The Beautification Bureau

In a country like Iran—whose population is relentlessly monitored for “sedition” or “indecency,” where women are barred from singing alone, and artists who appear too “Western” can be denied the right to perform, where certain topics are verboten and any creative works must first be vetted by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance—making art at all, even if it’s sponsored by the ruling regime, can be a political act. Whether they intend it or not, for Iranian artists, art and politics are inevitably intertwined, and exhibiting abroad is no guarantee of immunity.