Nowruz: Golchin Vol. 03

Name: Nowruz: Golchin Vol. 03
Start: 2026-03-19T18:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-03-19T21:00:00-07:00
Location: The Polygon Gallery

Schedule

Thu Mar 19 2026 at 06:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

The Polygon Gallery | North Vancouver, BC

In partnership with Miaan Art Association, Golchin Vol. 03 is a gathering devoted to togetherness and solidarity in celebration of Nowruz, the ancient Iranian tradition marking the spring equinox. In light of the many lives lost in the fight for freedom in Iran, this year’s gathering takes on a more grounding and ambient tone. As we grieve collectively, we remain committed to sustaining Nowruz as a living tradition; one that has endured decades of religious colonialism and 47 years of systemic oppression.
The evening presents two immersive audiovisual performances, and an art installation. Each performance draws from elements of Nowruz and the symbolism of haft sīn, translating ritual objects and seasonal thresholds into sound, light, and spatial experience. Through modular synthesis, moving image, plant bioelectricity, and ambient composition, the artists create contemplative environments that invite reflection, presence, and collective listening.
We come together to remember and honour those we have lost, and to mark Nowruz through listening and learning, embracing its unifying spirit as a celebration of life and renewal.
Through ritual, culture, and shared remembrance, we affirm that tending to life, memory, and community is itself a form of resistance.
Doors at 6:00pm
Show at 6:30pm
Admission is by a suggested donation of $10-$20, courtesy of BMO Financial Group
Your RSVP will guarantee you a seat at the event
RSVP here: https://thepolygon.ca/event/nowruz-golchin-vol-03/
Performances
Modern Biology with Saghi Ehteshamzadeh & Niloufar Samadi
Ghamar Collective (Avideh Saadatpajouh & Samira Banihashemi)
For Nowruz (نوروز), we gather around the number haft (هفت) — a number that returns again and again in Persian thresholds and stories.
Haft āsemān (هفت آسمان).
Haft khān (هفت‌خوان).
Haft sin (هفت‌سین).
Seven skies. Seven passages. Seven beginnings.
Installation
Aynaz Parkas & Parsa Nazeri
Merch
VVORK VVORK VVORK & Nonist

About the Artists
Modern Biology has brought 'plant music' to the masses. Originally educated as a biologist, veteran musician Tarun Nayar brings his passion for nature and sound together in an ambient project that is organismic, immediate, uplifting, and deeply contextual. He uses modular synthesis, home built synthesizers and other analog equipment to improvise with the natural vibrations of a certain place and time - via plant bioelectricity, latent electromagnetic radiation, and even the earth’s resonant hum. Trained from childhood in Indian classical music, he uses the system of Indian raga to mold his musical choices for time of day and season. His performances are an effort to bring the listener into the present moment through vibration, space, and connection.
His videos have been viewed over 100 million times and amassed him over 1 million followers online, and he has been featured by The Guardian, LA Times, BBC, Genius, Vice, The Verge, and DJ Mag among others. His recent albums have received editorial support on Spotify’s Music for Plants, Deep Listening, and Lava Lamp playlists. Recent live performances include Art Basel (Miami), MOCA (Los Angeles), New York Botanical Garden, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Tarun’s ‘Field Trip’ project is an effort to reconnect listeners to the natural environment, especially in urban settings. Audiences assemble in a public park, forage, and then listen to music improvised from the bioelectric impulses of collected plants and mushrooms. Recent field trips include New York City, San Francisco, San Diego, Vancouver, and Toronto. In the fall of 2023 Modern Biology opens the Nobel Prize Museum’s Fungi Exhibition in Stockholm.
Tarun is passionate about protecting wild places and has committed the lion's share of the proceeds of this project to supporting the natural world.
Ghamar Collective — the collaboration of Samira Banihashemi and Avideh Saadatpajouh — works across modular synthesis, moving image, and spatial design. Our work emerges from a shared commitment to expressive storytelling through sound and light, archive and atmosphere, building temporary environments where frequency, projection, and gesture meet.
Saghi Ehteshamzadeh (b. 1995, Tehran) is a queer interdisciplinary Vancouver-based artist/curator whose practice encompasses video art, live visual performances, new media, and art installations.
Holding a Bachelor of Cinema Studies from the Art University of Tehran and graduating from Capilano University’s Arts and Entertainment Management Program in North Vancouver, Saghi’s diverse artistic background informs their creative endeavours. Saghi’s art practice draws inspiration from their personal experiences navigating disabilities and advocating for social justice, particularly within Iran and the ongoing struggle for wxmen’s equality. Their video practice is characterized by a unique blend of compressed, low-resolution imagery and pixel manipulation, and their live visuals feature a fusion of exotic retro videos alongside digital scans of nature and urban environments.
Beyond their artistic pursuits, Saghi has held positions such as the Exhibitions Manager at North Van Arts and has served as the Associate Curator at the Centre of International Contemporary Art (CICA), Co-chair at VIVO Media Arts Centre’s board of directors and currently serves as the Arts Events Officer at Douglas College in New Westminster, BC.
Parsa Nazeri (b. February 2000, Tehran, Iran) is a versatile multimedia artist, DJ, and curator based on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ nations. With a background in interactive arts and technology, Parsa’s work moves fluidly between design, sound, and artistic research. His approach is grounded in play, both as a method of creation and as a mode of engagement.
Performing under the DJ persona Mikubat, Parsa has developed a distinctive sound they call “LangoBit.” Their music seeks to weave together personal and collective memories through sound while challenging Western-centric narratives in contemporary electronic music.
Parsa holds a degree in Interactive Arts and Technology from Simon Fraser University and is actively expanding their practice into experimental audiovisual installations. Through their creative endeavors, Parsa continues to reflect on their journey and identity while pushing the boundaries of sound and visual art.
Aynaz Parkas is an Iranian Vancouver-based visual artist with a BFA from Simon Fraser University. Through painting, installation and sculpture, Parkas is ongoingly reflecting on the weight of being, bodily realities, and socio-political tensions around the notion of land.
Her multidisciplinary practice explores the rhizomatic nature of knowledge, relationships with dwelling spaces, and the process of uprooting and relocation. Her works expand the traditional frameworks of painting’s rubric while channeling her experiences into objects and installations that have the capacity to mediate between art and life. Aynaz is currently living and working on Skwxwú7mesh, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, and səlilwətaɬ lands.
Niloufar Samadi is an interdisciplinary artist working across performance, film, and installation. With a background in puppetry from Tehran University of Art and an MFA in interdisciplinary arts, her practice is rooted in themes of identity, memory, and immigration. Drawing on her immigration journey and collaborations with diverse creative communities, she merges analog and digital mediums, exploring the sensory and tactile possibilities of art. Whether through live performances or visual installations, Niloufar’s work invites audiences to engage intimately with layered narratives that reflect her experiences of in-betweenness and the fluidity of identity.
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