My life, painting Iran’s rebellious women

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Inspired by her childhood spent in pre-revolutionary Iran, artist Soheila Sokhanvari’s latest installation depicts 28 Iranian women who fought for their freedoms by way of film, music, and protest in the '60s and '70s. Soheila’s own greatest champions were her grandmother and feminist fashion-designer father, who supported her ever since she started drawing from family photos at a young age. Soheila came to England as a schoolgirl in 1978 — a few months later Islamists took over Iran, and she was never to live with her family again. But her father remained a huge influence in her life. Mo Gawdat is a successful engineer who climbed to the top of his profession and lived a wealthy lifestyle, but didn't feel happy. So he set his logical mind to trying to find a formula for happiness. This was put to the ultimate test when his son died. Mo's written a book, Solve for Happy: Engineer your Path to Joy. Get in touch: [email protected] (Photo: Soheila Sokhanvari at The Barbican in London, UK. Credit: Lia Toby)