By international law, an embassy is protected under a unique diplomatic immunity status. Since the occupation of the US embassy in Iran in 1980 and the consequent severing of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the former embassy of Iran in Washington, DC has been vacant and abandoned for almost four decades. While in a liminal status, legally, ontologically and symbolically, termites, humidity and dust leave the building in a state of total decay.
Artist and writer, Gelare Khoshgozaran will discuss her work-in-progress, 3005 Massachusetts, a cinematic meditation and research project that positions the abandoned building of the former Iranian embassy as its protagonist.
She solicits the help of salon attendees to try to understand the complications of working as an artist with various institutions and legal complexities surrounding this property.
