Following two existing museums in vein of generous gifting, philanthropists Eli and Edye Broad opened their own museum in 2015, on Grand Avenue in downtown L.A. Named The Broad, it solely focuses on the couple’s personal collection, as well as that of their Foundation with positions such as Kara Walker, William Kentridge, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Kerry James Marshall, plus an ever-growing representation of younger artists.

This equates to 2,000 works of art in the Broad collection, which is one of the world’s leading collections of postwar and contemporary art. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, the museum offers free general admission and presents an active program of rotating temporary exhibitions and innovative audience engagement. For their debut Collection Feature on IC, we present The Broad’s current exhibition survey, of groundbreaking artist Shirin Neshat, who has been in the collection for 20 years. This relationship began with the 1999 acquisition of Rapture (1999)—the first multiscreen video installation to enter the collection.

The exhibition, Shirin Neshat: I Will Greet the Sun Again (October 19, 2019 – February 16, 2020), is the artist’s first major exhibition to take place in the western United States. It presents approximately 30 years of Neshat’s dynamic video works and photography, investigating her passionate engagement with ancient and recent Iranian history, the experience of living in exile and the human impact of political revolution. Taking its title from a poem by Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad (1934–67), the exhibition begins with her most famous body of work, Women of Allah (1993–97) and features the global debut of Land of Dreams, a new, multi-faceted project that was completed this past summer in New Mexico, and encompasses two videos and a body of photographs.

Arranged chronologically to form the largest exhibition to date of her work, Shirin Neshat: I Will Greet the Sun Again presents over 230 photographs and 8 video installations. This includes iconic video works such as Rapture, Turbulent (1998) and Passage (2001), journeying from works that address specific events in contemporary Iran, both before and after the Islamic Revolution, to work that increasingly uses metaphor and ancient Persian history and literature to reflect on universal concerns of gender, political borders and rootedness.

“I Will Greet the Sun Again will offer a rare glimpse into my artistic journey and process as I navigate various cultures such as Iranian, Moroccan, Mexican, Egyptian and Azerbaijan, exploring topics that seem to be mainly concerned with my own unresolved issues in the world, such as the questions of identity, homeland, political oppression and religious fervor, as well as an individual sense of displacement and alienation” said Neshat.

In conjunction with the show, The Broad is also presenting a dynamic series of public programs with musicians, poets and authors exploring the feminism, mysticism and politics that are present in Neshat’s artistic practice. Screening every Saturday, are also Neshat’s two feature-length films, Women Without Men and Looking for Oum Kulthum.

Following presented are installation images and film stills from the exhibition, comprised of works both internal and external to the collection.

The Broad is featured in the BMW ART GUIDE by INDEPENDENT COLLECTORS.