Art replaces adverts in the Islamic Republic

It's the first thing I noticed in Tehran. Rather than seethe at the slow-moving traffic, I was captivated by the billboards that have transformed the Islamic Republic's capital into an open-air art fair. Art seems to be everywhere, almost as prevalent as the portraits of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic republic, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader.

I stared at the cluster of rocks from poet and painter Sohrab Sepehri at one highway junction and calligraphy from contemporary visual artist Reza Mafi at a street corner. There were copies of paintings from international painters, too, including Rene Magritte's "The Son of Man" and Rembrandt's "Landscape with a Stone Bridge".

"A Gallery as Big as a City" is the latest creation of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Tehran's ambitious mayor. Formerly a commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard, in recent years he has thrust his energies into a campaign to beautify Tehran.

For 10 days, from May 5, the city's commercial billboards are displaying artworks instead of adverts. In all 700 copies of paintings from renowned artists, 500 of them Iranians, are being displayed. The objective, according to the municipality, is to encourage Iranians to talk art and visit the city's burgeoning art galleries.

It's not exactly what you'd expect from a hardline, isolated state with a sprawling nuclear programme that world powers have been struggling to contain. But then this is a land of contradictions. On the surface, there's little sign of pain from sanctions. Sure, the economy is in crisis, inflation is still at about 15 per cent and there's no McDonald's or Starbucks. But there are plenty of local fast food joints, new cafes, fashion boutiques and malls. You can even spot a few Maseratis and Porsches on the streets.

One taxi driver I spoke to grumbled about the Tehran art project precisely because of the country's economic troubles, telling me that the money could have been better spent helping people cope with the sanctions. For many others, however, the exhibition is a welcome distraction from their daily travails. One Iranian journalist noted that the aesthetic taste of the municipality also had improved, given that some of the works shown in the past were more suited to a kindergarten than the metropolis.

Iran's clerical regime is not exactly a patron of the arts, except when it serves its revolutionary purpose. Films about the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, poetry about morality and religious books are celebrated. Artsy cinema, foreign blockbusters, pop music and contemporary art are only barely tolerated. But what the regime doesn't like usually attracts ordinary Iranians. As the younger generation becomes more enamoured with artistic expression, and galleries spring up all over the city, the government apparently sees benefit in following the trend.

Some people I spoke to this week say Mr Qalibaf's artistic pursuit is not without political motivation. His 2013 bid for the presidency failed, and few voted for him outside Tehran. But there are parliamentary elections early next year, and the mayor could be positioning himself to promote his own candidates.

Although a fundamentalist, he has done well in managing an overcrowded city in need of beautification. Signs of development or progress are also part of the hardliners' defiance of the west. Thanks to the open-air exhibition - but also the spring sun and less suffocating smog - Tehran has a brighter, lighter feel these days. Still, the grey, dusty capital cannot compete with the historic charm of cities such as Isfahan or Shiraz.

Since taking over in 2005, Mr Qalibaf has expanded roads and added a second level to the east-west Sadr highway. He's also carved out more green spaces. But it's the three-level pedestrian bridge linking two of the main parks that Tehran residents are most excited about. Designed by a young Iranian female architect and inaugurated last year, it has become a prime entertainment spot. "The bridge has become a new symbol of Tehran," says an urban planning student I meet on the bridge. The view of northern Tehran and the Alborz mountains beyond is spectacular.

And, as a bonus this week, visitors can glimpse a few of the arts billboards on the highway below.

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