Shadi Ghadirian was born in 1974 in Tehran, Iran. After she graduated high school in 1988, she attended Azad University in Tehran, studying photography and art and ultimately graduating with her BA in photography. Since then, she has gone on to be one of Iran’s most prolific artists holding solo and group exhibitions across the world. Shadi’s photographic series focus on women’s issues in contemporary Iran, their experiences living in Iran & the negative stereotypes they face that come from outside of Iran. These series have incorporated technology, western clothing, and military equipment to highlight her stories. Works from two of these series have made their way into group exhibitions in Tehran, Boston, and a traveling exhibition that highlighted 12 female artists from the Iran & the Arab world. Her solo exhibitions have covered the world, featured in museums and centers in France, Kuwait, The US, Italy, India, Belgium, Turkey and Germany among others. In 2009, she was named Artists of the Week 27 by The Guardian. In addition to her work as an independent artist, Shadi also works at the Museum of Photography in Tehran.