Anita Memar is the professional name of Mahshid Memarzadehesfah, a Manchester-based multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, ceramics and mixed media.
Originally from Iran, she developed her artistic practice through a broad background in art and design before completing an MA in Illustration at Manchester School of Art. Her practice explores the relationship between material, memory and lived experience. Working primarily with clay, Anita creates sculptural forms that investigate the space between silence and release, using material as a language to reflect resilience, transformation and the emotional traces carried through everyday life.
Combining figurative sculpture with symbolic and organic forms, her work explores how inner experiences can become physically expressed. Through an intuitive and tactile approach to making, Anita creates contemporary works that invite quiet reflection on vulnerability, persistence, belonging and renewal.
Education
MA Illustration, Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK, 2023–2024
BA Fashion Design, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran, 2011–2015
Graphic Design Diploma, Iran Conservatory of Art School, 2004–2007
Selected Exhibitions
Rhizome, Banckley Gallery, Manchester - 2026
B*O/D&Y, SPIRA9 ART × Gallery 46, London - 2026
The Stockport Open Exhibition, Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, Manchester – 2026
AWOL Studios × Comme Ca Art Open Call Exhibition, Manchester – 2026
MADE IT 2025: The North West's Graduate Art Prize, PINK, Stockport – 2025
Kind of Blue, HappeningInMCR & Black Creative Trailblazers, 45 Black Redstart Gallery, Manchester – 2025
HappeningInMCR Group Exhibition, Afflecks, Manchester – 2025
Didsbury Arts Festival, The Didsbury Parsonage Trust, Manchester – 2025
Fear Exhibition, SAAN1 Gallery, Manchester – 2025
Belonging is a Social Construct, CreativeSnow, Bolton – 2025
The scent of home, The Artisan Gallery, Thornton Le Dale, North Yorkshire – 2025
Anxiety and Society, Seesaw Gallery, Manchester – 2025
Make Your Mark Exhibition, Fruity Frenzy × West Art Collective, Manchester – 2024
Vertical Gallery Commissions, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester – 2024
MA Illustration Degree Show, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester – 2024
Aban Istanbul'da, Neta Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey – 2020
Solo Exhibitions
Spring/Summer Collection, Tehran, Iran – 2013
Workshops & Public Programmes
Workshop Leader "Tirgan: Seeds of Hope", Global Roots Canvas program, DIPACTMCR, Manchester, UK – 2026
Publications & Media
Critical Feature, “Come Closer: Anita Memar and the Politics of Attention”, The Fourdrinier, UK – 2026
Featured Interview and Critical Review, "From Isfahan to Manchester: Anita Memar’s Search for A Universal Artistic Language", Tehran Ana News Agency, Iran – 2026
Artist Feature, "Anita Memarzadeh, Resilience in Silence", MADE IT 2025 Catalogue, Short Supply CIC × Glass House, UK – 2025
Artist Interview, Oldham Community Radio, GO! Artists Oldham Art Fair, UK – 2025
The 101 Art Book: Floral Edition, "Woman, Life, Freedom", Arts to Hearts Project, USA – 2024
Art Fairs & Public Events
GO! Artists Oldham Art Fair, Oldham, UK – 2025
The Big Manchester Potshop at PINK, Stockport, UK – 2025
Pavilion Art Exhibition, Little Huyton, UK – 2025
Flock and Gaggle Pop-Up, Quayside MediaCityUK, Salford, UK – 2025
Makers Market, Quayside MediaCityUK, Salford, UK – 2025
Professional Affiliations
Studio Member, 7 Spot Pottery, Manchester, UK – 2025–Present
Selected Artist, Flock & Gaggle, Manchester, UK – 2024–Present