Tirdad Zolghadr works as a freelance curator, writes for Frieze Magazine and has also contributed to Parkett, Bidoun, Cabinet, Afterall, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Straits Times Singapore and other publications. Zolghadr currently teaches at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College NY. He is co-founder of the Tehran-based feminist online magazine (1999) and co-director of Tehran 1380 (with Solmaz Shahbazi), a documentary on mass housing estates in Tehran (2001). Since 2004, Zolghadr has curated events at Cubitt London, IASPIS Stockholm, Kunsthalle Geneva, various Tehran artspaces, the UAE pavilion at the Venice Biennale and other venues. He was co-curator of the Taipei Biennial and the International Sharjah biennial

Sharjah Biennial

The Sharjah Biennial is a celebrated cultural event in the Arab world. It is organised by the Sharjah Art Foundation.-Early days:Since its inception in 1993, the event has formed a cultural bridge between artists, art institutions and organisations locally, regionally and internationally...

 2005. Zolghadr is a founding member of the SHAHRZAD design collective.

Background

Zolghadr grew up in Tehran, Zurich, North- and West Africa. He studied Comparative Literature in Geneva, then worked as a cultural journalist and translator before starting to work as a freelance art critic and curator.

Curator

Curated exhibitions:

• Taipei Biennial 2010
• UAE National Pavilion in Venice 2009
• ‘Ethnic Marketing’ at the Kunsthalle Geneva with M. Anderfuhren, 2004
• Various venues in Tehran in April 2006
• 7th International Sharjah Biennial
• Contributions to Manifesta
  Manifesta
  Manifesta, the , is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale, described in 2010 by the as "stunning in its scope and uncompromisingly experimental in its approach".-Manifesta History:...
  
   6
• Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie: 2006-2009 Gasworks, London, Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center
  Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center
  The contemporary art institution Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center opened in 2001 and was located on the pedestrian Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, Turkey...
  
  , Istanbul, Tensta Konsthall, Townhouse Cairo (2008), Arnolfini Bristol (2009)

Writer

Tirdad Zolghadr has also published a novel "Softcore", published by Telegram Books in the UK (2007) and Kiepenheuer & Witsch in Germany (2008)

“...Tirdad Zolghadr’s debut novel tells the story of the Promessa nightclub in Tehran, once a glamorous cocktail bar of the 70s and soon to be reopened as a heady mix of art, fashion and culture. Narrated by an art-enthusiast who soon finds himself locked into a complex political detective story, Softcore traces the story of modern-day Iran with wit and panache..”