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Art of Resistance

Iranian Diasporic Perspectives on Revolutionary Creativity

Shiva Ahmadi | Ala Ebtekar | Talinn Grigor | Taraneh Hemami

Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking panel discussion exploring the intersection of art, activism, and cultural identity through the lens of revolutionary creativity. Acclaimed Iranian artists Shiva Ahmadi, Ala Ebtekar, and Taraneh Hemami, renowned art historian Talinn Grigor, and curator Amy Kisch will come together to discuss how art can serve as a powerful tool for resistance, transformation, and dialogue.

Through their distinct practices and perspectives, the panelists will examine how their work responds to and reflects the socio-political landscapes of their time, both in Iran and in the diaspora. This conversation will delve into the ways revolutionary art not only critiques the status quo but also envisions alternative futures, fostering resilience and hope in the face of adversity.

This event is moderated by exhibition curator Amy Kisch

About Shiva Ahmadi

Shiva Ahmadi utilizes a variety of artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, and animation, to tell stories. She combines luminous colors and mystical beings with violent imagery, drawing attention to global issues such as migration, war, and brutality against marginalized peoples.

Ahmadi (b. 1975) moved to the United States from Iran in 1998 and has been based in Bay Arae since 2015. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Azad University (Tehran), and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI. Besides solo exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; and Asia Society Museum, New York, NY, Ahmadi has been included in group shows at the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY; Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha Qatar; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. Ahmadi’s work has been collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Dallas Museum of Art, TX; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Detroit Institute of Arts, MI; and Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA. Ahmadi is a recipient of the "Anonymous Was A Woman Award", Kresge Fellowship and Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. She is currently a professor of art at the University of California Davis.

About Ala Ebtekar

Ala Ebtekar (b. 1978, Berkeley, CA) is an artist whose practice over the past two decades has focused on collapsing concepts of time and space to bring attention to contemporary moments. He skillfully orchestrates elements of time in his work, blending sculptural and photographic possibilities that offer a cosmic and temporal perspective.

Ebtekar's creative process draws from a diverse range of historical and technological image-making traditions, from ancient practices to the latest production technologies. His recent works explore ideas of scientific duration beyond human timelines, emphasizing cosmic travel and the nature of light. Using light as a central theme and medium, he incorporates radiation from sunlight, moonlight, and starlight to create photographic works that unfold over time, sometimes taking an entire night to expose, reflecting his collaboration with celestial elements.

In addition to his engagement with light, Ebtekar employs traditional techniques such as bookmaking, manuscript illumination, and Iranian coffeehouse painting. This blend of practices connects his work to centuries-old traditions, integrating elements of text, image archives, poetry, and translation, making his art both timeless and contemporary.
Through his exploration of the cosmos, Ebtekar encourages a reflective experience, prompting viewers to look inward as they gaze outward. His work embodies a sense of endurance, illustrating how contemporary moments coexist within an infinite expanse.

As a transnational artist, Ebtekar’s extensive studio practice and public art experience have led to his role as the founder and director of Stanford University's "Art, Social Space and Public Discourse," an initiative that examines the evolving contexts of public space through art. He is also a founding member of Stanford's Creative Cities working group, contributing to global dialogues on civic life and cultural production.

Ebtekar has received numerous public and civic art commissions, including projects for San Francisco International Airport, Alserkal Avenue in the UAE, the City of Oakland, the Asian Art Museum, and Meta HQ in Menlo Park, CA.

He holds an MFA from Stanford University and a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Ebtekar's work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as ZKM – Museum for Contemporary Art (Germany), the British Museum, the Xinjiang Biennale, the California Biennial, Maraya Art Centre (UAE), Asia Society (NYC), Blaffer Art Museum (Houston), San Diego Museum of Art, Honolulu Museum of Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), Aga Khan Museum (Toronto), and Brooklyn Museum (NY).

His works are part of notable collections, including the British Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Devi Art Foundation (India), Orange County Museum of Art, Deutsche Bank (Germany), de Young Fine Arts Museum (San Francisco), Crocker Art Museum, Microsoft Art Collection, Berkeley Art Museum, and UCSF Medical Center.
Ebtekar has participated in artist residencies at ZKM (Germany), Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris), 18th Street Art Center (Los Angeles), Sazmanab (Tehran), and the San Francisco Center for the Book.

About Talinn Grigor

Talinn Grigor is Professor of Art History in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on 18th- to 20th-century architectural and art histories through postcolonial, race, feminist, and critical theories grounded in Iran, Armeno-Iran, Armenia, and Parsi India. Her books include the winner of the Saidi-Sirjani Book Award, The Persian Revival (2021), Contemporary Iranian Art (2014), and Building Iran (2009). Her most recent co-authored book with Houri Berberian, The Armenian Woman, Minoritarian Agency, and the Making of Iranian Modernity, 1860–1979, is forthcoming from Stanford University Press in March 2025.

About Taraneh Hemami

Taraneh Hemami works with materials of history, organizing archives of images, data, and information, weaving complementary and contradictory narratives manifested in objects, installations, and experimental collective, collaborative, and curatorial projects. Born and raised in Tehran, and living and working in San Francisco, Hemami engages in diverse strategies to examine the careful crafting of images as propagated for power and political gain and the manipulations of truth and historical facts, the fictionalized realities that have infiltrated our everyday lives. She explores themes of displacement, preservation, and representation in installations that intermingle with the spaces they occupy, complicating their identity and, at times, altering or enhancing their function. She has received awards from Creative Capital, the Creative Work Fund, the Center for Cultural Innovation, the California Council for the Humanities, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Her works have been exhibited widely, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Boghossian Foundation, and the Sharjah International Biennial.

About Amy Kisch

Amy Kisch is an independent art consultant, curator, cultural producer, strategic specialist, and community organizer with expertise in arts programming, development, marketing, publishing, and collection management. Her projects emphasize democratizing access to the art world while maintaining integrity and quality in curatorial vision. In 2018, she launched Collect For Change™, a platform collaborating with artists to offer artwork with portions of sales benefiting artist-selected charities.

In 2019, Kisch was commissioned by San Francisco’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA) to create an arts-driven campaign for the 2020 Census. Together with Amy Schoening and Brittany Ficken, she co-founded Art+Action, a coalition spanning arts, business, government, and philanthropy sectors. Their COME TO YOUR CENSUS campaign, supported by the Ford Foundation, expanded nationally, earning Kisch recognition as a 2020 YBCA 100 Honoree. From 2022-2024, she served as YBCA’s Head of Art + Public Programs, launching its most ambitious multidisciplinary triennial, rebuilding its film program, and advancing public art and education initiatives.

Previously, Kisch managed Sotheby’s global VIP program, curating and marketing top-tier events such as the Sotheby’s Preferred Museum and Art Fair Programmes and The Economist Lecture series in cities like New York, London, and Hong Kong. Concurrently, she served as Executive Director of the Williamsburg Gallery Association in Brooklyn, fostering partnerships with galleries, non-profits, artists, and government agencies. She has also held leadership roles at Stochastic Labs and CatchLight.

Kisch began her career at Parkett and Thread Waxing Space and has collaborated with numerous organizations, including Art Basel, ARTnews, Sotheby’s Institute, the Armory Show, PULSE Art Fair, Whitney Contemporaries, and ArtTable. She has contributed as a curator, writer, and producer to successful initiatives across the arts, media, and cultural sectors.

She has served on committees and boards for Headlands Center for the Arts, Black [Space] Residency, The People’s Conservatory, and CITYarts, among others. Kisch’s background in clinical and community social work informs her mission to create impactful, community-oriented art initiatives.