ARTA CULTURAL CENTRE

Focusing on Persian/Farsi speakers, arts, literature and culture, ARTA Cultural Centre Inc. serves and supports community members and help them integrate into the mainstream society.

contact@artaculturalcentre.org

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With great sadness, we inform you of the passing of our beloved friend and the inspiring artist Hossein Valamanesh.

It was an honour to have Hossein as a part of our team at Arta Cultural Centre from the very beginning. His kindness, knowledge, and positivity and of course his creative vision will be missed hugely. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Hossein will live on in his great artworks and the memories of those who loved him.

Arta Cultural Centre

OUR VALUES

Integrity

We are honest, open, ethical, and fair.

Quality

What we do, we do well.

Teamwork

We are one team.

Innovation

We dare to be different.

Collaboration

We leverage collective genius.

OUR TEAM

Sahar Khajani

President

Sahar Khajani is an educator and event coordinator. She holds a Master of Teaching English (TESOL) from Flinders University and a Bachelor of English Translation (Azad University), Cert IV in Multicultural Women leadership, Community Services, and Education Support.

Sahar is one of the co-founders of ARTA Cultural Centre. Being influenced from her studies about cultures, linguistics, psychology and art history, Sahar is passionate to serve in cultural and social activities, stimulate relationship within people in the communities. Also, Sahar has always been interested in raising awareness about domestic violence and family services.

Serving as the community leader for more than seven years, Sahar achieved the Community Quiet Achiever Award from the Mayor of City of Adelaide in 2020. She received an Appreciation Award from the Assistant Minister to the Premier in 2019 for her achievement in the successful Silk Road Caravanserai Concert involving 60 artists from more than 20 community groups.

Suren Edgar

Treasurer – Public Relations Officer

Suren Edgar is one of the co-founders of ARTA Cultural Centre. He has always been interested in different cultures, their effects on each other, maintaining cultures and introducing them to the multicultural society of Australia to enhance mutual understanding among different generations.

As a proactive board member of an Iranian nonprofit organisation in Adelaide for more than seven years, Suren coordinated and initiated many cultural events to support community members and enhance their social inclusion.
Suren received an Appreciation Award from the Assistant Minister to the Premier, the Hon Jing Lee in 2019 for his contribution in the Silk Road Caravanserai Concert in which 60 artists from more than 20 community groups participated.

Suren is an electrical engineer and project manager who established “Delight Electrical” company in Adelaide in 2016 .He has a Bachelor of Electrotechnic Engineering from Azad University and Electrotechnology from Victoria University.

He is also one of the board members of Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia.

Mandana Shoja

Secretary

Mandana Shoja studied Civil Engineering at Tabriz University and graduated in 2011. Mandana has got a decade of experience in the civil industry. She migrated to Australia in late 2021 and joined Arta Cultural Centre in the middle of 2022.

Mandana is working in the financial industry at the moment as she is interested in experiencing various fields.

Mandana is mostly passionate about handicraft art and within her last year living in Iran she studied and learned Persian style carpet weaving. Currently, Mandana is studying Interior Design in Australia.

Elyas Alavi

Art Director (Visual Art)

Elyas Alavi’s practice is interdisciplinary bridging elements from poetry to visual arts, from archive to everyday events with the intention to address issues around displacement, trauma, memory, body and identity. Alavi graduated from a Master of Fine Arts at the Chelsea College of Arts, University of London in 2020 & a master of Visual Arts at the University of South Australia in 2016. He has exhibited at Mohsen Gallery (Tehran), Firstdraft (Sydney), Robert Kananaj (Toronto), IFA (Kabul), Chapter House Lane (Melbourne), UTS gallery (Sydney) as well as Ace Open, Felt Space, Nexus Arts, CACSA Project Space (all Adelaide).

He is the recipient of a 2019 Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship. Alongside his visual art practice, he has published three poetry books in Afghanistan and Iran, receiving critical acclaim and a number of literature prizes. Alavi regularly runs art and poetry workshops in schools and community centres in Adelaide.

Nader Zoljalali

Grant Officer

With over 30 years of diverse experience in business ownership, mega infrastructure delivery, civil engineering, real estate development, and a strong passion for disability & aged care specialist design & construction, Nader has honed his leadership and strategic management capabilities, positioning him as a highly effective individual.

Leveraging his expertise and success in establishing a successful Home Modifications Business Unit, Nader has helped a not-for-profit organization expand its offerings, providing comprehensive, life-enhancing support services for people with disabilities. Driven by a genuine desire to enable individuals to achieve independence and live their lives to the fullest, Nader has consistently navigated complex regulations, building standards, and funding requirements to deliver lasting, meaningful solutions.

As a member of the Board of Directors for Home Modifications Australia (MOD.A), Nader represents home modification providers for the frail, aged, and people with disabilities on a national level. Additionally, he is a member of the South Australian Housing Industry Association (HIA) Industrial Relations and Legal Committee, further demonstrating his commitment to improving the lives of others and contributing to the industry.