Five years ago, mixed media artist Sogand Tabatabaei packed everything she could fit into two bags and moved from Tehran, Iran, to Reno to start in UNR’s MFA program. The loneliness of her new life produced some crushing anxiety—which she channeled into her artwork.

This episode also features Miya Hannan, one of Sogand’s art professors at UNR.

LISTEN: Double Scoop Podcast Episode 23—The Art + Mental Health Series with Sogand Tabatabaei

A 4×3″ piece from Sogand Tabatabaei’s series “Deliverance” Photo: Kris Vagner

A 4×3″ piece from Sogand Tabatabaei’s series “Deliverance” Photo: Kris Vagner

A 4×3″ piece from Sogand Tabatabaei’s series “Deliverance” Photo: Kris Vagner

Sogand and Double Scoop Editor Kris Vagner at the reception for the exhibition “I’m OK, I’m Not OK” at UNR in July, featuring the work of all four guests from the Art + Mental Health Podcast. Photo: Courtesy Sogand Tabatabaei

You can see more of Sogand’s work on her website and in the exhibition Contrasts: Sogand Tabatabaei and Mariah Vargas at Western Nevada College’s Bristlecone Gallery in Carson City through Sept.15.  

Cover Image: 2020 File photo by Fiona Jane Orolfo for Double Scoop

This podcast was funded by a grant from Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Posted by Holly Hutchings