Mokarrameh Ghanbari

Who was Mokarrameh Ghanbari?

Mokarrameh Ghanbari was a heuristic and self made Iranian painter who won several international talent prizes.

Mokarrameh was born in the village of Darikandeh between Shahi and Babol, in Mazanderan, and despite her great talent, she never received any formal training in painting.

She began painting at the age of 63 when she came across some artist's paintings which her son had left at her home. She continued her painting using bright, original colors inspired by the beautiful natural surroundings of her neighborhood, and within a few years her works were noticed by painters in Iran and overseas.

She held her first exhibition at the Seyhun Gallery in Tehran in 1995. The artist also participated in ten other exhibitions and was awarded the jury prize at the Roshd Film Festival and another award at the Rural Artistic-Literary Festival. In 2001, she was awarded an honorary certificate at the Conference of the Foundation of Iranian Women's Studies in Stockholm, Sweden and was named the year's exemplary woman.

In addition, she was named the "Female Painter of 2001" by the Swedish National Museum. Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Mokhtari has made a documentary film about the life and works of the artist entitled Mokarrameh, Her Memories and Dreams.