Farkhondeh Ahmadzadeh

Farkhondeh graduated from our MA course in 2011, winning the Jerwood Prize.

Before studying at the School she taught science and managed a printing company, working in the USA and Middle East. She also studied calligraphy and illumination under the tutelage of several Iranian masters.

The School of Traditional Arts offered Farkhondeh the opportunity to work with a wealth of media and techniques that would allow her to realise a long-held aim - visualizing Persian poetry. Exploring the geometry embedded in ancient manuscripts also helped her to develop creative work on Persian miniature and Islamic manuscript illumination.

She says, "My creative development was greatly facilitated by the intimacy and generous accessibility of the Prince's School tutors."

In her final year at the School, Farkhondeh raised funds and organised a study trip to her native Iran. Thanks to her, a group of 30 of our students had unprecedented access to sacred sites and experienced at close hand some of the best examples of the Islamic world’s traditional arts .

In her final MA project, Farkhondeh illuminated and illustrated calligraphy of Rumi’s poetry. In these, the underlying, beautiful geometry of her designs subliminally create aesthetic pleasure for any and every observer.