Shabnam Afrand is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and educator whose practice consists of drawing and painting, performance, sculpture and installation. As a member of the Iranian Diaspora, identity and social discourse are important conceptual anchors in her practice. She obtained her MFA in painting from Azad University in 2001. She then later taught in the Fine Arts faculty at Azad University from 2003 to 2010. Since she moved to Toronto Shabnam has participated and collaborated in various exhibitions, Professional development, and residencies. In 2017 and 2018, She was awarded the Toronto Arts Foundation’s RBC Access Fund. She received the Toronto Arts Council Newcomer Artist Mentorship Grant in 2020 and RBC Space Award in partnership with Akin studio in 2021. Shabnam is based in Toronto and has been working in the Toronto District school board as an art instructor.
Shabnam writes the following about her practice:
I am an interdisciplinary visual artist born and educated in Tehran, Iran. As a member of the Iranian Diaspora, identity and social discourse are important conceptual anchors in my practice. During the past two decades, I have explored themes related to power, the intersection of personal and collective memory, relocation, and fragility through various bodies of work, some of which I would not have been able to realize with the same clarity if I remained in Iran. Both my methods and material choices are project-oriented. I have used painting and drawing as a tool to illustrate my memories; juxtaposed repurposed wood, found objects, and precious metals like bronze in my sculptures to destabilize preconceived material associations; and activated installations with performance in an effort to represent the complexities of human experience. My recent projects have culminated in mixed-media installations that draw heavily from my lived experience as I continue to uncover the entangled concepts of no-place and no-map, both of which I consider to be profound contributors to my own sense of self.
