Elsa Hashemi

Biography

Elsa Hashemi is a Persian Canadian interdisciplinary artist working across performative photography, video installation, calligraphy, and text art. Her practice centers on themes of dislocation, isolation, and connection, weaving layered narratives that fuse emotional intimacy with visual metaphor. Through performative self portraiture and symbolic props, she transforms experience into a visual language that bridges cultural and linguistic divides. She holds her BA in English Translation/Teaching and an MFA in Photography and is currently pursuing a second MFA at York University. Since 2015 that she moved to Toronto, Elsa has exhibited widely including Contact Festival, led calligraphy workshops, taught art/language, performed in live calligraphy and collaborated with artists and institutions like Street ART Toronto, Mural Arts and the like. She is a recipient of the RBC Access Fund, Mentorship Award, and Space Award from the Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation.