Elham Bayati is an Iranian American contemporary artist, educator, and interdisciplinary researcher whose work explores memory, displacement, identity, and the layered complexities of personal and collective experience. Working primarily in mixed media, collage, printmaking, and painting, Bayati creates visually layered compositions that reflect migration, womanhood, cultural hybridity, and emotional resilience. Her practice is informed by her journey from Tehran to the United States and by her ongoing investigation into narrative, materiality, and psychological space.
Bayati has taught at Columbus College of Art & Design, The Ohio State University, and Tehran University of Art. Her teaching emphasizes experimentation, critical thinking, and visual storytelling while fostering inclusive and transformative learning environments.
Her work has been exhibited internationally and throughout the United States in numerous solo and group exhibitions. In 2021, she was featured in the exhibition "More is More" at the Akron Art Museum. She received First Place in the Fall Juried Exhibition from the Ohio Art League in 2018. Bayati has also been accepted into several artist residency programs, most recently receiving the Windgate Foundation Artist Residency at Arkansas Tech University. She is also a member of the LIC Artists Collective in New York City.
Through layered surfaces, fragments, and symbolic imagery, Bayati’s work examines vulnerability, resistance, and transformation, exploring art as a site of cultural translation, emotional testimony, and human connection.
