Name Fariba Nejat | ||
Interview with fariba nejat part 1 3
Fariba Nejat (born Fariba Dadfarmay on February 24, 1957) is an Iranian-American community leader, social activist, teacher, and a portrait painter. She founded the Payvand "Unity" Group in 1995, and Iranian Federated Women's Club "IFWC" in the following year, with some of her friends in Cupertino, Northern California, where she has been residing with her family since 1987.
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Portrait of President Obama
Her latest work not only stamps her as an artist, but it is the culmination of the journey that she is talking about. She not only is a visionary, she puts her life and soul into realizing and executing these visions. One of her greatest achievements in this regard is the idea of a painting of then President-Elect Obama, along with a message of peace by one of the greatest Iranian poets, Sa'di.
As usual, she believed to share this occasion with her precious Iranian community. To accomplish this, she brought together all of the community, man or woman, young and old, and of different backgrounds to fill in the precious writings, and created the painting that is now in Washington D.C., in record time:
Human beings are the limbs of one another as a whole,
Who in creation are the one essence and souls?
When a limb is affected with pain,
Other limbs also uneasy will remain.
For one not sympathetic to others pain,
The name of human cannot be attained.
A presentation was made of the creation of the painting with a message of hope:
"This painting symbolizes the faith we place in President-Elect Barack Obama, who manifests our hope for the unity of many diverse people groups; we wanted to present him a gift that represents our humanity, not our politics, in the cause of moving our great nation forward.
As illustrated in the accompanying video, many non-artists contributed to this work. Just as it is not easy for artists to let others touch their art, it also can be difficult to entrust our lives and our values to another. This painting is proof that when the vision is clear and the visionary remains actively engaged, the successful outcome is ensured.
This painting is a gift from the Iranian-American organization in Cupertino, California to President Barack Obama.
We, the members of the Iranian Federated Women's Club and Payvand Cultural School, affirm that the contribution of all is necessary for the success of all, and that our collective success is determined by following a shared vision – shared as individuals, as a community, as a nation – guided by a strong leadership."