As an Iranian-born American artist, Shiva Ahmadi (b.1975) creates art that transports the viewer to another “world.” Born in Tehran, Iran, Ahmadi experienced the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War. Informed by her upbringing and immigration to the United States in 1998, her work addresses global issues of immigration, political oppression and women's rights. Her practice encompasses a variety of media, including watercolor painting, sculpture and digital animation. Ahmadi graduated with her B.A. from Azad University in 1998. She earned two Master of Fine Arts degrees: from Wayne State University in 2003, and from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005. She is currently a professor of art at the University of California, Davis. In 2024 the Jan and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art held her first solo exhibition on the West Coast, Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience.
