Melika Saeeda is an Iranian-Canadian visual artist whose practice explores themes of freedom, identity, memory, and social justice. Born and raised in Iran, she received her formal practice in Painting at Tehran Art University, where she developed a lasting engagement with the narrative and compositional qualities of traditional Persian painting, particularly Persian Miniatures. Their flattened spatial logic, intricate detail, and bold structural clarity continue to inform her contemporary visual language.

She later earned her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communication from Tarbiat Modarres University in Tehran, deepening her conceptual and critical approach to image-making.

Saeeda’s work has been exhibited internationally in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Canada. Grounded in both personal and collective histories, her paintings investigate displacement, resilience, and the layered experience of belonging across cultures. Her practice positions painting as a contemplative yet political space, one that allows for reflection, resistance, and reimagining.

Her recent body of work, Sisterhood, centers on the quiet yet enduring strength of women, mothers, friends, and strangers, whose solidarity shapes both intimate and communal life. Through restrained palettes and poised figurative compositions, the series honors the unseen networks of care and mutual support that sustain communities. In 2025, Sisterhood was awarded Best of Art Fair at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, recognizing the series’ artistic excellence and impact.

Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Saeeda creates visual spaces where vulnerability and power coexist, and where storytelling unfolds through gesture, presence, and form.

Education

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Tehran Art University, 2007
  
• Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communication, Tarbiat Modarres
• University, Tehran, 2010