Visual Artist
Mahla Karimian is a visual artist whose emerging practise has been predominantly focused on classical Persian Miniature scratchboard and photography. Mahla has participated in a number of group exhibitions, and co-produced community cultural development projects including Asylum Silk Road, Migrant Mothers, and MAFA art workshops. Mahla is part of the production team for Diversity Arts Australia Fair Play and inclusion for the Creative industries project, and also works as a printmaking tutor for Monash University College.
Since moving to Australia, she has been initiating and facilitating visual arts workshops and collaborative arts projects targeting migrants and members of the broader community. Mahla has developed strategic partnerships with 20 local organisations who support multiculturalism and co-created artworks with over 1,000 participants in Victoria. The projects she has conducted have received very positive feedback from participants and partners.
“My life experience has left my soul scarred and scratched, and so in the same way that life has scarred me. I scratch the surface of boards and use this process to create my artworks. This method of working is a visual reflection of how I feel, and it ultimately allows me to create something beautiful out of something painful.”