About

Born in Tehran, Iran, Naeemeh Naeemaei received her BFA from Tehran Art University in 2006, majoring in sculpture. In 2009, she began a series of paintings about endangered species, which led to her first solo exhibition, Dreams Before Extinction. In 2013, the series was reproduced in a bilingual (English and Farsi) book of the same title, published by Perceval Press, and shown at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in 2019. She has participated in numerous individual and group shows in Iran, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. Her works have been extensively featured in accredited journals and magazines such as Orion, Leonardo, Feminist Formations, Oregonian, Dark Matter, and Sci-Art.

Before moving to the United States in 2017, Naeemaei was active in Iran's environmental movement and involved with several organizations seeking to raise awareness about endangered species and other environmental issues. In 2016, she was the category winner in the Wildlife Artist of the Year Competition, sponsored by the David Shepherd Foundation in London. In 2018, she served on the Twelfth Glenn Gould Award Jury, which is given every two years to a living individual in recognition of their contributions to art, music, and communication. In 2022, her latest photo series, Jaan (meaning "life" in Persian), inspired by Oregon's natural environment, was exhibited at the Schneider Museum of Art in Ashland, Oregon. Currently based in Chicago, she is working on an experimental film project that investigates the intersection of habitat, belonging, and immigration by revisiting her painting “Siberian Crane” from a new perspective.

naeemeh.naeemaei@gmail.com