The seasons of protest and movement among the people have always been accompanied by the support of artists and those with a sense of taste and eloquence; those who have used the tools of art to speak for the people and shed light on their problems, and be their voice. This season has once again arrived in Iran. For two months now, Iran has opened a new season of resistance and has come to the forefront; a resistance that has been ongoing for years; a resistance that is a shelter for revolutionary uprising, even in the form of emojis and insults, and of course, the art of protest among the people; an art that is a container and artists have decided what to pour into it. Artists who have either lived through the struggle themselves or are concerned about the people and their struggles; an art that sometimes shows the flaws and deficiencies, and other times expresses the desires and demands of the people in a protest, social movement, or revolution. They have considered the artist as the spirit of their

The government’s murder of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old girl from Saqqez, sparks widespread protests. The slogan this time is accompanied by consciousness. The cry of “women, life, and freedom” is raised. This very act becomes the focus of the protesting artists’ works; artists who reflect the people’s resistance against oppression through their protest art. The slogan is life, and the people live with this art, take spirit, and continue their daily struggle. The first music is “For” by Shervin Hajipour; a simple poem and song that speaks of “for” and reaches “women, life, and freedom” and in the end, shouts “for freedom”; then Shervin is arrested and released on bail (3) for saying these “for”s. After him, the turn can be given to Mehdi Yarahi; a singer born in 1981 whose “Women’s Anthem” is his published work

This field continues. Musicians in the field of music have all come to the stage in full protest of this movement. Dariush Eghbali, who has been known for his protest and love songs for years and has been one of the pioneers in this field in the past four decades, sings “Towards Tomorrow”. The group “Kingram”, Erfan, Jadal, Rana Mansour, and Hamed Nikpay also perform a song called “My Iran” which says: “Just by becoming soldiers, your children.”

From “25 Band” to Mehran Atash and to other known and unknown singers and musicians, each has released a song according to their own capabilities. Siavash Ghomayshi sings “Miracle” and Mehdi Yarrahi, with lyrics and music by Shahyar Ghanbari, sings “Cage of Breath” just a few days after the tragedy of Mahsa’s murder, and talks about the sanctity of free thought and the suffocation of the cage.

Rana Mansour performs the song “For…” by Shervin in English, while the House of Art in Syrian Kurdistan sings “Gen, Jiyan, Azadi”. Omid Tootian, Shahin Najafi, Milad Gholami, Aryoosh, Reza Pishro, Hichkas, and other singers have also sung works in this regard. Female singers who are generally old and have sung fewer protest songs or have no background in this field also take the stage. Gogosh, Leila Forouhar, Shahrazad Sepanlou, Darya Dadvar, and Sogand have sung the song “Again” with the recitation of Shahreh Aghdashloo, written by Rahaa Etemadi. On the other hand, the Kurdish avant-garde group has also sung the song “Azadi, Azadi, Azadi”.

One of the other group projects in this field that can be mentioned is the collaboration of Abi, Shahin Najafi, Naser Razazi, and Pedram Shahlaei, who have sung the song “Bia Be Meydan” in Kurdish. The names of the familiar and unfamiliar singers who have sung the song are many, and we have certainly forgotten some names. The songs that have been sung are both good and bad in terms of musical and artistic value, as well as poetry, but here the matter of comparison is not relevant. The art of protest is the description of the great movement of the people, which everyone describes in their own language. The nightingale sings ghazals and the moon sings songs; of course, some suddenly become protest singers and want to ride the wave. The wave riders have always existed, but they will not remain in history. Among the projects that have been done, there are some good ones that will remain; projects that have been thought

Some songs are repeated, they have been sung before the recent movement and yet they seem to be the language of today’s people. “Bella Ciao” or “Goodbye Beautiful” was perhaps first sung by partisans and anti-fascists in the midst of the civil war in Italy during World War II, but today the same song with Persian lyrics and the voices of Samin and Behin Balouri can be heard.

But among all of this, we must talk about a singer who was not just a singer in these protests. He didn’t just sing from a safe distance or a corner, but from the midst of the field of fear and danger, the floor of the field of struggle and resistance, he sang the rap music of protest. And in the end, on November 8, 2022, he was arrested and at the time of writing this text, he is still in custody. (5) Tumaj Salehi; a young man who for several years has been the voice of the streets and the lyrics of struggle through rap and hip-hop music. He had previously openly criticized the regime and its collaborators, urging them not to buy “mouse holes” and protesting against the regime’s ties and contracts with China and Russia through “Turkmenchai”. And at the peak of the time when some inside and outside the country were attacking the protests of teachers, he stood by the teachers and

Toumaj stood on the side of the street, next to the protesters, while two new works were published before the arrests. “War Field” and “Fortune”. In the first one, he described the streets; the battlefield where unity reigns. He knows the time to attack the enemy without fear and in his poetry, which he performed, he wrote “War Field, with or without/ from every nation and race, like a train of guns/ War Field, the blade of love/ courage put on and the shield of loyalty”. In “Fortune”, he saw the fortune of the system; forty-four years of terrible defeat. In “Fortune”, he saw a fence in the coffee shop of the system and a lion hunting a jackal. Toumaj Salehi, a poet and singer, has been the narrator of the battlefield; close and in sync with the reality and a narrative not based on news and videos, but with a feeling of flesh, skin, and

And alongside all of this, the student movement and student musicians also became a wonder; with tied hands and strong feet and tablets; from “I wish to rebel” to “Anthem of Freedom”, “Anthem of Equality”, “Hand in Hand”, “Oath of Allegiance” and “Shoulder to Shoulder”. These students became the singers of the Iranian people’s struggle and shared their clips on social media, from Instagram to Twitter and Telegram, and so on.

There are many names. Some artists have also written letters and spoken, whose names are probably not mentioned here. What is important and significant is the solidarity of the artists with the people against the oppression of rulers in Iran. Artists have spoken wherever they could, in the virtual space and in their concerts. Kaveh Kalhor, a famous Iranian composer and musician, also addressed the government in his Twitter account, saying, “Your hands are stained with the pure blood of the Iranian people, which will never be washed away.” He also addressed the ruling system in Iran, saying, “The arrow of justice will be shot by us, the people, and will overthrow your corrupt authority. We stand, dressed in black, waiting for the moment of judgment.”

“در این تصویر، یک گلدان با گل‌های زیبا و چندین کتاب در پشت آن قرار دارد.”

In this image, there is a vase with beautiful flowers and several books behind it.
Roger Waters, a famous British singer and musician, has shown support for various forms of protests by the people of Iran.

The sound of the Iranian people’s protest movement with the humane slogan of “Women, Life, Freedom” resonated around the world. Roger Waters, the famous English singer and former member of the band Pink Floyd, has played for Iran numerous times and participated in various television programs to talk about Iran. From the Arab world, Ramy Essam, the singer of the Egyptian revolution who sang “Ya Misl, Ya Binal Haram” during the Arab Spring in Egypt, also joined the Iranian people’s movement by singing a song called “Freedom” in Persian. Many artists from all over the world also sang for Iran and supported the human desires of its people, writing on social media and showing their support for the Iranian people. For example, in Sweden, in a night called “Women, Life, Freedom for Iran,” several famous Swedish and Iranian singers, including Laleh, Karola, Darin, and Rostam Mirlashari, were present and joined the Iranian people’s

“این تصویر یک پایان نامه است که در مورد تاریخچه و فرهنگ شهر تهران نوشته شده است.”

“This image is a thesis about the history and culture of the city of Tehran.”
The poster of the song “Freedom” by Egyptian intellectual and singer Ramy Essam.

What has been said so far was only a part of the music and celebrity scene in Iran and other parts of the world, but it wasn’t just music that became astonishing in these two months and more. People from different arts also did many works. Many paintings were created, numerous protest posters were made, and many graffiti were drawn. These works were displayed from the virtual space to the walls and ground in Iran and different countries, including Britain, showing the support of artists for the Iranian protests; such as a street artist in Trafalgar Square in London drawing a picture of Mahsa Amini on the ground. Many artists, from Juliette Binoche to others, also cut their hair to show their solidarity with the people of Iran; even the Mona Lisa cut a corner of her hair as a sign of protest against what is happening to women and people in Iran. (7)

And back in Iran, add to all of this the singers of Iranian ethnic music and the melodies of the motherland; from the lullabies of Mina Drees to Kurdish songs and poems that begin with “Your fist on my head and chest/ Your kick on my body” performed with the rhythmic notes of the damam and the scent of Khuzestan. The Lurish epics have also been taken from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. The Persian translation of this song by Masoud Bakhtiari, which in its final verses takes the strings of life to play, goes like this: “You, like the sun, rise and shine/ Now you can/ Don’t say you can’t/ Rise and shine yourself.” (8)

Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt in their book,

Vast creation

They explain that “resistance” is an eternal, stable and continuous matter in societies that manifests itself in different forms according to the historical conditions of each society; therefore, forces inclined towards change or carriers of change must always retrieve and even reproduce these forms of resistance. (9) The art of protest is also a source of protest in art for its owners to accompany the people and show their resistance against the oppressors. The past two months have been a full-scale painting of this resistance by the people, and the collaboration of the art community in the world and Iran, from the body of the university and the people in Iran to others in the farthest corners of the earth. Some have come to the scene with names and others may be on their way. The human slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” has connected with all the free souls of the world, and artists also create their own works with their creativity. And everyone hopes for a day when there will be no more oppression and tyranny

Notes:

1- Biyat, Asef, Revolutionary Life, Daily Life of Arab Spring, Harvard University Press, 2021.

2- Conversation with Hadi Heydari, a cartoonist in the media, and Behrang Samadzadegan, a painter and art critic, about critical art; protest art grows when there is a platform for its acceptance, Shargh newspaper, 7 November 1401.

3- Shervin Hajipour was released on bail with a deposit, Herana, 12 Mehr month 1401.

4- Mehdi Yarahi’s talks about Sepah and Rouhani, BBC Persian, 25 December 2019.

5- Tumaj Salehi, a protest rapper, was arrested, Herana, 8 November 1401.

6- Sweden TV: A Night for Iran. Women, Life, Freedom, Radio Sweden October 28, 2022.

7- “The Art of Protest” is the image of these days in Iran, BBC Persian, 6 October 2022.

8- Art as a form of protest against moral decadence; from the Constitutional Revolution to “Women’s Life of Freedom”, Radio Farda, November 16, 2022.

9- Madani Ghahrekhani, Saeed, Social Movements and Hope, Baran Publishing, 1401.