Tehran, Jan 9, IRNA -- President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday met with a group of Iranian prominent artists and emphasized his determination to provide an appropriate situation for artistic creativity.

The president said art is meaningless without freedom and artistic creativity is only possible in a free society, however, the president added, there are restrictive measures for art and before the governments censorship, human societies themselves are the first step in restricting art to a framework.


President Rouhani said customs, social ethics, and public understandings are all factors which make borders to art.

The president added artists are not supposed to portray whatever the government or society or even the intellectuals say and at the same time they are not supposed to fight against their society or state.

Stressing that art and freedom are closely interconnected, the president said in an undemocratic society, real art will not be created and governments cannot make art with decrees and orders.

The president said his government is committed to provide an appropriate condition for art and the state tries to promote art but does not believe in state art.

Criticizing those who look at art from a security point of view, the president said art is not a menace and artists do not threaten the security of the country and the government should trust the art and artists.

President Rouhani attended Vahdat amphitheater in Tehran on Wednesday to meet with artists and members of cultural and arts associations.

Head of Tehran City Council Ahmad Masjed-Jamei welcomed the president. The celebrities warmly applauded the president upon his arrival at the amphitheater.

Prominent figures of cinema and music as well as poets and intellectuals were present in the meeting.

The meeting came after celebrities and members of cultural and arts associations invited the chief executive to the amphitheater to hear views of the artists about state of affairs and harmonizing the activities of men of pen and arts with the legal code.

Culture Minister Ali Jannati, Presidential Advisor on Cultural Affairs Hessameddin Ashena and Hossein Fereidoun, an aide to the president were accompanying Rouhani.

By IRNA

 

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