Shirin Neshat

Shirin Neshat is an Iranian-born multi-disciplinary artist who works simultaneously in photography, video, film and opera. She has lived in exile in the U.S. for nearly 50 years. The experience of being caught between two cultures dominates Neshat’s creative work: each of her pieces offers a glimpse into the complex social, religious and political realities that shape her identity -- and the identities of Muslim women worldwide.

She has directed three feature-length films: "Women Without Men," which received the Silver Lion Award for Best Director at the 66th Venice International Film Festival; "Looking For Oum Kulthum"; and "Land of Dreams," which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021.

Neshat directed her first opera, Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida," at the 2017 Salzburg Music Festival, which she revisited and revised five years later. She will direct the same production at the Paris Opera House in 2025.

Neshat has held numerous solo exhibitions at museums worldwide including the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; The Broad, Los Angeles; Museo Correr, Venice, Italy; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C. and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Named by Forbes to their "50 Over 50" list in 2023, Neshat has previously been awarded the Golden Lion Award, the First International Prize at the 48th Venice Biennale, the Hiroshima Freedom Prize, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, the Davos World Economic Forum's Crystal Award and the prestigious Praemium Imperiale Award in Tokyo.