https://royaahmadi.com/about daily 0.75 2025-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/05cbb04b-1030-4bdd-94ca-a70e6c2b2099/ArtProfilePic.JPG About Roya Ahmadi is a Muslim, Iranian-American multimedia artist from the Bay Area in California. She works in video installation, sculpture, film, poetry, and collage. Roya studied Southwest Asian and North African Women’s Health, Human Biology, and Interdisciplinary Arts at Stanford University. Drawing on Muslim and Iranian art traditions she makes work rooted in anti-imperial solidarity and navigates diasporic identity formation. Her work grapples with grief, multigenerational memory, and futurism in a process that involves returning to the same materials, studying ritual devotional practice, and working in conversation with ancestors. Roya plans to pursue a career as an OB/GYN working globally to address women’s health disparities. She is currently a research scholar at the MeRGE Lab at BIDMC studying the intersection of religion and reproductive health. Ahmadi’s paintings have been exhibited at the Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke University, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, Public Space One Gallery Iowa City, IA, as well as at American Muslim Futures. Follow Roya Ahmadi on Instagram Download resume https://royaahmadi.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-09-24 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio daily 1.0 2025-12-05 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/imagining-ardabil monthly 0.5 2021-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1609624737310-5ZQ66IJFFHC35ROB35Q3/Imagining+Ardabil.jpg Portfolio - Imagining Ardabil - Imagining Ardabil This piece was inspired by the Ardabil Carpets, a pair of ancient Persian rugs that were taken from an Islamic shrine, separated, altered, and placed in Western museums. I incorporated the colors and patterns of the Carpets into the woman's dress. She reclaims the artwork by wearing it proudly. She interrogates the audience with a heavy gaze that demands answers for how colonialism has disrupted our connection with cultural identity by displacing art and artifacts. Through research I learned that once the rugs were taken to museums in the West, the border of one rug was torn off and used to repair the other. This fragmentation of a piece of my ancestral legacy deeply troubled me. The woman's hijab is painted the color of the removed border of the rug to reflect how Muslim women’s hijabs are forcibly removed by people or mandates; which are cruel attempts to force assimilation and homogeneity that only further Islamophobia. In 2020, this piece was selected as a finalist for the American Muslim Futures art exhibit out of over 350 submissions. The virtual exhibit is ongoing and can be viewed at the American Muslim Futures website. Oil on canvas, 42x30 inches, 2020 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/sabr-raghs-dua monthly 0.5 2024-08-01 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/aramesh monthly 0.5 2021-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1609625723362-LD46L4G2EY3PXLUYQK1Z/Aramesh.jpg Portfolio - Aramesh - Aramesh Aramesh, which means “serenity” in Farsi, is a watercolor portrait from life of my mother: a powerful, Muslim, Iranian-American woman. My mother has endured pain and trauma throughout her life but stays strong to support those around her and inspires me. I decided to observe and paint her in the position I consider to be most powerful and honest: during prayer. She sits on her prayer rug, with her eyes closed, tasbih (prayer beads) in hand, whispering prayers or sometimes just sitting in silence. These moments are the ones where she allows herself to be vulnerable and reflective. My mother’s commitment to her faith despite negative perceptions of Islam reflects her resilience; her meditative reflection during prayer is what allows her to grow stronger and be resilient to challenges she encounters. I see immense power in her devotion. Watercolor, 21.5x13.75 inches, 2019 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/my-persian-nose-and-other-reflections monthly 0.5 2021-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1609637474022-ESWVPCFRG6Y5NQHFS3KL/My+Persian+Nose+%28and+other+reflections%29.jpg Portfolio - My Persian Nose (and Other Reflections) - my persian nose (and other reflections) This self portrait is a reflection on how Eurocentric beauty standards permeate my perception of my appearance, which I represented with hands that cover up and alter my features. The first hand covers my nose. Rhinoplasty is the most common surgery in Iran, used to morph and hide prominent, characteristically Persian noses like my own. A second hand holds a pair of tweezers plucking my eyebrows, which I often feel the need to shape. I wonder: do I love this non-Anglo feature? Or is any form of alteration still subconsciously influenced by Western beauty standards? After all, ancient Iranian paintings always portray beautiful women as having a unibrow. My naturally curly hair is pulled straight by a third hand to reflect my journey to loving my hair after years of straightening it. A final hand paints eyeliner around my eyes as I reflect on makeup: a form of art? Or alteration? Oil on canvas, 16x12 inches, 2019 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/al-jannah monthly 0.5 2025-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1609626043569-UNDNCXW3U6WJSXIP1YG9/Al+Jannah.jpg Portfolio - Al Jannah - Al Jannah Al Jannah, which means “Heaven” in Arabic, is a painting of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing where I have overlapped Iranian, Islamic and Chinese artistic and architectural elements. This piece is informed by my research on the ancient cultural and artistic exchange between the Middle East and China on the Silk Road. I painted the golden dome of a mosque, the wooden roof of a Chinese temple, and discussions of heaven written Arabic calligraphy, to name a few. For the background, I used light colors to loosely trace the lines formed by the grain in the wood I painted on to create a style reminiscent of the Chinese ink and wash paintings. Acrylic on wood, 27x18 inches, 2020 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/aflame monthly 0.5 2021-01-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1609625216159-SLJACSM8XP3SBWEOVV5A/Aflame.jpg Portfolio - Aflame - Aflame This piece captures the resilience and boldness of Muslim women from the Middle East in a time when their identity is under attack. This woman rises up in fiery defiance from a background of newspaper articles that negatively portray women from the Middle East. The woman rebels against headlines like “Afghan Assembly on Peace Sees Women As Irrelevant” and “They Kill Us” which exemplify Western media perceptions of Islam as being oppressive towards women and promoting violence. I painted the woman in bright shades of orange with sharp features, and crazy, curly hair. She is bold, unapologetic, unafraid, and aflame. Acrylic and newspaper on canvas, 24x18 inches, 2019 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/fast-fashion-fast-destruction monthly 0.5 2021-01-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1609626376277-YBD2N349YFIYZQ4RSVRQ/Fast+Fashion.+Fast+Destruction.jpg Portfolio - Fast Fashion. Fast Destruction. - Fast fashion. Fast Destruction. The subject of this painting has a serious gaze that contrasts with her careless actions that worsen climate change. The woman wears clothing with plastic bag sleeves in a style reminiscent of mid 1800s fashion, when the greenhouse effect was first introduced. The plastic bag sleeves trap and will eventually suffocate the goldfish that swim within them, just as humanity’s usage of plastic and fast fashion destroys life on Earth. The red space around the woman’s head evokes discomfort to reflect humanity's eventual destruction as a result of climate change. While painting, I noticed an ominous shadow cast across my piece by objects on a shelf near me. I painted the shadow as the background to express that the threat of climate change is a shadow looming over us. Unfortunately, like the shadow in the painting, concern for our planet has been reduced to the background as the world embraces consumerist priorities. Acrylic on canvas, 36x24 inches, 2020 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/ummah-community monthly 0.5 2022-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/b34b4cae-57ee-4476-8a41-3195e4605605/Copy+of+Ummah+.jpeg Portfolio - Ummah (Community) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/89a93778-a89d-4fd9-bd6b-4881d636f583/Copy+of+IMG_1213.jpeg Portfolio - Ummah (Community) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/b857ded9-1567-4a88-aa09-add31cb7f57c/Copy+of+IMG_1207.jpeg Portfolio - Ummah (Community) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/a264b5f1-6b50-4a43-8c65-b40e550a5a95/Copy+of+IMG_1205.jpeg Portfolio - Ummah (Community) https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/the-wars-that-ripen-us monthly 0.5 2024-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/b1a984d3-1726-4a24-a625-45a6792e9b95/DSC01168+%281%29.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/bb4a61e3-7ed4-4398-8c48-240e9b28b09b/DSC01145+%281%29.jpg Portfolio - The Wars That Ripen Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/e9bef52b-7457-4641-9493-42d7590adb7c/DSC01174.jpg Portfolio - The Wars That Ripen Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/5b516aba-69b2-4ef4-876e-4c81b81b1931/Copy+of+IMG_1779+2.jpeg Portfolio - The Wars That Ripen Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1c7d88c6-5fac-430c-8146-d7c70e339851/Copy+of+IMG_1767+2.jpeg Portfolio - The Wars That Ripen Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/2f0a043c-3cbd-42dc-aeb9-f6bdd900f8c1/Copy+of+IMG_1768+2.jpeg Portfolio - The Wars That Ripen Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/ddb5ecab-4890-49a7-9ccd-c7c2605baec8/Copy+of+IMG_1785+2.jpeg Portfolio - The Wars That Ripen Us https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/read-from-right-to-left-s monthly 0.5 2024-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/a753de84-b286-4cf1-9f16-654e702018ff/news2.jpg Portfolio - Read from right to left https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/b486a836-4352-4d8c-b086-23d4d4f95294/news1.jpg Portfolio - Read from right to left https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/d9af6f2a-587d-4b0d-b7b8-0fea9fc27b62/neww3.jpg Portfolio - Read from right to left https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/bathing-in-divine-light monthly 0.5 2024-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/20b63537-eeaa-488f-8926-e98dc7087318/croppedlifting.jpg Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/7cddf4fa-24e3-41f1-9c18-54b7a2972230/threads.jpg Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/7fa1af07-97ab-46ba-897c-7b4b0d191132/_MG_8276.JPG Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/b781b485-09e3-4412-845d-7faa2218bc7f/looking+under.jpg Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/c39242ac-5b83-4532-a3cc-762186fd5c07/shadows+and+refractions.JPG Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/3b4c1206-db48-41f9-b613-edd75f9265e8/shadowshoriz.JPG Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/6e4d2ab7-5f21-44af-851b-d120d94db3eb/closeupmirror.JPG Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/56a0f0b8-0fbd-4779-87fa-51f2814316db/space.JPG Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/b40b77d8-5272-434c-93f9-ab29b6c0cab0/coverphoto.JPG Portfolio - Bathing in Divine Light https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/elders monthly 0.5 2024-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/d1590a67-31b1-4274-bb97-05f623b2b1f9/nypainting.jpg Portfolio - Elders at the masjid https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/data-dislocated monthly 0.5 2025-12-05 https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/joone-delam monthly 0.5 2024-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/95ebb218-6130-425d-bb20-f3cfea0369bf/IMG_0817.jpg https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/timelessportal monthly 0.5 2024-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/749e0d6d-5997-4b8d-a02c-1c6115a983eb/patternlaundry.jpg Portfolio - Timeless portal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/3d1d9648-4996-455b-844c-301483389e88/laundrycloseup.JPG Portfolio - Timeless portal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/810dd9b7-63b0-42f1-988a-82fe07db693b/laundry.JPG Portfolio - Timeless portal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/1fdff069-7662-439c-9aed-2080de02bf5d/layerslaundry.jpg Portfolio - Timeless portal https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/collage monthly 0.5 2024-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/298d602e-2ccc-46fe-b132-4b780a076498/collageida5.JPG Portfolio - Collage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/b8c06fd5-95f9-414d-8b7c-e3874173bff7/collageida3.JPG Portfolio - Collage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/a7ea4840-1060-41f2-a89b-bc21dd8ab34f/baldwincollage.jpg Portfolio - Collage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/ed260cf2-9482-45aa-ba25-2386bc37caf2/collageida1.JPG Portfolio - Collage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/a615e50f-9889-4971-8342-00407299be13/collageida4.JPG Portfolio - Collage https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe396c4b160d8346efd696c/eba83c49-cf80-483f-a541-67ba32ee5706/collageida2.JPG Portfolio - Collage https://royaahmadi.com/portfolio/hajarsmirage monthly 0.5 2025-03-08