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Nasim Makaremi Nia: Entangled
The Ardabil Carpet is a 16th-century Persian masterpiece, woven in Iran and now housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It embodies both beauty and distance. Once part of a sacred space, the Carpet is far from home, admired yet displaced. For artist Nasim Makaremi Nia, who grew up in Ardabil, its journey mirrors migration. Culture and memory can travel, but never without a trace of loss.
Originally trained in physics, Nasim navigates the space between structure and emotion, between what can be measured and what must be felt. Her drawings and sculptures, inspired by the intricate geometry of the Carpet, explore the fragile balance between precision and vulnerability. Through these layered forms, displacement becomes something tender: a dialogue between absence and belonging. In Nasim’s hands, migration is not just a journey of movement but a meditation on connection—how we stay, in many ways, connected to where we began.
This exhibition is part of The Rooms Elbow Room Residency Program.
About the Artist
Nasim Makaremi Nia is an Iranian-born visual artist based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Working across drawing, sculpture, and installation, she explores how migration, memory, and identity shape belonging. She is currently pursuing her PhD at Memorial University and holds an MFA from Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus (2024) and an MSc in Physics from the University of Mohaghegh in Ardabili, Iran. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with recent solo shows including Cryptic Dimensions (Craft Council Gallery, 2024) and Refracted Secrets (Ottawa School of Art, 2023). Group exhibitions include Me <—> You (The Rooms, 2021), Fresh Paint/New Construction (Art Mûr, Montreal, 2023), and Shapes and Shadows (Grenfell Art Gallery, 2024). She has completed residencies at Eastern Edge Gallery, St. Michael’s Printshop, Union House Arts, the Craft Council Gallery, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Her work is held in public collections, including The Rooms and the City of St. John’s.
To learn more about the artist: https://nasimmakareminia.com/
To learn more about the Elbow Room Residency Program: https://therooms.ca/artists/residencies/elbow-room-artist-residence-program