Photo by Rafael Soldi
Anahid Ghorbani received her MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago in 2017 and her BA in 2012 from Tehran University of Art in Iran. Engaged with creating site-specific installations that utilize photography and video, her goal is to engage, inform and invite dialogue around human rights. She has been included in exhibitions at the Tehran University of Art Gallery (2010, 2012), The Center for Fine Art Photography, Colorado (2017), Filter Space Gallery, Chicago (2018), Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles (2019) among others. She is the recipient of the Graduate Merit Award, the Albert P. Weisman Award and the Diane Dammeyer Fellowship in Photographic Arts and Social Issues. Most recently she won the Video Art First Award during the Khorshid Independent Film Festival in Tehran, Iran for her artwork The Color is Black that addresses female oppression and denial of identity.
Lives/works: United States
EDUCATION
Degree Programs
2015–2017 MFA Photography, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
Received the Graduate Merit Award, a prestigious and competitive full tuition scholarship
Was granted admission into a program considered to be one of the top 10 MFA photography programs in the United States
2008–2012 BA Photography, Tehran University of Art, Tehran, Iran
Ranked 67th among more than 30,000 participants in the annual nationwide universities entrance exam (Konkoor)
Ranked 1st with highest GPA among all graduating photography BA students
Attended the oldest, largest and most prestigious Art University of Iran, which tops nationwide university rankings (www.art.ac.ir)
HONORS & AWARDS
2019 Recipient of The Video Art First Award for The Color is Black, Khorshid Independent Film Festival, Tehran, Iran
The subject of the festival is “free,” focusing on respect for human beings and the world. Held annually in Iran, this festival is directed by Mehdi Yarmohamadi, and supports “independent cinema with experimental and innovative structures and asserts the necessity of developing and [producing] these valuable works.”
The festival has earned an influential role in recognizing and introducing gifted and creative filmmakers and their works to the international community.
2017–2018 Recipient of The Diane Dammeyer Fellowship in Photographic Arts and Social Issues, Chicago, IL
The Diane Dammeyer Fellow receives a $25,000 stipend for one academic year to highlight social issues, collaborating with Columbia College Chicago’s Photography Department and Heartland Alliance, a leading global anti-poverty organization.
Throughout the project I created collaborative art with immigrants and refugees at Heartland Alliance. The project explored issues of oppression, restriction of rights, and the contradictory fears of visibility and invisibility faced by immigrants and refugees.
2017 Featured alumna in DEMO Magazine, Alumni Spotlight, which highlights notable alumni of Columbia College Chicago
2016 Recipient of the Albert P. Weisman Award, a grant to complete an artistic project, via Columbia College Chicago
2016 Recipient of the Anderson Ranch Art Center Scholarship to attend the Defining Your Focus Workshop in Snowmass Village, CO; Faculty members included Arno Minkkinen and Jonathan Singer
WORK EXPERIENCE
2018–2019 Media and Research Associate, Heartland Alliance International, Chicago, IL
Research and collect data on a broad range of subjects, such as international laws, relevant news stories, and human rights violations to use for our website and to inform decision-making.
Communicate to international partners.
Manage a multi-lingual website that required compiling resources around the subject of juvenile justice in countries in the Middle East.
2017–2018 The Diane Dammeyer Fellow, Columbia College Chicago, Heartland Alliance Organization, Chicago, IL
Collaborated with participants at Heartland Alliance on a weekly basis and fostered authentic relationships with them.
Internalized these experiences to inform a body of artistic work that would highlight social justice issues and culminate in a final public exhibition, elevating the mission of the fellowship.
Represented the fellowship and its mission—locally and nationally—by giving public presentations and participating in interviews.
Spring 2017 Teaching Assistant, History 1, David Travis, Photography Department, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
Evaluated student work and monitored student participation.
Summer 2016 Photo Intern, Youth Education Program, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Assisted the instructor with a massive video art installation, which was a collaboration between the Teen Video Program at the Hyde Park Art Center and the 150 N. Riverside Plaza building.
Provided mentorship and instruction to teens in the program as they created individual video art that we then edited and combined into one large art piece, displayed in the lobby of the building.
April 2016 Volunteer Researcher for Burnt Generation Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
Gathered information on exhibiting artists’ work and contributed to essays for the museum guidebook.
Spring 2016 Teaching Assistant, Digital 1, Myra Greene, Photography Department, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
Critiqued student work and helped students master photo editing software techniques.
Provided research assistance to the instructor
Fall 2015–Fall 2016-Spring 2017 Digital Lab Assistant, Photography Department, Columbia College, Chicago, Chicago, IL
2011–2014 Private Studio Photographer, Wedding and Portrait Photographer, Esfahan/Tehran, Iran
Summer 2006 Graphic Designer, Rangara Advertising Company, Isfahan, Iran
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS & PANELS
2023 Panel Discussion, “Constructing Diverse Spaces: Art, Bodies, Interdependences, and Social Practice,” This forum presents research contributions by a panel of artists, critics, and educators on social practice art and its relation to diverse bodies in spaces and the enactment of civic dialogue and inclusion, National Art Education Association, San Antonio, TX
2020 Panel Discussion, “Shifting Visions from Me to We: A Conversation Exploring New Forms of Photographic Representation Through Social Practice with Fellows from the Diane Dammeyer Fellowship of Photographic Arts & Social Issues,” Society for Photographic Education National Conference, Houston, TX
2018 Visiting Artist Lecture, Politics and Media undergraduate course, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2018 Artist’s Talk, “The Edge of Shadows: Project Summary and Closing Reception for The Dammeyer Fellow,” Filter Space, Chicago, IL
2018 Panel Discussion, “Diane Dammeyer Fellowship for Photographic Arts & Social Issues: An Entrepreneurial Model Building Bridges between Photography, Social Engagement, Community, Social Justice, and Education,” Society for Photographic Education National Conference, Philadelphia, PA
2018 Visiting Artist Lecture, Photography Seminar undergraduate course, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
2017 Artist’s Talk, “Lunch & Learn: Socially Engaged Art with the Dammeyer Fellow,” Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
2017 Artist’s Talk at The International Law Firm of Winston & Strawn LLP, Women’s Leadership Initiative Holiday Lunch, Chicago, IL
2017 Artist’s Talk, “Discourse: Lecture Series,” Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
2017 Artist’s Talk, “Opening Remarks and Introduction of the New Dammeyer Fellow,” Diane Dammeyer Reception, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions
2018 The Edge of Shadows, Filter Space, Chicago, IL
2012 Conceptual Portraits (Woman and Plant), BFA Thesis Exhibition, Tehran University of Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 Focus Iran 3, Viewpoint Gallery, University of California Irvine (UCI), Irvine, CA
2019 Focus Iran 3, Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Water Exhibition, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
2017 Albert P. Weisman Exhibition, The Arcade Gallery, Chicago, IL
2017 Persist: Columbia College MFA Thesis Exhibition, Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL
2016 Video Playlist: In the Here and the There, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
2014 Group Exhibition, Port Moody Art Council, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
2014 Celebration of CAG's 5-Year Art Shows, Caroun Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2014 Group Exhibition, Caroun Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2014 Mehregan Festival, Port Moody Art Council, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
2013 Al-Thani Award Exhibition and Digital Slide Show, one of the largest photo art contests in the world, Doha, Qatar
2012 Group Exhibition, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England
2011 Portrait Photography Exhibition, Tehran University of Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2010 Fadjr International Festival of Visual Arts, one of the most prestigious annual festivals In Iran (www.ivafestival.ir), Saba Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2010 Architecture Photography Exhibition, Tehran University of Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009 Color Photography Exhibition, Tehran University of Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
COLLECTION
2018 The Color is Black, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL. Donated in 2018; sold in Darkroom Auction in 2018.
MEDIA COVERAGE & PUBLICATIONS
2020 Julia Greene, “Spotlight: Diane Dammeyer Fellowship.” FRANK 9, May 11, 2020
2019 Focus Iran 3: Contemporary Photography and Video, Focus Iran 3 Show Catalogue , Craft Contemporary, 2019, pp. 34-35.
2017 “WLI Shines Light on Refugee and Immigrant Women,” Winston & Strawn website, December 21, 2017
ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS
2017–present Member, Society for Photographic Education, United States of America
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2019–present Sales and Marketing Program, Computer Systems Institute, Chicago, IL
2018–2019 Customer Service Specialist Program, Computer Systems Institute, Chicago, IL
LANGUAGES
English: Fluent
Persian: Native Language
COMPUTER SKILLS
Computer Software: Premiere, Photoshop, Lightroom, Microsoft Office
Operating Systems: Mac OS, Windows
REFERENCES
Available upon request