Mehdi Rajabian, Iranian Composer, Wins UN Arts Award

Mehdi Rajabian, an Iranian composer, was announced as the winner of the second "International UN Arts Award for Minority Artists" on Thursday, November 2. The website "Billboard" reported this news citing the UN's website, stating that Rajabian, who is unable to leave Iran due to three imprisonments related to his musical activities, was honored in absentia by the International Arts Center of the UN. This award is given to artists who present discrimination and community issues through art, and this year, Mehdi Rajabian succeeded in becoming the first musician to win the "UN Arts Award" among 80 artists from various countries. In response to receiving this award, Rajabian sent a message to the UN, stating that silence in the face of oppression is complicity with the oppressor, and said: "Resilience, standing firm, and independence are our duties against oppression, tyranny, and human rights violations." Referring to the current situation in Iran, he added: "Today, when we still hear the cries of a mother whose child is to be executed, we cannot expect peace from sound and music. Today, we cannot have an image of a green and vast land on a canvas when a bullet has pierced a child's chest, and his red blood has painted the freedom on the street. Nowadays, we cannot enjoy the dance of a dancer when someone is on the gallows for execution, performing the last dance of their life. Today, we cannot expect to imagine a horror fiction novel when there is a terrifying true story of human rights violations in prisons." Claude Kahn, a UN human rights official, also noted Rajabian's courage and resilience in using music as a beacon for human rights in the face of adversities, deeming him worthy of this award. Pedersen, a UN advisor and head of the Free Music Executive Committee, also appreciated Rajabian's sacrifice for art and human rights despite ongoing restrictions and threats. Mehdi Rajabian was born in November 1989 in Sari, Mazandaran Province. He is a composer, producer, and musician of the setar who has spent several years in prison due to his musical activities. He was first arrested in 2013 along with his brother Hossein Rajabian for founding and managing the "Barg Music" website, which was dedicated to publishing underground music, on charges of "insulting the sacred and propaganda against the regime" and was transferred to Evin Prison. Rajabian's music album "Middle Eastern" won a silver medal at the Global Music Awards in 2019 and, along with Kayhan Kalhor's album "It's Still Autumn," was listed among the top 10 albums in the world by the British magazine Songlines. For the recording and release of his symphony titled "It Comes," Rajabian collaborated virtually in September 2022 with 20 musicians, many of whom are Grammy winners and nominees.