Anahita Akhavan

Anahita Akhavan is an Iranian-Canadian artist based in Toronto. Her interdisciplinary work explores the intersections of Islamic art, architecture, and cultural identity, blending personal cultural influences with both traditional and contemporary aesthetic movements. Working primarily in painting, Akhavan uses geometric forms, spatial compositions, and symbolic ornamentation inspired by Islamic architecture and art objects to create intricate abstractions. Her work invites dialogue on themes of migration, cultural heritage, the displacement of objects, and complexities of belonging.

Akhavan has exhibited extensively in Iran and Canada as well as in the US, and has recently completed artist residencies at AKA artist-run centre, Saskatoon, SK; the Banff Centre, AB; and Joya: arte+ ecología, Vélez-Blanco, Almeria, Spain. She has received prestigious grants from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, in addition to receiving accolades such as the RBC Newcomer Arts Award. Akhavan holds an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan and obtained her BFA from the University of Tehran, Iran. Her work is in the permanent collections of Telus, Capital One, Scotiabank, BMO, TD Bank, Cleveland Clinic, Google, and the RBC Art Collection. She is represented by United Contemporary in Toronto and Duran Contemporain in Montreal.