Nina Rastgar was born and raised in the northern region of Iran, in Gilan. The people of Gilan form one of the main ethnic groups in northern Iran, historically working as farmers and artisans.
Nina Rastgar earned their bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering in Gilan, where they developed a lasting connection between hand and mind—an approach they continue to carry into their art practice. They were also a member of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization of Gilan for years, holding positions in gardening and farming to create wearable handicrafts with wood and Metal. Nina later earned their MFA as a presential Fellow from USC, further expanding their interdisciplinary approach to media, material, and cultural critique.
Nina views objects in space as dynamic mediums of lived experience that encapsulate the memory and the self, prompting critical thinking, reviving memory, and care rather than nostalgia.
Nina’s works foster open questions and invite conversation within the colonized spaces they inhabit. Rastgar experienced firsthand how culture was manipulated by binary ideology and relational forces to impose what is true and Legitimate forms. Nina currently resides in Toronto and is a Doctoral candidate in the Media & Design Innovation program at TMU, where they continue to explore eco-social and cultural contexts through the lens of decolonial materiality and technology.
Nina Rastgar (b.1988, Gilan, Iran, works and lives everywhere.)
Interdisciplinary & Conceptual Artist.
