My work is an amalgamation of many forms: drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, assemblages, performance, and animation. My practice involves creating different forms using a variety of materials. Each form stands on its own individually, but they often come together to tell a story or evoke a feeling, or whisper a message.
My practice draws upon multiple approaches from miniature to life size, allowing micro and macro visions to inform each other. Miniature pieces are a blueprint for the larger works, while those on a larger scale contain the intricacies found in the smaller pieces. This interaction between forms and scales creates a dialogue, suggesting a shared world and a multitude of perspectives.
On a daily basis, my process might look like stitching a fuzzy, inviting form in a bright green, creating pattern papers with watercolor and India ink, or shaping organic clay. I also take time to mix vibrant, delicious colors with my acrylic paints. My sense of color is very intuitive, guiding me as I work.
In many ways, I think of my work as building an abundance of simple yet unique "toys" to play with; much like how I used to play with my toys and my LEGO when I was younger. Working with these pieces, each with its own personality, opens up endless possibilities. They interact and respond to one another, creating a whole world of potential, narrative, community and experience that spark a warm sense of nostalgia and familiarity. My practice celebrates the vibrancy, affect, and potential of imagination.
Bio:
Rojia Dadashzadeh is a contemporary artist, educator, and researcher based in Vancouver, BC. Her interdisciplinary practice spans sculpture, painting, and drawing, often exploring narrative, identity, and materiality through a playful and performative lens. She is particularly interested in the relationship between gesture, character, and memory, and how abstraction can evoke deeply personal or collective stories.
Her work has been featured in Preview, The Vancouver Sun, Georgia Straight, Canadian Art Teacher Journal, and The City Without Art?, and has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
Starting in September, Dadashzadeh will teach Visual Arts to Grades 1–7, working within a Reggio Emilia–inspired framework. Previously, she taught IB Visual and Culinary Arts to Grades 6–12 and continues to serve as an IBEN Educator and Workshop Leader.
She holds a BFA (Honours) from the University of Waterloo, a postgraduate diploma in New Media Design from Sheridan College, Le Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu (Paris), and both a BEd and MA in Art Education from the University of British Columbia. She has also trained in Richard Pochinko’s clowning method, an improved performance practice rooted in Indigenous and European traditions. Her teaching and artistic practices remain deeply interconnected and mutually enriching.
CURRICULUM VITAE – ROJIA DADASHZADEH
EDUCATION
2023 University of British Columbia, MA in Art Education on A Turn To Domestic Objects
2012 University of British Columbia, B.Ed
2010 Le Cordon Bleu Paris Culinary Arts grand diplome in cuisine and pastry
2003 Sheridan College New media Design
2002 University of Waterloo, Honours Fine Arts
PRESS and Presentations and Titles
2025 BCATA British Columbia Art Teacher Association executive member
2025 IB Conference workshop Leader for North America.
2023 BC Art Teacher Conference presenter, Vancouver
2023 A Turn to Domestic Objects, UBC Library, Vancouver
2019 INSEA 2019 Conference presenter, UBC, Vancouver
2019 A city Without Art?, Exhibition and Forum publication for Displacement.
2019 Georgia Straight artist interview and the front cover page on the exhibition Displacement.
2017 Exhibition text for The Garden, Pendulum Gallery,Vancouver
2013 Exhibition text for Colourplay, Pendulum Gallery,Vancouver
2013 http://decoymagazine.ca/Ongoing/colourplay/
2012 UBC ART Education Award Winners, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver
2011 Vancouver Faces, Alelle, Vancouver
2011 Portrait of an Artist: Rojia Dadashzadeh The Georgia Straight online publication, Vancouver
2009 Art For Life, 16th annual exhibition catalogue, Vancouver
2006 Channel M; Multivision Television: Paivand, by Ramin Mahjouri
2002 AND, exhibition catalogue, University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo
GRANTS, AWARDS, Art Residencies
2025 Ilhabela Island Brazil 3 week artist residency
2025 Agua Viva water residency at Christina Lake, B.C
2018 Recipient of Jeanette Andrews Student Research Award, UBC, Vancouver
2012-2013 ArtStart, artist in the classroom residency, Vancouver
2012 Recipient of Leon Tuey Scholarship in Art Education, UBC, Vancouver
2006 Honorary Appreciation Grant, Winterruption Festival, Vancouver
Past and Present EXHIBITIONS
2025 Culture Crawl open studio
2025 Whispering Whimsies, August Studios and Gallery, Vancouver
2025 Agua Viva, Christina Lake Arts on 3 Gallery, Christina Lake
2024 Corky Monuments, North Van Art Gallery, North Vancouver
2024 Green, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver
2024 Culture Crawl open studio
2023 Out of Control, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver
2023 26th Annual Eastside Culture Crawl, Parker Studios, Vancouver
2022 Next, Alternative Creations Gallery & Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver
2022 King Sofa Abstract, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles
2022 Utopia The Not Yet, Grit Gallery, Port Moody
2020 7th Annual Abstract Catalyst, Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland
2019 Displacement, Alternative Creations Gallery, Vancouver
2017 The Garden, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver
2015 A Novel Collision, The Old Foundry Building, Vancouver
2015 The Gathering, Roam Gallery, Vancouver
2013 Colourplay, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver
2012 Text-tile, Volution Gallery, Vancouver
2011 QR, Old Foundry Building, Vancouver
2011 Little Gems, Beaumont Gallery, Vancouver
2009 Art for Life, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver
2004 Smalls, Locus Gallery, Vancouver
2002 And, University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo
2002 Pickled, Kitchener Public Library, Kitchener
1998-2002 SOFA's Annual Juried Exhibitions, University of Waterloo, Waterloo
2001 Taciturnity, Front Gallery, University of Waterloo, Waterloo
2001-2002 40th and 41st Annual Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto
2000 Works on Paper, Front Gallery, University of Waterloo, Waterloo
2000 Juried Exhibition, Student Life Centre, University of Waterloo, Waterloo
1999 4th Annual University of Waterloo Juried Exhibition, Eldon Gallery, Kitchener
1999 University of Waterloo Juried Exhibition, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener