Dr. Raika Khorshidian

• March-June 2025 Philipp Schwartz Initiative: Bridge Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: Collective Traumas and Future Fantasies: AI, Art, and Social Media for Imagining New Narratives for Iran
• December 2024- September 2025 Mellon/SAR Academic Freedom Fellowship and Workshop (with Shirin Naef): Woman, Life, Liberty”: Scholars’ Narratives, Academic and Art Activism against the Iranian State’s Propaganda and Repression
• Oct 2021-Dec 2024 Georg Forster Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: From National to Transnational Art: Displacement, Identity and Belonging in Iranian Contemporary Art

Selected concept design projects:

• 2011 Tree Kitchen
• 2011 Gollight
• 2011 Glow Guardian
• 2010 Digital Seal of Solomon
• 2010 Tir-o Baad (A Wish Seed)
• 2009 Chess, Cheese, Bread
• 2009 Pneumatic Scooter (Ce Foot)
• 2009 Lego Cookies

Exhibitions

• 15 Nov 2024-23 Feb 2025 TROELLER / DEFFARGE Stern Features and Films. Keine Bilder zum Träumen, co-curator, Folkwang Museum, Essen
• 15-26 Nov 2023 Here / There, Brotfabrik, Bonn
• 21 Oct-10 Nov 2023 Can You Hear My Voice? (Kannst du mich hören?), Galerie Irma Gublia, Essen
• 8 Mar 2023 ZA[MI]N, AStA Foyer, Essen Campus, Duisburg-Essen University, Essen, Germany
• 19-30 Nov 2021 Doubt and the Earth, as an artist’s manager, Negar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
• 5-16 Nov 2021 Lucretia Has Been in this Home!, as a curator, Negar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
• 10-15 Jul 2021 Iranian Jazz, as a curator, Negar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
• 16-25 May 2021 Home Is Leaving Me!, as a curator, Negar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
• 28 Jun-7 Jul 2020 Phoenix (A Group Exhibition), as an artist, Negar Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
• Oct 2013 Collective Art Exhibition of Iran’s National Elites Foundation, as an artist, National Library & Archives of Iran, Shiraz, Iran
• Feb 2012 INDEX: Award Exhibition on the global tour, as a designer, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
• May 2012 INDEX: Award Exhibition on the global tour, as a designer, Helsinki, Finland
• Apr-May 2012 INDEX: Award Exhibition on the global tour, as a designer, Luxembourg
• Jun-Jul 2012 INDEX: Award Exhibition on the global tour, as a designer, Risor, Norway
• Sep 2011 INDEX: Award Exhibition, as a designer, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 28 May 2003 Collective Art exhibition of Iranian Religious Minorities, as an artist, Niavaran Palace, Tehran, Iran

Film Productions

• 2024 Die Große Zivilisation / Der Große Terror (The Great Civilization/The Overarching Terror), director: Heidar Zahedi, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 38 min, produced for and supported by TROELLER / DEFFARGE Stern Features and Films. Keine Bilder zum Träumen, Folkwang Museum, Essen
• 2024 Kleine und große Heilige Kriege der iranischen Kinder (The Outer and Inner Holy Wars of Iranian Children), director: Heidar Zahedi, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 50 min, produced for and supported by TROELLER / DEFFARGE Stern Features and Films. Keine Bilder zum Träumen, Folkwang Museum, Essen
• 2024 Der Schleier gegen die Freiheit (The Veil against Freedom), director: Mohsen Zohouri, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 22 min, produced for and supported by TROELLER / DEFFARGE Stern Features and Films. Keine Bilder zum Träumen, Folkwang Museum, Essen
• 2023 The Care (Die Fürsorge), a film about Pooneh Oshidari, director: Azadeh Ravanbakhsh, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 13 min, funded by Kulturamt der Stadt Essen
• 2023 Manifestation of Monsters (Monster erscheinen), a film about Shadi Ejbari, director: Azadeh Ravanbakhsh, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 12 min, funded by Kulturamt der Stadt Essen
• 2023 I Determine the Horizon (Ich setzte den Horizont), a film about Sarah Pooyan Fard, director: Azadeh Ravanbakhsh, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 16 min, funded by Kulturamt der Stadt Essen
• 2023 A.B.A.D.I. Heimat, a film about Maryam Assadi, director: Azadeh Ravanbakhsh, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 17 min, funded by Kulturamt der Stadt Essen
• 2023 Ornament & Crime (Ornament und Verbrechen), a film about Mitra Soltani, director: Azadeh Ravanbakhsh, concept: Heidar Zahedi and Raika Khorshidian, length 11 min, funded by Kulturamt der Stadt Essen

Cultural events

•  Nov 2022 Die Unbeugsamen. Über Den Aufbruch Im Iran: Texte Und Musik In Solidarität mit der Frauenbewegung im Iran, as advisor, Theater und Philharmonie Essen (TUP), Essen

• Raika Khorshidian, Birgit Mersmann, Cathrine Bublatzky, Julia Stenzel (Eds.), Collective Traumas and Future Fantasies: The Power of Art for Socio-Political Transition in Iran, Leuven University Press (proposal accepted to be published 2026 with the support of the KU Leuven Fund for Fair Open Access)

Book Contributions

• The Burning Man Festival in Iran: Mohammad Hassan Forouzanfar and a New Generation of Radical Imagineers, with Birgit Mersmann, in: Raika Khorshidian, Birgit Mersmann, Cathrine Bublatzky, & Julia Stenzel (Eds.), Collective Traumas and Future Fantasies: The Power of Art for Socio-Political Transition in Iran. Leuven University Press (proposal accepted to be published 2026). 
• Imagine #burningmanfestival in Iran! Raika Khorshidian in Conversation with Mohammad Hassan Forouzanfar, in: Raika Khorshidian, Birgit Mersmann, Cathrine Bublatzky, & Julia Stenzel (Eds.), Collective Traumas and Future Fantasies: The Power of Art for Socio-Political Transition in Iran. Leuven University Press (proposal accepted to be open access published 2026). 
•  From Intercultural Dialogue to a Global Imaginary: A Review on Hossein Valamanesh’s Artworks, in: Eduardo Tasis Moratinos, Ti-han Chang, Alicia Moreno Giménez (Eds.), Identities on the Move: A Transdisciplinary Study of Global Displacement, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2024, pp. 157-185. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74539-3_7
• Home: “She Was All I Had to Keep & Sustain Me” / Zu Hause: „Sie war alles, was ich hatte, um mich zu halten und zu stützen“, in: Leonie Pfennig (Ed.), The Fragility of Home, exhibition catalogue, Cologne: CO³ (cologne, contemporary, concept) 2024, pp. 16-17 / 42-43. 
• Khorshidian, R.* (2024): Where Am I? In What Language? / Wo bin ich? In welcher Sprache?, in: Leonie Pfennig (Ed.), The Fragility of Home, exhibition catalogue, Cologne: CO³ (cologne, contemporary, concept) 2024, pp. 24-27 / 54-57.
• Iran: Yes or No to Progress. The White Revolution / The Persian Dream / Iran: Ja oder Nein zum Fortschritt. Die weiße Revolution / Der persische Traum. with Shirin Naef and Heidar Zahedi, in: Museum Folkwang, Centre national de l'audiovisuel (Eds), Deffarge & Troeller. Stern Features and Films. Reportagen und Filme eines herausragenden Journalisten-Duos des 20. Jahrhunderts, exhibition catalogue, Zurich: Scheidegger & Spiess 2024, pp. 115-121.
• Marcos Grigorian: An Armenian Immigrant Who Shifted the Paradigm of Modern Art in Iran, in: Umberto Mondini, Alina Dimitrova & Marios Kamenou (Eds.), Human Mobility and Cultural Identities through History (Papers from the 4th International Interdisciplinary Conference of the International Centre for Studies of Art and Humanities Arts and Humanities (19-10 May 2022 – LUISS University; Rome), Rome: Edizioni Progetto cultura 2023, pp. 153-169

Journal articles

Peer-reviewed 

•  Jewellery Design Based on the Female Characters in Shahnameh Ferdowsi, with Sedigheh Beyraminia & Alireza Ajdari, in: Journal of Art and Civilization of the Orient (JACO), Vol. 8, Issue 30, 2021, pp. 33-44
• The Role of Bicultural Art Experience in Intercultural Education (Case study: 9 Years Old Brazilian Children)‎, with Reza Afhami, Alireza Araghieh & Alireza Sadeghi, in: Journal of Theory & Practice in Curriculum, Vol. 6, Issue 12, 2019, pp. 67-92
• The Saqqa-khaneh School: Post-Colonialism or Orientalism Perspective?, with Heidar Zahedi, in: Journal of Bagh-e Nazar, Vol. 14, Issue 53, 2017, pp. 43-56
• Pleasurable Experience in Old Collectivist and New Individualist Generations in Iran: Reviving “Safa” as Culture-oriented Pleasure to Decrease Generation Gap, with Hassan Sadeghi Naeini & Asghar Fahimifar, in: The International Journal of Humanities, Vol. 25, Issue 2, pp. 44-60
• Fashion Trends in Society: A Case Study, with Hedayat Sookhakian, Vahid Choopankareh, Alireza Ajdari & Jamshid Emami, in: Journal of Media and Study, Vol. 4, Issue 2, 2014-2015, pp. 73-89
• Cultural Aspects of Pleasurable Experience: Collectivism and Individualism in Iran, with Hassan Sadeghi Naeini & Alireza Ajdari, in: The Journal of Fine Arts (Tarh-o Namad), Vol. 6, Issue 7, 2014, 37-50

Without peer-review:

• Bilder und Stimmen gegen Fremdenfeindlichkeit und historische Amnesie: Die stille Revolution im Iran (open access), with Charlotte Püttmann, in: Journal für politische Bildung, No. 3, Wochenschau Verlag, August 2024, pp. 4-9. https://doi.org/10.46499/2352.3152
• Armour of Resistance: Iran Hangs by a Hair, in: AIS (Association for Iranian Studies) Newsletter, Vol. 45, No. 1, Spring 2024, pp. 75-86
• A Curator’s Journey to September 16, 2022, in: AIS (Association for Iranian Studies) Newsletter, Vol. 44, No. 1, April 2023, pp. 41-47

Conference proceedings

•  Bicultural Art Experience as an Innovative Approach in Intercultural Education (Case study: 9 Years Old Brazilian Children), with Reza Afhami, Alireza Araghieh & Alireza Sadeghi, in: proceedings “International Conference on Arts, Social Sciences, History and Interdisciplinary Studies (ASSHIS-2017)”, 20-21 Apr 2017, Kyoto Garden Palace Hotel, Kyoto, Japan, pp. 221-225. https://doi.org/10.15242/DIRPUB.DIRH0417048
• Saqqa-Khaneh School as Iranian Contemporary Art Movement: Post Colonialism or Orientalism?, with Heidar Zahedi, in: proceedings “International Conference on Arts, Social Sciences, History and Interdisciplinary Studies (ASSHIS-2017)”, 20-21 Apr 2017, Kyoto Garden Palace Hotel, Kyoto, Japan, pp. 226-231. https://doi.org/10.15242/DIRPUB.DIRH0417049
• Lived Experience of Introducing Persian Culture to Children of the World: Case Study Brazilian and Chinese children, with Reza Afhami, Alireza Araghieh & Alireza Sadegh, in: proceedings “10th Progress Pioneers Congress”, 9 Dec 2016, Iran’s National Elites Foundation, Tehran, Iran, pp. 1023-1029
• Innovative Experience of Creating Bicultural Art for Improving Multicultural Education (Case Study: Iran & Brazil), with Reza Afhami, Alireza Araghieh & Alireza Sadegh, in: proceedings “14th annual conference of ICSA (Culture and Curriculum)”, 2016, Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran, p. 45
• The Role of Medias in Forming Fashion Trends in Society, with Hedayat Sookhakian, in: proceedings “International Congress on Cultural-Social Impact Assessment”, 2013, Bushehr, Iran
• Fashion Industries and the Role of Designers in Fashion Production Cycle (Participatory Design Approach), with Hedayat Sookhakian, Vahid Choopankareh, Alireza Ajdari & Jamshid Emami, in: proceedings “National Foundation of Fashion and Clothing for Iranian”, 2013, Tehran, Iran
• The Influence of Fashion in Forming Cultural Identity (Case study: Iranian Youth), with Hedayat Sookhakian, Vahid Choopankareh, Alireza Ajdari & Jamshid Emami, in: proceedings “National Foundation of Fashion and Clothing for Iranian”, 2013, Tehran, Iran

Selected interviews (since 2011)

• 23 Dec 2024: The art of imagining a different society by creating with generative AI, including biases / L’arte di immaginare una società diversa, creando con l’AI generativa, bias compresi, Interview by Marta Abbà, Tech4Future 
• 10 Nov 2024: Das Archiv der Journalist*innen Deffarge & Troeller, ttt – titel, thesen, temperamente, ARD1, Interview by Katja Lüber, ARD1
• 11 Nov 2024: Keine Bilder zum Träumen_Das Archiv der Journalist*innen Deffarge & Troeller, Interview by Katja Lüber, Das Erste
• 21 Nov 2023: Kannst du mich hören? - iranische Kunstausstellung, Interview by Sarah Brakemeier, campusfmradio, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen
• 14 Nov 2023: „Kannst du mich hören?” – eine Ausstellung über Iran und das, was Nachrichten uns nicht vermitteln können, Interview by Julika Ude, Akduell – die studentische Monatszeitung der UDE
• 10 Feb 2023: Revolution im Iran, Interview by Sarah Brakemeier, campusfmradio, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg
• 21 Nov 2022: Irans stiller Protest: Das größte Zeichen dieser WM, Interview by Marian Laske, Berliner Morgenpost
• 27 Oct 2022: Proteste im Iran: „Wir wollen ein neues Land aufbauen”, Interview by Christopher Onkelbach, WAZ (The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung), No. 251, 2
• 6 Oct 2022: Protests in Iran: Using art to fight the system / Proteste im Iran: Mit Kunst gegen das System, Interview by Stefan Wünsch, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung.
• 28 May 2022: Georg Forster-Stipendiatin in den Geisteswissenschaften Spurensuche in der Kunst, Interview by Dr Alexandra Nießen, Meldungen aus der UDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen
• 2011: Discussing innovations in global health care: Introducing “Glow Guardian”, BBC World News: The Health Show, UK

Book reviews

•  Critics on the Book of the Principles of Product Design, with Alireza Afhami, in: Journal of the Art Book of the Month, No. 189, Tehran 2014, pp. 46-51

 Exhibition reviews

•  A critique of “Big Fish” exhibition by Ghasemi Brothers at Dastan Gallery (February and March 2020): Journey in the Hands of the Goddess of the Sea, in: Etemad Newspaper, No. 4602, Tehran, 4 Mar 2020, p. 9
• A critique of “Stairway to Odessa” exhibition by Mohammad Piryaee at Dastan Gallery (January 2020): Cycle: From Red Tomb to Stairway of Odessa, in: Etemad Newspaper, No. 4585, Tehran, 13 Feb 2020, p. 8
• Documentation of Searching for Self at Home, in: Etemad Newspaper, No. 4499, Tehran, 31 Oct 2019, p. 8
• Those Are Hovering without Shadows: The Timeless and Placeless Dead, in: Shargh Newspaper, Tehran, 23 Oct 2019, p. 11