Shirin Neshat

Overview

Known for
Acting
Gender
Other
Birthday
Mar 26, 1957 (68 years old)

Shirin Neshat

Known For

War Paint: Women at War
1h 30m
Movie 2025

War Paint: Women at War

Shining a light on the trailblazing role of women war artists, on the front lines round the world, championing the female perspective on conflict through art and asking: when it's life or death, what do women see that men don't?

Can Creativity Save the World?
1h 10m
Movie 2024

Can Creativity Save the World?

The final part of the Creativity Trilogy explores existential threats our world is facing. An inspiring film about imagination's power and a hopeful glimpse into the future.

Biography

Shirin Neshat ( شیرین نشاط‎, born March 26, 1957 Qazvin) is an Iranian visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and the West, femininity and masculinity, public life and private life, antiquity and modernity, and bridging the spaces between these subjects. Since Iran has undermined basic human rights, particularly since the Islamic Revolution she has said that she has "gravitated toward making art that is concerned with tyranny, dictatorship, oppression and political injustice. Although I don’t consider myself an activist, I believe my art – regardless of its nature – is an expression of protest, a cry for humanity.” Neshat has been recognized countless times for her work, from winning the International Award of the XLVIII Venice Biennale in 1999, to winning the Silver Lion for best director at the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009, to being named Artist of the Decade by Huffington Post critic G. Roger Denson. Neshat is a critic in the photography department at the Yale School of Art.