Portrait of Reihane Taravati

Reihane Taravati

Photographer, videographer and women's rights activist. Photographer since 2007, with her own studio in Tehran from 2015. Arrested three times in Iran for her work and activism, in exile in Paris since 2023. Author of the official portrait of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Narges Mohammadi.

Born
21 March 1991, Mashhad, Iran
Based in
Paris, France
Education
BA in Industrial Design, Art University of Tehran
Instagram
@reihanet, over 230,000 followers
[email protected]

Chronology

  1. 2007

    • Begins photographing.

  2. 2012

    • Solo exhibition My Persian Fridah, a mixed-media series, at Aaran Art Gallery, Tehran (April).

  3. 2014

    • Art director of Happy Iranians, a Tehran version of Pharrell Williams's "Happy" made for the International Day of Happiness. Six young men and women dance in streets and on rooftops, the women without hijab.
    • Arrested with the five other participants after the video spreads online. State television airs their forced confessions. Held three days at Vozara detention center and released on bail after international protest under #FreeHappyIranians.
    • Sentenced to one year in prison and 91 lashes, suspended for three years. Charges include producing an "obscene" video and distributing offensive content online.
    • Named as the video's art director by Vice.
    • Backstage videographer on Middle Floor Resident (Shahab Hosseini) and photographer on the music documentary Voices of the World.

  4. 2015

  5. 2016

  6. 2018

    • Quoted in "The most dangerous dances in history", BBC Culture (July).
    • Appears in Joanna Lumley's Silk Road Adventure.

  7. 2019

    • Arrested with 11 colleagues over a fashion photoshoot without compulsory hijab. Sentenced to one year for "promoting corruption and prostitution and creating an underground modeling network". The Supreme Court suspends the sentence.
    • Speaks on "The courage of dissent" with Liao Yiwu and Alaa El Aswany at the 13th Assises Internationales du Roman, Lyon (Lyon Capitale, May).
    • Talk on freedom and youth activism at Lycée L'Oiselet, Bourgoin-Jallieu (Le Dauphiné Libéré, May).
    • Interviewed by La Règle du Jeu (May) and profiled by Marianne (June).

  8. 2020

    • Her 2019 case is reported by the Los Angeles Times in coverage of Iran's crackdown on Instagram (June).

  9. 2021

    • "How to turn a fashion blogger into a political activist", The Independent (February).

  10. 2022

    • Joins the "800 Women" campaign on #MeToo in Iranian cinema and produces educational videos on workplace harassment with End Work Violence (April).
    • Photographs Narges Mohammadi in Tehran during her medical furlough (April).
    • Arrested at home on 9 May; cameras and drives seized. Held 14 days in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Reported by CPJ and HRANA.
    • Sentenced by Branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to six years in prison for "propaganda against the regime", "collusion against national security" and "organizing activities aligned with the women's movement in Iran".

  11. 2023

    • After the final ruling, on her lawyers' advice, leaves Iran. Settles in Paris.
    • Her portrait of Narges Mohammadi becomes the official portrait of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate (the story).
    • Exhibits at Woman, Life, Freedom, the Nobel Peace Prize Exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, among six Iranian women photographers (RFI, December).

  12. 2024

  13. 2025

  14. 2026

    • Happy Téhéran, a testimony in Kometa no. 14, Chanter ou se taire (October).

Film, television and video

YearTitleRoleDirector
2014Middle Floor ResidentBackstage videographerShahab Hosseini
2014Voices of the World, music documentaryPhotographerMilad Rahimi
2014Happy Iranians, music videoArt directorSasan Soleimani
2014Chera Rafti, music videoPhotographer, appearsBaran Kosari
2014White Marriage, documentaryAppearsFarnaz Jamshidi Moghaddam
2015DuetBackstage videographerNavid Danesh
2016DelightedPhotographerAbdolreza Kahani
2017AzarBackstage videographerNiki Karimi
2018SheepleBackstage videographerHouman Seyedi
2018Joanna Lumley's Silk Road Adventure, documentaryAppears
2019TsunamiBackstage videographerMilad Sadr Ameli
2020Ham Refigh, late-night talk showPhotographerShahab Hosseini
2021Pishgoo, late-night talk showPhotographerAmin Entezari

Campaigns and concert photography

Film releases

  • Bomb, sales campaign, Payman Maadi
  • Tales, Rakhshan Banietemad
  • I Want to Dance, Bahman Farmanara
  • Hey Humans, documentary sales campaign, Rakhshan Banietemad
  • Duet, Navid Danesh

Concerts

  • My Iran, sales campaign, Homayoun Shajarian
  • 30, Homayoun Shajarian, Sohrab Pournazeri and Tahmoures Pournazeri
  • 300, Sohrab Pournazeri and Tahmoures Pournazeri

Advocacy

  • Honor and memorial campaign for Naser Taghvaee
  • Say No to Film Censorship, Iranian cinema advocacy

Concert and festival photography

Homayoun Shajarian, Kayhan Kalhor, Sohrab and Tahmoures Pournazeri, Shahdad Rohani, Loris Tjeknavorian, Urban Fusion Music Festival, Comment Band at Milad Tower.

Brands

Dior, Guerlain, Fila, Samsung.

Photographs published by

Libération, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, Getty Images, AFP, Reuters.

Exhibitions

  1. 2012My Persian Fridah, solo exhibitionAaran Art Gallery, Tehran
  2. 2015Angels, Saints and Co., group exhibitionAaran Projects, Tehran
  3. 2023Woman, Life, Freedom, Nobel Peace Prize ExhibitionNobel Peace Center, Oslo

In the press

Coverage, interviews and talks, by year. Each name opens the original article.