“Ordinaяy Moment”: Iranian Photographers Capture Everyday Life at FUGA as Part of Budapest Photo Festival 2025
Budapest, Hungary – April 10, 2025 — The photo exhibition Ordinaяy Moment opened its doors at FUGA: Budapest Center of Architecture, offering visitors a rare and compelling look into the nuances of everyday life in Iran through the eyes of 18 emerging Iranian photographers. Curated by Iranian visual artist, Filmmaker, and researcher Mansour Forouzesh, the exhibition is a central feature of the Budapest Photo Festival 2025 and is proudly supported by the Hungarian University of Fine Arts (MKE).
Related article on Tehran Times: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/511835/Works-of-Iranian-photographers-on-display-in-Budapest
Originally scheduled to run until May 5, the exhibition has now been extended until May 14 due to high public interest. It is open to visitors Wednesday through Sunday, from 14:00 to 19:00 at FUGA, located in downtown Budapest.
Ordinaяy Moment is the culmination of over two years of research and curatorial work, grounded in Forouzesh’s broader research project titled [IN]VISIBLE MEANING, which investigates the role of narrative in fine arts. The exhibition brings together a diverse selection of visual narratives that explore the poetic, political, and personal dimensions of daily life in contemporary Iran. It challenges clichés and offers a multifaceted, deeply human perspective on a society often oversimplified in mainstream discourse.
Related article on Iran Daily: https://newspaper.irandaily.ir/7805/8/14736
Reflecting the rich social, cultural, and climatic diversity of Iran, the featured photographs capture fleeting and intimate scenes—quiet gestures, urban stillness, rural rituals, and domestic atmospheres—imbued with subtle emotion and storytelling.
“This exhibition is not about grand spectacles; it’s about small, shared truths,” Forouzesh said. “These images speak to a collective memory shaped by the ordinary, which often carries the deepest meanings.”
The participating photographers are:
Amir Masoud Arabshahi, Arash Tawakoli, Bita Kahnamoui, Fatemeh Salehi, Golnaz Zibandekhoo, Hojatolah Ataie, Majid Halvaei, Mahnaz Minavand, Morteza Beiglou, Meysam Pourjafari, Mohsen Tavangar, Nikoo Alidoosti, Parham Raoufi, Reyhaneh Malek Shoar, Samira Saramad, Sajedeh Erfani, Shervin Shirkoubi, and Saeedeh Mirzadeh.
The exhibition is also accompanied by a review from art critic Réka Kovács, offering critical insight into the cultural and aesthetic significance of the project. The full English review can be read at: rekkova.hu/en/showing-iran-bpf-2025
