Continuum Lets Iran's Artists Bypass Galleries and Sanctions — SkimNews
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- Dario Duran, a 38-year-old Canadian-Iranian curator who founded Duran Art Projects, fled Shiraz with his visiting parents after the 28 February airstrikes and launched Continuum after witnessing fellow artists 'losing hope' as galleries closed and exhibitions were cancelled.
- Continuum: Artist Relief for Iran at iranartistrelief.org lists more than 500 original works by over 200 contemporary artists working inside Iran, with prices capped at three tiers: up to $500, $500–$2,500, and $2,500–$5,000.
- Eleven Iranian commercial galleries voluntarily waived 100% of their sales commissions and Duran Art Projects charges no platform fees, so every completed sale goes directly to the artist.
- After UAE airspace closures severed Tehran-Dubai and Tehran-Istanbul courier routes, Continuum's logistics shifted overland: artworks now travel by ground border from Iran into Armenia, where international carriers take over — a process that can take three to six months.
- Mehrdad Jafari, a 43-year-old Tehran artist and father of a three-year-old, said sanctions forced creators to substitute alternative materials for unavailable supplies, producing what he called 'a more creative space' while limiting access to the global system.
- Duran explicitly rejected an 'art about war' framing for the platform, stating: 'Iran is not a style, and the Iranian identity is not a medium. An artist living in Shiraz shouldn't have to make work that visually announces 'Iran' before an international audience is willing to take it seriously.'
- Gallerists and curators in London, New York, Paris, Dubai, Toronto and Mumbai responded within hours to Duran's open letter, turning what began as a PDF catalogue of a dozen acquaintances into a nationwide initiative over five months of development.
Why it matters: With 500 pieces priced up to $5,000 and eleven Iranian galleries waiving commissions entirely, Continuum offers a rare functioning bridge between Iran's sanctions-isolated cultural sector and foreign collectors — even as Duran concedes the sanctions 'punish everyone trying to live here' rather than pressure the government. The Armenia-overland courier workaround shows the art world routing around both sanctions and closed wartime airspace.
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