Iranian Sculpture Symposium Under Missile Bombardment, International Artist Evacuation

The 8th Isfahan International Sculpture Symposium was originally scheduled for June 1-28, 2025. With the bombing 

of Isfahan by Israel and the United States, the artists took great risks to finish their work by 22. With the help of 

the organizing committee and local artists, they evacuated from Iran by land respectively, and a week later,

 the international sculptors had all returned home safely.

In the middle of the symposium, the Israeli and American military attacks on Iran coincided, and the city of Isfahan 

was the center of the military attack. And the sound of the artists' hammers mixed with the sound of air defenses 

and missile barrages. The artists' return home was the first priority of the symposium organizer, while all flights 

were canceled. 

The organizer transported each artist to the nearest land border and, with the coordination and assistance of 

the artists stationed along the route, brought them to their homes. With the help of the Armenian artist

 Mr. Emin Petrosyan, the Georgian sculptor Ivane Tsiskadze withdrew from the Iranian-Armenian border and

 returned to Georgia via Armenia. The Uzbek artist Isonaliev Abdugofor Valijonovich exited from Turkey and 

returned by plane after spending a few days at the home of the Turkish artist Mustafa Bolad. The Indian artist 

Tutu, on the other hand, moved to the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad and waited for a flight to evacuate.

13 artists from Iran, Georgia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and India completed stone sculptures for this sculpture symposium 

under missile bombardment. These are sculptures that look forward to peace, and they record history.

Note: Iran's law prohibits the publication of photos of war, to protect Iranian artists this article does not publish 

war photos.

Materials Provider: ISSA Iran Member Esfandyar Moradpour

Chief Editor: Liu Qin

English Version Editor: Sun Ya’nan

Legal Advisor: Tao Ranting