Fahimeh Vahdat is an Iranian-born American mixed-media installation and performance artist based in the Greater Baltimore–Washington, DC region. Working with fiber, dyes, wood, found and natural materials, paper, text, and her own body, her practice integrates sewing, veiling, and handwritten and spoken language to address social justice, human rights, and collective healing.
Vahdat has received numerous honors, including the 2024 Artist of the Year Award and Creativity Award from the Howard County Arts Council, the Maryland State Individual Artist Grant, the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Rubys Project Grant, and grants from the NEA and the Puffin Foundation. She was a finalist for the Baker Artist Award in Inter- and Multi-Disciplinary Art in 2022 and 2023 and a nominee for the Anonymous Was a Woman Award.
Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including the Milwaukee Art Museum, Arlington Art Center, Yinchuan Art Museum (China), Cultural Art Center (Argentina), and the University of Naples, Italy. She has participated in residencies at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has served as a visiting artist and scholar at institutions such as James Madison University and RedLine Milwaukee.
Deeply committed to social activism, Vahdat’s work and teaching center on human rights—particularly violence against women, girls, and LGBTQ communities in Iran and the United States. She currently serves on the board of Southern Graphics Council International and the Arts and Culture Steering Committee of Howard County, and is a professor and director at Howard Community College. Her practice is rooted in what she describes as Healing Art.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Protest Art, performance by Fahimeh Vahdat from “Freedom” series, The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
2022 Protest Art, performance by Fahimeh Vahdat over executions in Iran, The United States Capitol, Washington, DC
2019 “Get Your Power Back,” mixed media installation, Rouse Company Foundation Gallery, Columbia, MD
2018 “Children of Aleppo,” mixed media print, installation, Var Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2017 “Call Me by My Name,” mixed media print, installation, Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art, Harrisburg, VA
2015 “Facing the Wall,” performance by Fahimeh Vahdat of censored installation, Gallery CA, Baltimore, MD
2012 Fahimeh Vahdat, mixed media print, installation, Bush Art Center Gallery, St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI
2011 Fahimeh Vahdat, mixed media print, installation, Brooks Stevens Gallery , Milwaukee, WI
2010 Fahimeh Vahdat, retrospective of small prints from 1990 to 2010, The Portrait Society, Milwaukee, WI
2010 Fahimeh Vahdat, site-specific mixed media installation, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
2007 “What Will Befall Her?”, drawings, mixed media print, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
2007 “Encuentro,” drawings, installation & performance, Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2006 “What Will Befall Her?”, drawings, mixed media print, University of Nebraska, Kearney, NE
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 “One World” group exhibition, International Print Exchange, Ekchitra Art Gallery, Hyderabad, India
2024 “One World” group exhibition, International Print Exchange, State Museum, Chandigarh, India
2023 “Women, Life, Freedom” mixed media print, installation & performance, Irvine Art Center, Irvine, TX
2023 “One World” group exhibition, International Print Exchange, Bihar Museum, Patna, India
2022 Group exhibition of mixed media prints, Sameck Art Museum, Lewisburg, PA
2022 “Woodland Pattern: 40 Years in Celebration,” group exhibition, Brooks Stevens Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2022 Inaugural group exhibition, Maryland Art Place (MAP), Baltimore, MD
2022 “Unveiling Resistance,” group exhibition curated by Thomas James, CCBC, Baltimore, MD
2022 “A Journey Not Soon Forgotten,” group exhibition, Arlington Art Center, Arlington, VA
2020 “Zarafa Unfolding,” mixed media print, drawing, & installation, SP/N Gallery, UTD Mercury, Dallas, TX
2018 Group exhibition of mixed media prints, Howard County Arts Council Gallery, Ellicott City, MD
2017 “Exile,” group exhibition of mixed media prints, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD
2016 “All That’s Art: Faculty Art Invitational,” group exhibition, University of Maryland, University College, Adelphi, MD
2016 International group printmaking exhibition, Yinchuan Contemporary Art Museum, Yinchuan, China
VISITING ARTIST
2022 Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), One-week invitational monotype residency, Milwaukee, WI,
2019 Edinburgh Printmakers, Two-week printmaking residency, Edinburgh, Scotland
2017 Sol Print Studio, Solar plate printmaking residency, Baltimore, MD
2017 University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
2015 Invitational painting residency, Xichang, China
2013 Impact 8 International Printmaking Conference, Dundee, Scotland
2006 “Encuentro,” Jury selected residency, demonstration, & panelist, Buenos Aires, Argentina
CURATION, LECTURES, PANELIST DISCUSSIONS, AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES
2024 “Richard T. Wright: A Retrospective,” exhibition, Curator, The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery, Columbia, MD
2024 “Women, Life, Freedom,” Lecturer, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
2023 “Unveiling Resistance,” Artist Panel, Panelist, CCBC Baltimore, MD
2022 “Development of an Artist,” Moderator, Residences at Vantage Point, Columbia, MD
2020 “Zarafa Unfolding,” discussion, Panelist, SP/N Gallery, UTD Mercury, Dallas, TX
2019 “Get Your Power Back” discussion, Moderator, Monteabaro Recital Hall, Columbia, MD
2018 Arts & Humanities Fellowship Program, Juror, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Washington, DC
2017 Dorothy Liskey Wampler Distinguished Professorship, Lecturer, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
2017 Var Gallery discussion, Panelist, Milwaukee, WI
HONORS & AWARDS
2025 Howie Awards: Outstanding Artist of the Year, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD
2024 Creativity Grant, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD
2023 Finalist, Baker Artist Award, Baltimore, MD
2022 Finalist, Baker Artist Award, Baltimore, MD
2022 Nominee, Anonymous Was A Woman, New York, NY
2022 Artist In Residence Fellowship, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), Milwaukee, WI
2020 Individual Artist Grant, State of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
2019 Visiting Artist, Edinburgh Printmakers Studio, Edinburgh, Scotland
2018 Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Rubys Artist Grant, Baltimore, MD
2017 Dorothy Liskey Wampler Distinguished Professorship, James Madison University, Harrisburg, VA
2012 Redline Milwaukee, Artist In Residence Fellowship, Milwaukee, WI
TEACHING
2016-Present Professor, Studio Art, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD
2013-2023 Director, Visiting Artist & Community Workshop Series, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD
2013-2016 Co-Chair, National Association of Schools of Art & Design, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD
2012-2016 Associate Professor, Visual Arts & Middle Eastern Studies, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD
2007-2012 Professor, Painting, Integrated Studio Arts, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), Milwaukee, WI
1999-2007 Associate Professor, Painting, Printmaking, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), Milwaukee, WI
1995-1999 Assistant Professor, Painting, Printmaking, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), Milwaukee, WI
1993-1994 Adjunct Professor, Visual Arts, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX
1992-1993 Adjunct Professor, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
1990-1995 Associate Instructor, Purchasing, Art Department, Dallas College Brookhaven Campus, Farmers Branch, TX
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
2025 Steering Committee Member, Howard County Arts & Culture Plan, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD
2024 Board member, Southern Graphics Council International (SGCI), Kennesaw, GA
2020 Member, Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), Baltimore, MD
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
1991 Post-graduate Study, Lithography, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
1990 MFA, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
1988 BFA, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
1986 AFA, Richland Community College, Richardson, TX
MEDIA
2025 Celebration of the Arts: Outstanding Artist & Professor Fahimeh Vahdat, Campus Drive Podcast
2022 Professor Fahimeh Vahdat & Tim Singleton
2022 Fahimeh Vahdat, “Art as Witness,” Little Patuxent Review, cover art & critical review
2022 Fahimeh Vahdat, Protest Art, Video 1, Video 2, The United States Capitol by @Ramin Haghjoo
2016 Call Me By My Name, Exhibition and interview with Persianbahaimedia.org
COLLECTIONS
Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw, GA
Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
International Print Exchange Portfolio (IPEP), Mumbai, India
Maryland Art Place (MAP) Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Smith Scarabocchio Art Museum, Stevens Point, WI
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD), Milwaukee, WI
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, WI
MARN Art + Culture Hub, Milwaukee, WI
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
International Mercantile Corporation, Dallas, TX
RAA Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI