Rah is an Iranian-Canadian digital and performance artist. Rah’s work has been exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally at spaces including: Museum London, Williams College Museum of Art (Williamstown, Massachusetts), Miami Art Basel, Images (Toronto), Nieuwe Vide (Haarlem, Netherlands), Pao Festival (Oslo, Norway), Kunst Am Spreeknie (Berlin, Germany), Kunsthaus Graz Museum (Graz, Austria), and Onassis Cultural Centre (Athens, Greece). She has been the recipient of numerous awards including: finalist for Team Canada in Digital Arts, Conseil Des Arts et Des Lettres Du Quebec Research/Production grant for Digital Arts (2014) and Film (2015) and a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship. She has been awarded several residencies including the Koumaria Residency (Greece, 2016), AX Gallery (Berlin 2016), MUU Galleria (Helsinki, 2015), Studio Das Weisse Haus (Vienna, 2014) and Artslant Georgia Fee Residency (Paris).
In her work, she focuses on and critique the visual stereotypes and performative aspects that shape female gender identity and Iranian ethnic identity. Her perspective is that of a Canadian-Iranian who is questioning while also trying to assert gender and cultural identity. In particular, she focuses on the performances through which individuals express such identities and she critiques the value and legitimacy of identity and cultural expression. Further, she examines the external socio-political, temporal, linguistic and spatial factors that contribute to the formation of identity.
