Mehrdad Mirzaie is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist, curator, and educator currently based in Phoenix, Arizona. His practice centers on the afterlives of images, the politics of memory, and historical Image, particularly in regions marked by censorship, state violence, and historical erasure. Working primarily with photography, archives, and alternative image-making processes, he explores how visual histories are preserved, reinterpreted, or lost, emphasizing the interplay between bygone eras and contemporary contexts.
Mirzaie’s research extends to the history and philosophy of photography, where he examines the role of images as conduits for historical narratives and storytelling. He is serving as a curatorial assistant and collection assistant at Northlight Gallery, where he continues to deepen his curatorial and research experience. He received his MFA in Photography from Arizona State University in 2025 and is currently pursuing an MA in Art History at ASU, with a focus on image-based art in Iran and the broader Global South.
He is also the founder of the Tasvir Archive Project (established in December 2022), a research initiative focused on the history of Iranian image-based art and the archiving of photographic practices in Iran.