Born in Tehran, Iran in 1943 and now based in New York, Nahid Hagigat is a pioneering artist whose work bridges Iranian and Western art. After graduating in Fine Arts from Tehran University, Hagigat moved to New York in 1968 and pursued a PhD at New York University, where she mastered the processes of etching and printmaking. She frequently exhibited her etchings and photo-etchings in New York and Tehran and was instrumental in introducing and popularizing etching and printmaking within the Iranian art world.
Hagigat’s work deeply examines the social and political injustices faced by women on a global scale, a focus that became increasingly pronounced as her artistic practice evolved. Throughout her œuvre, her aim is not to depict women as victims, but rather as figures whose strength and passion for life surpass their entanglement with oppression.
In 2013, Hagigat was included in the foundational exhibition Iran Modern at the Asia Society in New York. In 2023, her work was featured in Women Defining Women: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond at LACMA. Her solo exhibitions include Etched In Time at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (2024–2025), Taymour Grahne Projects in London, White Wall Space in New York, and Litho Gallery in Tehran.
Her work is held in numerous permanent collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The British Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, JP Morgan Chase, New York University, and the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Hagigat has received numerous awards, including the Maryland Federation of Art Juror Selected Award, the Best of Show Award at the Celebrity Center World Contemporary Art International Fine Arts Competition & Exhibition, and the Award of Excellence at the Heckscher Museum’s 38th Annual Art Exhibition in New York.
Nahid Hagigat CV
EDUCATION
2007 Huntington Pacific University, Ph.D. in Behavioral Therapy
1980 New York University, Doctoral Degree Services I, II & III
1973 New York University, Master of Fine Arts in Art Education & Creative Arts
EXHIBITIONS
2025 A Female Gaze: A Mini Retrospective, ADVOCARTSY, West Hollywood
2024 Etched In Time: A Solo Exhibition, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
2024 Vintage Modern (Group Exhibition), ADVOCARTSY, West Hollywood
2024 Internal Echoes: Five Decades, Taymour Grahne Projects, Online
2023 Women Defining Women: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
2020 White Wall Space, New York
2017 Beyond the Ban, Susan Eley Fine Art, New York
2016 Recent Acquisitions of Works on Paper, The British Museum, London
2015 The Secret of Eternity, Silk Road Gallery, Tehran
2014 Maheh-Mehr, Tehran
2013 Iran Modern, Asia Society, New York
2012 The Young Collectors Exhibition, Leila Heller Gallery, New York
2011 Leila Taghinia–Milani Heller, New York
2010 One Generation, Seven Artists, Zora Art Space, New York
2009 Brooklyn ARTillery, New York
2009 Cityart 41 Anniversary, New York
2008 Leila Taghinia–Milani Heller, New York
2008 Homa Gallery, Tehran
2007 Tehran Museum of Modern Art, Tehran
2006 The Workmen’s Circle Gallery, Los Angeles
2005 The Workmen’s Circle Gallery, Los Angeles
2001 Center for Iranian Study, Washington, DC
2000 Eagle Rock: Veiling/Unveiling, Los Angeles
2000 Maison Française, Columbia University, New York
1999 CIMA Art Center, New York
1999 Center for Arts, Montreal, Canada
1999 CIMA Art Center: Summer Show, New York
1998 Workmen’s Circle Gallery, Los Angeles
1997 Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles
1996 Gallery 24, New York
1995 Gorky Gallery, New York
1995 Queens Museum: Annual Juried Exhibition, New York
1995 Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California
AWARDS
2004 Maryland Federation of Art, National Juried Exhibition, Juror Selected Award, Maryland
2002 Celebrity Center, World Contemporary Art, Third Annual International Fine Arts Competition & Exhibition, Best of Show Award, Los Angeles
1997 HTEL, Heckscher Museum 38th Annual Art Exhibition, Award of Excellence, New York
COLLECTIONS
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The British Museum
Tehran Museum of Modern Art
JP Morgan Chase
New York University
World Bank, Washington, D.C.
