Azra Aghighi was born in 1968 in Qom into a literary and intellectual family. She was the pupil of the renowned calligrapher master Nasrollah Afjei, under whom she explored the infinite variation of Kufic scripture. The movement and symbolic potentiality of the calligraphic form is one of the key preoccupations of her work. It is not the intention of the artist to enclose written messages in her pictures, it is in fact the lack of a clear meaning shish allows Aghighi to transcend the limits of language and enter into a realm of shape and form: a universal language of aesthetic communication which is freely accessible to the viewer.

While Aghighi was inspired by early Islamic writing, her purpose is not evangelical. Calligraphy as a concept becomes alluring because of its symbolic potentiality to represent everything from poetry and prayer to a simple conversation. The artist’s oeuvre draws from the rich tapestry of Middle Eastern culture to posit something new: the endless capacity of form to produce meaning.

Azra Aghighi works are currently in the permanent collection at the Islamic gallery of the British Museum and the Islamic Arts Museum, Malaysia. Her latest work has also been features in an exhibition on Islamic calligraphy at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2007 Quran Works, Khorramabad Provincial Culture Directorate, Khorramabad, Iran
2005 Quran Works, National Islamic University, New Delhi, India
2005 Kish Free Zone Organization, Kish Island, Iran
2005 Noor va Ney, Aasar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
1995 Naghsh va Besmeleh, Iran Art Gallery, Iran

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2010 Female Calligraphers, Cemal Resit Rey Cultural Center, Istanbul, Turke
2010 Calligraphy Festival, ECO Cultural Institute, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
2009 Iranian Art Exhibition, Ehdeniyat International Festival, Al-Kobra, Ehden, Lebanon
2009 Fajr Conceptual Arts Exhibition, Vahdat Hall, Tehran, Iran
2007 Ashura Posters, Hoze Honari Visual Arts Center, Tehran, Iran
2007 Women Artists of Quran, National Quran Karim Museum, Tehran, Iran
2004 “Artist Women”, Kuwait
2003 International Hand Craft Exhibition, Kish International Exhibition Center, Kish Island, Iran
2003 Women and Communication Festival, Kish International Exhibition Center, Kish Island, Iran
2001 “Quran Karim” Exhibition
2001 Tajalli-ye-ehsas (manifestation of sensation), Niyavaran Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
1997 Besmellah, Arasbaran Cultural Center, Tehran, Iran
1990 Conceptual Arts Festival, Islamic Propaganda Bureau of Qom, Qom, Iran
1988 Conceptual Arts Festival, Islamic Propaganda Bureau of Qom, Qom, Ira1988 Hazif
Celebration, Calligraphers Association of Iran, Shiraz, Iran

PRIZES AND AWARDS
2009 “Fajr Conceptual Arts Exhibition”, Vahdat Hall, Tehran, Iran
2006 First round of Sa’adi Prize, New Delhi, India
2005 Participating at competition of designing symbolic statue of Tajrish, Tehran, Iran

WORKS PUBLISHED IN

Calligrapher Women, 2009
Calligraphers Association of Iran, various Albums
Tafsire-Jamal, Imam Reza Institute

COLLECTIONS

Malaysian Islamic Museum | British Museum, London 2015 | Islamic Museum, Riyadh 2014 |
Qatar Royal collection, Duha 2010 | Islamic Art Museum, Malaysia, Kuala lumpur 2009