Sarah Malekzadeh, Founder and Director
Sarah started Seven Gardens Residency in 2018 with the help of her father Mohammad, a retired Civil Engineer with a passion for his hometown of Mahan. The mountains, poetry, history and hospitality of Iran never got old, and Sarah wanted to share the inspiration she found there with other artists and writers.
Sarah is a painter and textile artist whose work focuses on childhood and nature. She lives in New York City, where she teaches art to seniors with dementia, and teaches art, architecture and yoga to children.
Fatemeh Yoosefzadeh, Program Coordinator
Fatemeh joined Seven Gardens Residency in 2019. She is a photographer and professor, living in Kerman, Iran.
Fatemeh has deep ties to Mahan. After meeting through another artist, Sarah and Fatemeh realized they had many different connections between their families going back 40 or 50 years. They share a desire to invite international artists to see a side of Iran not shown in popular media, and together with Sarah’s father Mohammad they plan ways to invest in their beloved town of Mahan.