User:Simaieva/Bita Razavi

Bita Razavi (born 1983) is a multidisciplinary contemporary artist from Tehran, Iran who, lives and works in Finland and Estonia.

Education
Bita Razavi received her Bachelor’s degree in Music from the Tehran University of Art and obtained her Fine Art Masters’ degree from the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki.

Career
Razavi Masters' thesis project for the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts was titled “How to Do Things with More Words (A Legal Performance)” and included her marrying a fellow artist Jaakko Karhunen in 2011. The project served as a catalyst for discussion about changing immigration laws and contemporary art funding in Finland. The project was finished in 2017 when both artists hosted a public divorce ceremony at the premises of the Academy of Fine Arts on the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence as Bita received her permanent residency in Finland.

Residencies
Razavi is currently doing her residency in the Helsinki International Artist Programme as part of her realising the project "Orchidelirium: An Appetite for Abundance".

Venice Biennale
In 2022, Bita Razavi together with the artist Kristina Norman will represent Estonia in the 59th Venice Biennale with their exhibition “Orchidelirium: An Appetite for Abundance” curated by Corina L. Apostol and presented in the Rietveld Pavilion in Giardini, Venice. The project is inspired by Emily Rosaly Saal’s (1871-1954) works. Emily Rosaly Saal in the project "serves as a case study for the entangled histories of Estonian self-determination, Western colonialism, botany, science, and art."

Rewards

 * In 2008, Bita received the best documentary award in d’Aubagne Film Festival for Golden Dances.
 * Bita Razavi has received the Oskar Õflunds Foundation’s grand prize for young prominent artists in 2017.