Vol. 1, Ch. I: Who is Parvaneh Farid?

“I do not remember a time that I did not do artistic work,
I just didn’t know there was a name for what I was doing”
(Farid 2008)

“Parvaneh Farid has a distinctive presence expressed both through her movement and her voice in performance.
It reflects the depth of the experiences that she has encountered in her complex life story.
Her sound is rich, velvety and warm, merging a variety of styles and experiences within its particular timbre.
She always performs with passion and commitment
and her voice is an instrument well suited
for carrying these powerful emotions.”
(Boyce-Tillman 2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Boyce-Tillman

Parvaneh Farid http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/About-Page.html is a multimedia artist, singer, dancer and performer, who produces art films (Farid 1995, 2003-08), music albums & audio book (Farid 1998-2006).
http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/Performance-Parvaneh-Farid.htm
http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/audioalbumspage.html http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ParvanehFarid&view=videos

This wide range of media has provided her with an interdisciplinary insight, confidence and ability to choose the most suitable medium that could be the best to express a given theme at any time.

Parvaneh left her mother country; at age of 17 to seek higher education, as she was deprived from that in her mother country as a member of the Bahá’í faith. http://pfarid.blogspot.com/
http://www.bahai.org/
http://search.bahai.org/main/?query=iran+students&x=9&y=8

Her asylum application was accepted by the British Government on ground of “Political and Religious Intolerance at her own Country”. She is now a British subject who has not visited her country since she left, and she is not intending to visit at the present time.

Related work: “I Mask, Therefore, I Am” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi12O0gAe9s

“I may wish to go back home one day,
when my country would allow me to contribute to her
as a Bahá’í, as a woman and as a non confirmative individual that I am”
(Farid 2008)

Parvaneh initially managed to survive in the west, living and working as an au-pair, looking after children and elderly. She then trained as a general nurse at West Suffolk Hospital School of Nursing, and now she is an RGN (registered general nurse).

“A ladder has a modest height for my ascension”
(Farrokhzad 1989 & 92)

Parvaneh has studied Jo Estill’s singing methods http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Estill (Estill 1996) and vocal techniques for a period of over three years with Gillyanne Kayes http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/who_are_we.htm (Kayes 2000). She also has been couched by Geraldine Hacked- Jones and Hilary Parfit.

Parvaneh has worked with a master of Persian traditional music, Dr Djalal Akhbari (Karimi 1978), (Davami 2000). She has also worked and performed with Persian composers whose styles are regarded as a bridge between eastern and western music; Mr Farrokh Moghaddam, Mr Farid Omran and Mr Iman Bashari.

She taught herself clay modelling, sculpting, painting and fashion design, prior to receiving her first honour degree in sculpture from Winchester School of Arts, and later, a master degree in graphic fine art from KIAD (Kent Institute of Art & Design), a post graduate certificate in women’s studies from Anglia University and a PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) from the University of Cambridge. Currently, she is doing a PhD in performing arts at the University of Winchester.

“Ever since I remember, I have been doing painting, drawing, http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/paintindrawingpage.html
Dressmaking, Sculpting http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/sculpturepage.html ,
Calligraphy http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/calligraphypage.html
Photography, http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/photographypage.html
Expressive writing, http://parvaneh-farid.blogspot.com/
Singing and dancing, http://parvaneh-farid.blogspot.com/ , http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/audioinformation.htm , http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/Performance-Parvaneh-Farid.htm , http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/gallerypage.html
I used to make my parents anxious, they wanted me to become an architect,
but I was too abstract minded to be able to see
the artistic elements in something which has practical use”
(Farid 2008)

In doing calligraphy, Parvaneh has managed to create her own original Persian fonts and style, and her designed calligraphy work plays an important role in some of her work.
http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/calligraphypage.html

Parvaneh expresses herself in form of writings, both in English and Persian, and she uses this form of expression in her visual and performing arts. http://parvaneh-farid.blogspot.com/

In photography, Parvaneh has won a number of prizes; “Clyde Hopkins Awards for Valorous Art”, “Linda Granade Memorial Trust Prize” and “CPL Sculptural Photography Prize”. Parvaneh has used her photography and photomontage skills in her video making and installation work. She has also organised exhibitions of her work.
· Totton College, June 2003
· Southampton City Art Gallery, Feb-March 2007
· Turner Sims, University of Southampton, May 2008
· Art House, Southampton, July-September 2008
· The Link Gallery, the University of Winchester, Sept-October 2008
· There is a plan to exhibit this work at the Persian Library, in London in a near future.

http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/Performance-Parvaneh-Farid.htm
http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/photographypage.html

Parvaneh’s Other Qualifications, Trainings and Skills include; Undergraduate Certificate in Music Composition, Eurythmy, Dance, Photography and Videography, IT visual art (Photoshop, Illustrator, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Premier Pro, Pinnacle), IT Audio Recording & Editing (Cubase SX) Calligraphy and Expressive Writing.