Scholarship and Biography

Sheida Soleimani is an Iranian-American artist who lives in Providence. The daughter of political refugees who were persecuted by the Iranian government in the early 1980s, Soleimani makes work that melds sculpture, collage and photography and highlights her own critical perspective on historical and contemporary socio-political occurrences in Iran. She focuses on media trends and the dissemination of societal occurrences in the news, adapting images from popular press and social media leaks to exist within alternate scenarios. Her work has been recognized internationally in both exhibitions and publications such as Artforum, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Interview, and VICE Magazine.

Honors

Acquisition Award at ARCO for "Truce"
Club Matador (Spain, Madrid), 03/2026
8th MAST Photography Grant for "Flyways"
Fondazione MAST (Bologna, Italy), 01/2025
Mandel Faculty Grant
Brandeis University (United States, Waltham), 2019-2020
Individual Artist Grant
Rhode Island State Council of the Arts, 2019-2020
Brown Art Institute Research Fellow
Brown University (United States, Providence), 2022

Organizational Affiliations

Associate Professor of Fine Arts, Department of Fine Arts, Brandeis University

Education

Cranbrook Academy of Art
M.F.A.
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
B.F.A.