Shirin Neshat, Land of Dreams, 2020, film still. Copyright Shirin Neshat. Courtesy of the artist, Bon Voyage Films and Palodeon Pictures.
Film & Talk | Land of Dreams
With exhibiting artist Shirin Neshat, in conversation with Chief Curator Corinne Erni
August 10, 3:30 pm - 6 pm
Free for Members | $12 Guests of Member | Free for Resident Benefits Passholders | $30 Adults | $24 Seniors | Free for Students & Children
Award-winning artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat returns to the Parrish Art Museum for the screening of Land of Dreams (2021, 114 minutes) in the Lichtenstein Theater. Described by Neshat as one of her most personal works so far, the film follows Simin, an Iranian immigrant who works for the United States Census Bureau, on a journey to record citizens’ dreams. The film was directed by Neshat and Shoja Azari, and stars Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon, William Moseley, Isabella Rossellini, and Anna Gunn, among others. Following the film, Neshat will be in conversation with Corinne Erni, The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator of Art and Education and Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs.
Advance registration is recommended. Limited spaces will be available at the door.
Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire is on view through September 1, 2025.
About the Film
Simin is an Iranian woman on a journey to discover what it means to be a free American. She works for the Census Bureau which, in an effort to control its citizens, has begun a program to record their dreams. Unaware of this devious plot, Simin is torn between her compassion for those whose dreams she is recording and a truth she must find within.
Haunted by the fact that her father was executed by the Islamic regime in Iran, Simin has developed a coping mechanism through a world of fantasy and playacting. She captures her interviewees’ dreams, secretly impersonates them in Farsi and publishes them on social media where she finds a growing Iranian audience.
Soon Simin meets Mark; a drifter, a free soul, and a poet who declares his love for her at first sight; and Alan, a cynical cowboy turned detective, full of machismo and the American spirit of adventure. As Simin enters the triad, she finds the two men’s competition and conflicts amusing and silently enjoys the ride.
Playful and poignant, Land of Dreams acknowledges in a surreal and satirical way, the greatness of the American experiment while offering a warning beacon for what could come.
About the Exhibition
Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire marks the artist’s first museum exhibition in the New York area in over 20 years. The show offers a non-linear survey of Neshat’s artistic development, presenting focused installations of four significant bodies of work. These range from her first major photographic works, Women of Allah (1993–7)—images inspired by women’s involvement in the Islamic Revolution and Iran-Iraq War—to The Book of Kings (2012), a portrait series that calls on the tradition of Persian epic poetry to address the Arab Spring protest movement. The exhibition will also include more recent projects that present Neshat’s surreal film and video works alongside still photographs, including Land of Dreams (2019), in which the artist turns her attention to exploring American culture from the perspective of an Iranian artist in exile, and The Fury (2022–3), addressing sexual exploitation of female political prisoners.
Though distinct, all four bodies of work are connected by motifs of rebellion, storytelling, and human connection; presented together, they reveal how these key themes have developed throughout Neshat’s artistic evolution. The exhibition also features a gallery dedicated to her private collection of work by fellow artists, from friends such as Marina Abramović and Robert Longo to artists based in the Middle East. This installation reveals Neshat’s influences as well as her championship of lesser-known peers, especially from cultures where censorship impedes free expression.
Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire is organized by Corinne Erni, Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator, Art and Education, with Scout Hutchinson, Associate Curator of Exhibitions.
Exhibition Support
Lead sponsorship for Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire is provided by Veronica Beard, Agnes Gund, and the Robert Lehman Foundation.
We are grateful for the support of Jacqueline Brody; Alaleh Khatibi and Ariel Ostad; Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder; Sarika Singh and Vivek Bantwal, Goldman Sachs Gives; Fern and Lenard Tessler; Neda Young and Family; Susan and Frank Dunlevy; Yanina Fuertes; Amy and Steven Horowitz; Monika and Deven Parekh; Alexandra Stanton and Sam Natapoff; George Wells and Manfred Rantner; Barbara Hoffman; Nina Yankowitz and Barry Holden; Gladstone Gallery; and Ellen Kern.
We are also grateful to Bri-Tech, Inc. and The Carpetman for their in-kind support.
The Parrish Art Museum’s programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and by the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.
Film & Talk | Land of Dreams
With exhibiting artist Shirin Neshat, in conversation with Chief Curator Corinne Erni
August 10, 3:30 pm - 6 pm
Free for Members | $12 Guests of Member | Free for Resident Benefits Passholders | $30 Adults | $24 Seniors | Free for Students & Children
Award-winning artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat returns to the Parrish Art Museum for the screening of Land of Dreams (2021, 114 minutes) in the Lichtenstein Theater. Described by Neshat as one of her most personal works so far, the film follows Simin, an Iranian immigrant who works for the United States Census Bureau, on a journey to record citizens’ dreams. The film was directed by Neshat and Shoja Azari, and stars Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon, William Moseley, Isabella Rossellini, and Anna Gunn, among others. Following the film, Neshat will be in conversation with Corinne Erni, The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator of Art and Education and Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs.
Advance registration is recommended. Limited spaces will be available at the door.
Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire is on view through September 1, 2025.
About the Film
Simin is an Iranian woman on a journey to discover what it means to be a free American. She works for the Census Bureau which, in an effort to control its citizens, has begun a program to record their dreams. Unaware of this devious plot, Simin is torn between her compassion for those whose dreams she is recording and a truth she must find within.
Haunted by the fact that her father was executed by the Islamic regime in Iran, Simin has developed a coping mechanism through a world of fantasy and playacting. She captures her interviewees’ dreams, secretly impersonates them in Farsi and publishes them on social media where she finds a growing Iranian audience.
Soon Simin meets Mark; a drifter, a free soul, and a poet who declares his love for her at first sight; and Alan, a cynical cowboy turned detective, full of machismo and the American spirit of adventure. As Simin enters the triad, she finds the two men’s competition and conflicts amusing and silently enjoys the ride.
Playful and poignant, Land of Dreams acknowledges in a surreal and satirical way, the greatness of the American experiment while offering a warning beacon for what could come.
About the Exhibition
Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire marks the artist’s first museum exhibition in the New York area in over 20 years. The show offers a non-linear survey of Neshat’s artistic development, presenting focused installations of four significant bodies of work. These range from her first major photographic works, Women of Allah (1993–7)—images inspired by women’s involvement in the Islamic Revolution and Iran-Iraq War—to The Book of Kings (2012), a portrait series that calls on the tradition of Persian epic poetry to address the Arab Spring protest movement. The exhibition will also include more recent projects that present Neshat’s surreal film and video works alongside still photographs, including Land of Dreams (2019), in which the artist turns her attention to exploring American culture from the perspective of an Iranian artist in exile, and The Fury (2022–3), addressing sexual exploitation of female political prisoners.
Though distinct, all four bodies of work are connected by motifs of rebellion, storytelling, and human connection; presented together, they reveal how these key themes have developed throughout Neshat’s artistic evolution. The exhibition also features a gallery dedicated to her private collection of work by fellow artists, from friends such as Marina Abramović and Robert Longo to artists based in the Middle East. This installation reveals Neshat’s influences as well as her championship of lesser-known peers, especially from cultures where censorship impedes free expression.
Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire is organized by Corinne Erni, Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator, Art and Education, with Scout Hutchinson, Associate Curator of Exhibitions.
Exhibition Support
Lead sponsorship for Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire is provided by Veronica Beard, Agnes Gund, and the Robert Lehman Foundation.
We are grateful for the support of Jacqueline Brody; Alaleh Khatibi and Ariel Ostad; Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder; Sarika Singh and Vivek Bantwal, Goldman Sachs Gives; Fern and Lenard Tessler; Neda Young and Family; Susan and Frank Dunlevy; Yanina Fuertes; Amy and Steven Horowitz; Monika and Deven Parekh; Alexandra Stanton and Sam Natapoff; George Wells and Manfred Rantner; Barbara Hoffman; Nina Yankowitz and Barry Holden; Gladstone Gallery; and Ellen Kern.
We are also grateful to Bri-Tech, Inc. and The Carpetman for their in-kind support.
The Parrish Art Museum’s programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and by the property taxpayers from the Southampton School District and the Tuckahoe Common School District.
