Herbert Karim Masihi
Recipient of the Nowruz Award from the Pasargad Heritage Foundation, year 1403 of the Iranian Calendar (2024) –
In the field of Visual Arts:
Herbert Karim Masihi is a photographer of historical monuments and a photojournalist in the photographic genre of historical monuments. He is this year’s recipient of the Nowruz Award in the field of Visual Arts for his achievements as outlined below:
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- Tireless efforts in presenting Iran’s cultural and historical sites and monuments as subjects of his photography.
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- Combining of different styles of photography and the creation of a new style of photography of historical work, sites, and monuments, generating a great deal of attention and interest.
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- Encouragement through his photographs of viewers and the public to seeing the architectural details of Iran’s ancient monuments and advancing understanding of their values.
Herbert Karim Masihi
Herbert Karim Masihi was born in January 1980 to a middle-class Armenian family in Tehran, Iran. Masihi credits his family for his love of arts, saying, “art was a main pillar of life in my family and that greatly impacted my education.”
He has been pursuing photography for years. Initially, he wanted to become an archaeologist, but he was not able to find the opportunity to study it. Instead, he turned to photography, becoming a narrator of Iran’s history and culture—or as his friends say, a narrator of stones and shadows.
Some of his photographic works and projects have included:
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- Working in Persepolis as a research photographer with a focus on the Achaemenid era
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- Architectural photography with a focus on ancient works
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- Creating a photographic collection of the signatures of sculptors of the Achaemenid era in Iran
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- Creating a photographic collection of the Susa civilization
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- Creating a photographic collection of Chogha Zanbil, a story of ancient people to today
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- Creating a photographic collection of Isfahan Shah Mosque, Ishtar Gate, and the Islamic era
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- Creating a photographic collection of Arg-e Bam and the beginnings of the desert
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- Creating a photographic collection of Mount Khajeh and clay structures
