kids encyclopedia robot

Hoda Afshar facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Hoda Afshar
Hoda Afshar.jpg
Born 1983 (age 41–42)
Tehran
Nationality Iranian
Known for documentary photography
Notable work
 Remain (2018)
Awards National Photographic Portrait Prize (2015), Bowness Photography Prize (2018)

Hoda Afshar (born 1983) is a talented Iranian photographer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia. Hoda is famous for her documentary photography, which means she takes pictures that tell real stories.

One of her most well-known works is a portrait of Behrouz Boochani. He was a Kurdish-Iranian refugee. He was held for a long time in a special centre on Manus Island in Australia. Hoda's work has been shown in many exhibitions. Her photos are also kept in important art collections across Australia. Since 2019, Hoda has also taught photography at colleges in Melbourne.

Early Life and Learning Photography

Hoda Afshar by Hoda Afshar
Hoda Afshar

Hoda Afshar was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1983. This was four years after the Iranian Revolution.

When she was young, Hoda wanted to study theatre and become an actor. But she was given her second choice at university: photography. She earned a special degree in fine art photography from Azad University in Tehran. During her studies, she took many photos of her friends' theatre shows. She soon realized that photography could also be like telling a story on a stage.

Her Photography Projects

Hoda's first big project was in 2005. It was a series of black and white photos called Scene. These pictures showed underground parties in Tehran. However, she could not show them in public. From 2005 to 2006, Hoda worked as a photojournalist. This means she took photos for the Hamvatan newspaper in Tehran.

Moving to Australia

Hoda moved to Australia in 2007. She continued her studies there. She took a course in photojournalism in Sydney. In 2009, she finished a diploma in photography and sculpture. From 2013 to 2021, Hoda also taught photography at a college in Melbourne.

Exhibitions and Important Works

Her first solo exhibition was called Behold in 2017. It was shown in Melbourne. This exhibition included a set of photos of men taken in Iran in 2016.

Hoda's video work, Remain (2018), is very important. It features poetry spoken by Behrouz Boochani and another Iranian poet. Hoda calls her style "staged documentary." This means she helps the people in her photos and videos tell their own stories. They can act out their experiences. This video was shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney.

Behrouz Boochani by Hoda Afshar
Behrouz Boochani by Hoda Afshar

One of the photos of Behrouz Boochani taken for this project won the Bowness Photography Prize. This famous portrait, along with others from the Remain project, are kept at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

In 2019, Hoda finished her PhD degree. Her studies focused on how images show the identity of Islamic women. In the same year, she started teaching at the Victorian College of the Arts and Photography Studies College in Melbourne. In 2019, Hoda was also featured on an ABC Television program called Compass.

Exploring History and Identity

Hoda's book Speak the Wind (2021) shows the landscapes and people of islands in the Persian Gulf. These islands are off the coast of Iran. She visited these places often and learned about their history from the people living there. She said that their stories guided her project. She explores how people can be affected by a challenging past.

In 2021, Hoda showed an exhibition called Agonistes. It was displayed at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. This exhibition featured portraits of nine people who spoke out about important issues. The name Agonistes comes from a Greek word meaning someone in a struggle.

From September 2023 to January 2024, the Art Gallery of New South Wales held a big exhibition of Hoda's work. It was called A Curve is a Broken Line. It included some of her older works. It also had a new series of 12 large photos called In Turn. These photos showed four Iranian Australian women braiding each other's hair. They also held and then released a white dove. This was inspired by a ritual among Kurdish female fighters. The photos were also a response to the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran in 2022. A book with the same name was published for the exhibition.

Hoda is also a board member of the Centre for Contemporary Photography.

What Hoda's Art Means

Hoda Afshar believes that photographs can be used in different ways. She explores how powerful systems might use images to create differences between people. She also thinks that documentary photography has been shaped by a "colonial" way of looking at the world. Because she first wanted to be an actor, Hoda sees her subjects as "actors" in her work. She works with them to tell their stories, giving them a voice.

Awards and Recognition

Hoda Afshar has won many awards for her amazing photography:

  • Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize (2015), finalist for Dog's Breakfast
  • National Photographic Portrait Prize (2015), winner for Portrait of Ali
  • Bowness Photography Prize (2017), finalist for Untitled #1
  • Sotheby's Australia People's Choice Award (2018), winner for Portrait of Behrouz Boochani, Manus Island
  • Bowness Photography Prize (2018), winner for Portrait of Behrouz Boochani, Manus Island
  • Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture (2019), finalist, for Portrait of Shamindan & Ramsiyar Manus Island
  • Ramsay Art Prize (2021), finalist and People's Choice Prize, for Agonistes
  • Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship (2021), a special award for talented artists

Selected Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

Collections

Hoda Afshar's work is kept in many important art collections:

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Hoda Afshar Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.