© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

Congratulations to Sara Abbaspour for being selected for CENTER’s Project Development Grant recognizing her project, Transitional Realms. The Project Development Grant provides financial support to fine art, documentary, or photojournalistic works in progress. Assisting a photographer to help complete their project, the grant provides platforms for professional development in the work’s final stages. The Grant includes a $5,000 cash award, Professional Development Workshop Admission, Complimentary participation and presentation at Review Santa Fe, Group Exhibition of Award & Grant Winners at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Project Publication in Lenscratch & Feature Shoot, and inclusion in the CENTER Image Library & Archive.

JUROR: Gregory Harris, Keough Family Curator of Photography​, High Museum of Art shares his thoughts on this selection:

One of the things I value most in photographs is their ability to show me something, someone, some place I don’t know and may never really know in a way that gives even a glimmer of insight or connection. Sure, there are limits to what a photograph can tell you. It’s a medium that traffics in surfaces, descriptions, perhaps small bits of evidence, yet the experience you have looking at great photographs stirs something far deeper.

I was pleasantly overwhelmed and surprised by the sheer number of submissions and the exceptional quality of proposals made for this grant. As soon as I think I have a handle on what photography is today and where it might be going, an experience like this opens all kinds of new possibilities.

Of the many remarkable bodies of work I had the privilege to review, I was most taken by Sara Abbaspour’s photographs that give shape to the liminal experience of contemporary life in Iran. Sara seamlessly weaves striking portraits, ambiguous still lifes, and puzzling moments of urban happenstance in a manner that foregrounds the magic and possibility revealed in the quietest of moments. While you may not glean the intricacies of current political debates from these photographs, you certainly feel the intimate bonds of care and affection in a society eager to redefine itself.

Portrait of Sara Abbaspour

Sara Abbaspour is an artist and educator who lives and works between the U.S. and Iran, and is currently an assistant professor of photography at the University of New Mexico. Abbaspour holds an MFA in Photography from Yale School of Art, an MA in Photography from the University of Tehran, and a BSc. in Urban Planning and Design from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. She draws on influences from her background in urban studies, and while embracing a herstorical approach, her photographs often seem timeless and placeless. She explores the relationship between spaces and their inhabitants in their constant state of becoming, collaborates with these elements, and often considers these photographs self-portraits. Her work exists in a meeting point between temporal and eternal, inside and out, familiar and peculiar, personal and political, seen and unseen, experienced and imagined, and mundane and magic.

Follow Sara Abbaspour on Instagram: @sara.abspr

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

Transitional Realms

My artistic inquiry delves into the essence of transitional states within spaces, inspired by the rich tapestry of Persian literature, particularly the poetry of Rumi, and informed by my background in urban studies.

Central to my practice is the exploration of spaces and their inhabitants as interconnected entities undergoing perpetual transformation. I am drawn to the nuanced interplay between vulnerability, intimacy, visibility, and history within these transitional states. Through photography, I endeavor to capture the ephemeral essence of these moments, where borders blur between the temporal and eternal, interior and exterior, personal and political.

In my proposed project, I aim to employ portraiture in a conceptual framework to delve deeper into the notion of the constant transitional moment. Through a series of black and white and color photographs, spanning portraits, cityscapes, landscapes, and still lifes, I seek to articulate the fluidity of mental states as spaces evolve and intertwine.

Each image, while possessing individual narrative power, contributes to a larger visual tapestry that transcends the confines of traditional frames. The envisioned body of work extends beyond the realm of isolated photographs, inviting viewers into a contemplative journey through sequences that challenge conventional notions of time and perception. By capturing the essence of transitions between interiors and exteriors, the project invites reflection on the mutable nature of existence and the intricate interplay between personal and political spheres.

The culmination of this exploration will manifest in a comprehensive photo book and exhibition, curated to engage viewers in immersive dialogue with the thematic underpinnings of the work. The exhibition space, meticulously selected for its capacity to amplify the project’s conceptual resonance, will serve as a dynamic platform for the convergence of art and introspection.

Through my artistic practice, I aspire to facilitate a nuanced discourse on the fluidity of existence and the intricate interplay of spaces and identities. By transcending the confines of the visible, my work endeavors to illuminate the unseen threads that bind us in our collective journey of becoming. -Sara Abbaspour

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”

© Sara Abbaspour, Images from the series “Transitional Realms”