We were lucky to catch up with Shaghayegh Cyrous recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shaghayegh thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I can recall two transformative projects that have significantly influenced my artistic journey, infusing it with profound meaning.

One of these pivotal projects was the Lost Rug Project. Its inception coincided with my relocation from Iran to the United States, a move that left me feeling culturally distant and disconnected from everyone around me. Determined to forge connections in my new home, I embarked on a mission to learn from the diverse array of people I encountered in San Francisco. Drawing inspiration from my last solo exhibition, “Motivation,” at Tehran East Gallery in 2011, I crafted a burlap rug adorned with intricate paintings. This rug, a tangible representation of my desire for connection, accompanied me on my Bay Area adventures. I would strategically place it in public spaces, igniting curiosity in passersby and sparking conversations that led to enduring friendships. Over the course of 12 years, the Lost Rug traveled the globe, acting as a bridge connecting people from various corners of the world.

My second transformative project, “A Window to Tehran, 2016,” emerged from my longing for Iran and my family, compounded by the impossibility of returning home. Leveraging video chat technology, I sought to bridge the gap between my new life in the U.S. and my cherished memories of Iran. This innovative approach harnessed the compression of time and space, a concept that resonated not only with me but also with fellow refugees and immigrants. Little did I know that by 2020, this very technology would be adopted globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through “A Window to Tehran,” I synchronized the sunrise and sunset of Tehran and San Francisco, utilizing the 11:30-minute time difference between the two cities. As the sun graced Tehran’s horizon, its ethereal beauty was projected onto the gallery wall, while simultaneously, the window of the Embark Gallery in San Francisco displayed the sun’s gentle descent, creating a poetic connection that transcended borders and technology.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a transdisciplinary artist, designer, and curator based in Los Angeles. My artwork examines cross-cultural, multi-modal communications, especially highlighting the nuanced expatriate experience engendered by geopolitical shifts and their distorted notions of time and space and the line between dreams and commonly working with mediums such as video, photography, interactive video installation, performances, and painting.

My designs (UX/UI) showcase my desire and passion for transforming cultures and building inclusive infrastructures. Also, when I curate exhibitions or design public programming, my curation addresses the way we communicate as a society, and my desire is to understand and bridge diverse cultures and generations to create an opportunity for innovation and new perspectives.

I studied for my undergrad degree in Painting and Photography from Science and Culture University in Tehran and my Master of Fine Arts in Social Practice from California College of the Arts in San Francisco. I am the founder of the Zamin Project, which aims to connect the Southwest Asian / North African arts community initiated in the Bay Area and expanded to Los Angeles and beyond.

I received an honoree award for Culturally Diverse Women “Making a Difference” in 2023 alongside Mayer Karen Bass in Los Angeles. I was a Gold Art Prize nominee and had exhibited and performed internationally at venues such as Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, British Museum in London, Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, Institut für Alles Mögliche, Berlin, Germany, Anchorage Museum in Alaska, and Salesforce tower in San Francisco, Netflix Invisible Billboard in Los Angeles.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to keep exploring, questioning, and always seeing your surroundings with fresh eyes and overall senses. I love the fact that I see everything as if I am seeing them for the first time. This way of approaching life helps me always move forward and know that I have to learn something new or look from a fresh perspective, even during challenges. And it shows how abundant our world is. Art allows me to feel life and the universe.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think the opportunity to be born and live in Iran and then be an immigrant in the US gave me massive lessons that I had to unlearn, relearn, and add to become a better version of myself. One of the most important lessons I learned was that it is okay to feel sadness and grief. It’s important to recognize and learn from it or even make art about it and not hide behind working to avoid what I had to face and learn. Continue practicing listening to yourself and your intuition and unlearning what you have learned in graduate school and the education system, which makes your critical mind more active than your senses and intuition.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shcyrous.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaghayeghcyrous/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaghayegh-cyrous-7398a425/