Sheida Soleimani (born 1990) is an Iranian-American multimedia artist, activist, and professor. Her works have generated conversations in the field of 'constructed' tableau photography, as well as the intersections of art and protest, [1] with a focus on Iranian human-rights violations. [2]
Sheida Soleimani | |
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Born | 1990 (age 34–35) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Cincinnati, Cranbrook Academy of Art |
Occupation(s) | artist, educator |
Years active | 2015–present |
Known for | fine artist, activist |
Website | sheidasoleimani |
Sheida Soleimani was born in 1990 in Indianapolis, Indiana [3] and she grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. [4] Her parents are political refugees who were persecuted by the Iranian government in the early 1980s during the Iranian Revolution. [5] Soleimani has mentioned her personal experience as an Iranian growing up in America, which made her aware of the "stereotypes of Middle Eastern culture by the West" at a young age. [6] [7]
Soleimani received her BFA degree in photography from the University of Cincinnati in 2012. [8] [9] She continued her studies and received a MFA degree in Photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2015. [10]
Soleimani's work highlights the relationships between powerful political people, groups, governments, and corporations, in order to raise questions from the viewer. [6] [7] The themes of her work are topics not often discussed in the West, for example, highlighting the women executed in Iran, [7] and the relationship between power, exploitation and oil, [11] among others. The work is often displayed as a photograph or video of a staged image, Soleimani uses various materials in the work including, soft sculpture "dolls", photography, props, masks, and cut-outs of digital prints. [12]
Her work has gained international recognitions in exhibitions [13] and on publications such as Artforum , [14] The New York Times, [15] The Huffington Post , [16] Interview (magazine) , [17] Vice (magazine) etc. [18] Soleimani has presented multiple series of works, namely Medium of Exchange (2018-current), [19] [20] To Oblivion (2016), and National Anthem (2015). [2] Soleimani documented her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic with a series of photographs that were featured in The New York Times in 2021. [21] In 2022, Soleimani participated in the group exhibition "Eyes on Iran" at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park, Roosevelt Island, New York; in response to the Mahsa Amini protests. [22] Other artists in the "Eyes on Iran" exhibition included Shirin Neshat, Sepideh Mehraban, Shirin Towfiq, Icy & Sot, and Aphrodite Désirée Navab. [22]
Soleimani is currently an Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Brandeis University. [23] [10] She previously taught at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). [24]
But according to Soleimani, who spoke over the phone with Hyperallergic while in transit to Providence, where she lives and teaches at Rhode Island School of Design