Sheida Soleimani is presenting works from her Flyways series in a solo exhibition at the University of Michigan, opening on Thursday, March 19th. This series combines her wildlife rehabilitation practice with a reflection on her family's history of migration and political exile. At 17:30 on the evening of the opening, she will participate in the Penny Stamps Speaker Series with a lecture titled What a Revolutionary Must Know.
19.03 - 1.05.2026
Institute for the Humanities
202 S. Thayer Street
Ann Arbor, MI, US
"Iranian-American artist Sheida Soleimani explores themes of migration, political exile, queerness, and environmental crisis through the wildly imaginative and intricate scenarios she first stages in her studio. The tableaus—which often include live animals, props, even her parents—are then photographed, documenting the artist’s process. Each photograph becomes a part of Soleimani’s rich visual storytelling.
Flyways presents a series of new photographs that include images evocative of her family’s history and migration story in juxtaposition with images of injured birds that are representative of Soleimani’s work as a wildlife rehabilitator. (In 2018, Soleimani founded Congress of Birds, a wild bird rehabilitation center in Rhode Island.) The change in her practice to include bird rescue results in a revolutionary body of work steeped in passion and articulated in a completely original visual language. Learn more at LINK"
