Financial Times: Ripping apart art: Iran's cultural world strained by protest and politics

Daroodi, who was also conscious of the running costs of her premises, said she believed her decision to reopen had been justified. "The gallery as we knew it before doesn't exist anymore and artists are becoming more creative. Conversations have changed - as if the gallery has turned into a new refuge for artists," she said. "It is the atmosphere that matters now, not necessarily what's hung on the walls. Why should we deprive ourselves of the few private safe spaces left to gather and talk about art and everything else?" Other venues are expected to start holding exhibitions after the Persian New Year holiday in March. "Most artists quietly tell us to reopen but they're not sure if they want to have solo exhibitions yet,” another gallery owner said. The atmosphere in Tehran is now calmer than at the height of the protests, although a sense of gloom has set in. Yet acts of political resistance have continued. One O Gallery artist decided that, instead of selling her works, visitors could instead tear them to pieces as a way to release their anger. "Other gallery owners that have not yet publicly opened their spaces know they need a different approach but they don't have a solution on how to go on without being accused of normalizing events," she said. "But what seems certain is that there can no longer be exhibitions just for the sake of exhibitions - at least for the foreseeable future."