her country and the awful oppressive regime in which she lives. The real impact of the situation has meant that Afsoon is prevented from receiving money from outside of Iran and as such cannot sell her art, despite demand.
More recently, Afsoon has been demonstrating on the streets of Tehran. She shaved her hair to highlight and make a stand with other women against the enforced wearing of hijabs in her country. Recently, she became fearful for her safety and leaving her family, fled to Georgia where she has been living since January and is bravely attempting to start a new life, on her own.
A beautiful image created for the 'Moon on Tide' lyric, that will feature in the book:
We want to come together to create a book of song lyrics, illustrated by Afsoon's art, and use the proceeds made from your donations to bring some light into Afsoon’s life and bring her and her art to Cornwall to display.
All of the lyrics will be displayed in English and also translated into the Cornish language to support the resurgence of the language.
Through your support and our very special pledges and donations, this crowd funder will fund:
- The creation of a high quality book, using recycled paper (limited to 150 copies) of Dark Leaves lyrics with gorgeous illustrations by Afsoon (designed and printed by a Cornish Printer)
- All travel, accommodation & visa expenses for a trip to Cornwall, from Georgia, for Afsoon.
- The booking of a gallery space for Afsoon to display and sell her art (something Afsoon was unable to do in Iran)
I hope this will provide Afsoon with some well deserved respite from what has been an incredibly hard few years for her.
We will also hold a community gallery launch evening with live performances from local musicians, to promote her amazing art.
Iran and Cornwall are two unique locations with such diverse cultures, histories, and traditions. However, I believe that in this gesture we can find common ground and celebrate our differences through artistic expression. By creating art, composing music, and spreading love, we can promote a better understanding and unity among people from different parts of the world.
Whether you are an artist, musician, or simply someone with whom this project resonates, we will very much value your input and support in this project. We hope to build a small bridge between two beautiful places and make a small, but loving, positive impact in this crazy world we live in.
Your support in donations would be very gratefully received and go a long way to helping us achieve a brilliant outcome for Afsoon and give her both a well needed break from her plight and expose her magnificent art away from Iran and her worries and maybe forge new relationships in our beloved Cornwall, that's full off artists and creatives.
We are offering a choice of unique and special rewards that we hope will add value to the crowd funder; from live gigs in your living room to individual portraits drawn by Afsoon.
Thank you for reading. Much love,
Patrick & Afsoon xx
This project successfully funded on 20th May 2023