On 7 July 2009 Iranian born Afruz Amighi was awarded the first Jameel Prize for her work 1001 Pages (2008). The Prize, worth £25,000, is an international art prize launched by the V&A to award contemporary artists and designers inspired by the Islamic traditions of craft and design.

1001 Pages is from a series of shadow pieces in which Amighi uses light and shadow to create complex and engaging designs. She employs a stencil burner to hand-cut the design from a thin, porous sheet of plastic – a material used in the construction of refugee tents. The work is suspended, and an overhead projector illuminates the piece, which casts a shadow of the intricate pattern against a wall. The winning work is on display in the new Studio Gallery (8 July – 13 September) alongside work by the 8 other artists shortlisted for The Jameel Prize.

For more information, visit the Victoria and Albert Museum’s website: http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/jameel_prize/index.html.

Since poster design in contemporary Iranian graphics has found a significant and established status in the international scene, the Center for Visual Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in collaboration with the Institute for Development of Visual Art plans to organize the 10th Tehran International Poster Biennial.

The deadline for submissions is August 22, 2009. Visit the Khatt Network for more information.