TEHRAN - Dafineh Museums Institute and the Institute for Culture and Art Development signed a memorandum of understanding in Tehran aimed at expanding cooperation in scientific, cultural, artistic and social projects and strengthening museum-related activities, the Dafineh Museums public relations office said on Tuesdays.

Under the memorandum, the two institutions will cooperate on entrepreneurship and knowledge-based projects, development of joint cultural and artistic marketplaces, exchange of scientific and research information, organization of national and international gatherings, and projects related to smart equipment and the design of national products.

Hamidreza Soleimani, CEO of Dafineh Museums Institute, said during the signing ceremony that the museums institute had sought to develop products inspired by objects in its collections so that they could be used in daily life. He added that the institute currently operates 10 museum complexes across Iran and plans to launch a digital museum in the metaverse in the near future.

Seyyed Sadeq Pejman, the CEO of the Institute for Culture and Art Development, for his part, underlined that their institution had established an arts support fund to create a stable source of revenue for the cultural sector and had worked to introduce new economic concepts into the arts.

He said one of the institute’s main support projects had been the provision of low-interest loans to the cultural, artistic and media ecosystem through a program known as “Farhang Card.”

Pejman added that the institute had developed new financing tools and undertaken projects related to empowerment and exports, including efforts to facilitate the presence of artworks on the commodity exchange, use intangible assets as collateral for bank loans, register artworks and verify their authenticity, and create a system for issuing certificates of authenticity.

Ketayoun Pelasaeidi, an expert from the museum group, for her part, proposed the establishment of mobile museums through cooperation between the two institutions. She said the “Kimia” brand had been created to produce museum replicas using domestic manufacturers and could become part of the joint cooperation framework. She added that the Dafineh Museums group also operates several academies that train people in history, culture and restoration with the aim of helping them enter the labor market.

The Institute for Culture and Art Development was established in the late 1980s as an independent, non-profit and non-governmental organization under the auspices of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to support researchers, writers and artists.

The Dafineh Museums Institute operates under the Mostazafan Foundation, which provides social services across Iran.

AM