Tabriz has been nicknamed the “City of Firsts” because some social, educational, and cultural institutions such as the municipality, fire brigade, public cinema, kindergarten, printing house, and school for the hard of hearing children were founded for the first time in this Iranian city. This city can also be described as exemplary and special in some fields at the continental and even global level, including the establishment of a specialized museum in the field of cartoons. Cartoon Museum of Tabriz, which is located in the art house of this city, is known as the first museum of Asia in this field. The establishment of this museum took place at a time when there were only four specialized museums in the field of cartoons around the world. In terms of size, this museum Cartoon Museum of Tabriz should be considered the second largest cartoon museum in the world second after a similar museum in Bulgaria.

History of Art House (Cartoon Museum) of Tabriz

The construction of this place, which later became known as the Golestan Garden Building, started in the year 1934 AD. This building was inaugurated in 1949 AD and during the first years of its life, it was used as the officers’ club and reception hall. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution (1979 AD), too, it served as an administrative center and hosted some government institutions for a few years. In the 1950s AD, the then mayor of Tabriz, Mohammad Ali Tarbiat, suggested founding a library in this place, and following this suggestion a number of culture lovers of Tabriz joined hands and it was decided to make the National Library of Tabriz. With the participation of people, this library became a place to collect important and valuable works. “The Bible of the Apostles”, the oldest manuscript of the Bible written on fish skin and in Syriac, is one of the most important books in this library... In the 1980s AD, Tabriz National Library, which by then had about 55,000 books in possession, was moved to the Golestan Garden Building. Sometime later, with the inauguration of the new building of the National Library of Tabriz in 2001 AD on Azadi Street of this city, all the documents and books in the Golestan Garden Building were moved to the new location to enable the transformation of the Golestan Garden Building into a house of art. In this way, the Art House and Cartoon Museum of Tabriz came into being and started its activities in the year 2006 AD.

Features and Architecture of Art House (Cartoon Museum) of Tabriz

The infrastructure of Tabriz Art House is 2860 square meters. The building is built in three parts: the middle part, which is a large hall, and the north and south parts, which have different rooms. Due to the fact that the construction of this building was done at the same time as the Tabriz municipal building, a lot of similarities can be seen in both buildings. These similarities are visible at first glance because the facades of both buildings are made of Sprakhon stone (a type of granite stone). Due to the passage of several decades since the construction of the building and some wear and tear in certain parts of it, some reconstruction operations have been carried out to improve the condition of the south terrace and the halls. Currently, Tabriz Art House uses three halls to set up art galleries and art exhibitions. The complex also has an amphitheater hall with a capacity of 350 spectators for artistic performances.

Cartoon Museum of Tabriz, which is located in the western part of the Art House of this city houses about 14,000 cartoons, posters, postcards, stamps, business cards, and cartoon books of artists from all over the world. These works have been collected over several decades and are the result of holding several events in Tabriz, including more than 10 international festivals. The two galleries of this museum have exhibited 60 original works of the world’s greatest cartoonists. Tabriz Association of Cartoonists is also located in this building. This association periodically organizes regional, national, and international festivals in the field of animation. There is also a specialized library in the field of cartoons in this collection. There are also cartoon sculptures in the Cartoon Museum of Tabriz, one of which is located at the entrance of the museum the image of which has been inspired by a comic character named described in the Mulla Nasreddin Magazine.

Where Is the Cartoon Museum of Tabriz Located?

The Cartoon Museum of Tabriz is a part of Tabriz Art House, which is located in the northern part of Golestan Garden Park of this city. Accessing this place is possible using urban transportation, especially because a subway station is located near the Golestan Garden.

National Registration of the House of Art (Cartoon Museum) of Tabriz

Art House (Cartoon Museum) of Tabriz was inscribed on the list of the list of Iran’s national heritage in the year 2008 AD.