CV
SELECTED SOLO SHOWS AND INSTALLATIONS
2026:
Solo exhibition of the Strait of Hormuz series, Ovissi Boutique and Ovissi Foundation, Reston Town Center, Reston, VA (through November 15)
2024:
Two-person show at the IACC (American-Iranian Community), Vienna, VA (November)
2023:
George Washington Masonic Museum in Alexandria, Virginia
Installation of “The Cycle of Nature,” Grand Hall (December)
2022:
Winter installation of “The Cycle of Nature and Time” at Torpedo Factory Art Center (November 21 to March 23)
2021:
The Mansion of Strathmore, Maryland (March to May)
2019:
IACC Community Center (Iranian-American Community Center), Northern VA, (July)
2018:
2018 Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Art Center, Alexandria, (September)
2018 Artist’s Proof Gallery, Washington DC, (May)
2017:
2017 Gallery B, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Maryland (July)
2017 Artist’s Proof Gallery, Washington DC (May)
2015:
2015 Hill Center, Washington, DC (Jan)
2013:
2013 Exhibit 9 Potomac, Maryland (June)
2013 AITV Gallery, Virginia (June)
2003:
2003 MITRE Corporation, Virginia
2003 US Geological Survey Headquarters, Virginia (Jan)
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
2026: DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Art Bank FY27 Finalists, Eye St. Gallery, Washington DC (September to December)
2026: Community Memory, Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC (through August 16)
2026: Threads: Shared Perspective from Iran and Middle East (April 2026), New Jersey
2025: Middle Eastern Art Collective (November 2025)
2025: Nepenthe Gallery in Alexandria (June 2025)
2025: Greater Reston Art Center Festival (May 2025)
2025: Cherry Blossom, Hilton Alexandria (March - April 2025)
2025: March 150 Canal Center in Alexandria, in partnership with Torpedo Factory Art Center (March)
2024: March 150 Canal Center in Alexandria, in partnership with Torpedo Factory Art Center (March)
2023: Washington DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Dec 2023 (Oct)
2023: Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC, (May to July)
2023: March 150 Target Gallery, Alexandria (March)
2023: IACC Community Center (Iranian-American Community Center), Northern VA (March)
2022: Greece, Crete, Mudhouse Residency House, (July)
2022: IACC Community Center (Iranian-American Community Center), Northern VA (May)
2021: Washington DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (Dec)
2021: McLean Project for the Arts (ArtFest), Virginia (Oct)
2020: Washington DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (Dec)
2020: Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA, (Sept)
2019: Artist’s Proof, Washington, DC (June)
2018 La Bodega Gallery, Brooklyn, New York (Feb)
2018 Artist’s Proof Gallery, Washington, DC, (Oct)
2017 McLean Project for the Arts (ArtFest), Virginia (Oct)
2017 Strathmore Mansion, Maryland (Jan)
2016 Art Basel, Scope Miami, with Arteponte Gallery NY & Basel, (Dec)
2016 McLean Project for the Arts (ArtFest), Virginia, (Oct)
2016 The University of Maryland (ISWF show), Maryland (Jan)
2016 NYArtExpo, New York (May)
2015 Art Basel (Spectrum), Miami, (Nov)
2015 The Montpelier Center for Arts and Education, Virginia (Oct)
2015 Artist’s Proof Gallery, Washington, DC (Nov)
2014 Artist’s Proof Gallery, Washington, DC (Sept)
2014 McLean Project for the Arts (ArtFest), Virginia (Oct)
2014 George Washington University, Washington, DC (Nov)
2014 Linus Gallery, Los Angeles
2013 Exquisite Collective, Argentina (May)
2012 Illustrator Club, Washington, DC
2011 Illustrator Club, Washington, DC
2004 Gallery 505, Washington, DC
1999 Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
AWARDS AND ACQUISITIONS
Public Collections
-
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Art Bank Collection, “Hormuz 3,” 2026
-
US Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus, 2023 “Saffron Nebula” piece (Art in Embassies)
-
Martin Luther King Jr., Library in Washington, DC, Permanent collection, 2022
-
DC Department of Public Works, Washington, DC
-
DC Wellness Clinic, DC government, P Street, Washington DC
-
DC Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
-
Councilmember Brooke Pinto in Washington, DC
-
The Collections of the DC Commission on Art and Humanities office
-
The law firm of Wiley Rein LLP, Washington, DC
Selected Private Collections
-
Farah Pahlavi, former Empress of Iran, “Hormuz 12,” 2026
-
Private collection, San Francisco, CA, “Remembrance,” 2026
Awards
-
2026 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, FY27 Art Bank Program grant, “Hormuz 3”
-
2023 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities ArtBank 23 Finalist
-
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Art Bank program, finalist years: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022
-
Global Art Awards finalist 2017 and 2018, organized by the Middle East Art Collector Association (MACA) and the Wall Street Journal in Dubai
-
Honorable mention, Hermes Creative Awards, 2015
-
Bronze Spotlight Award, LACP (League of American Communications Professionals)
RESIDENCIES, TALKS, PUBLIC ART JURY PANEL
Talks and Workshops
-
Alexandria, Virginia, Library, Project Take A Seat, served as the juried panel in 2026
-
Talk at the DC Wellness Clinic, DC government, P Street, Washington DC 2025
-
Saint Mary’s College, MD, Environmental Studies, workshop and talk for Natural Colors and Eco-Printing, October 2024
-
Talk at Springfield Art Guild, November 2024
-
Smithsonian Asian Art, Nowruz Festival Presentation at The Freer and Sackler Galleries, March 2023
-
National Museum of Women in Art, Artist Talk for the Circle of Nature and Time Installation, Jan 2023
-
Smithsonian Asian Art, Nowruz Festival Presentation at The Freer and Sackler Galleries, March 2021
-
Mudhouse Residency, Crete, Greece, Workshops & presentations, July 2022
-
University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley - presentation and workshop (Zoom), September 2020
-
US Botanic Garden, Washington DC — workshop and presentation (Zoom), March 2020
-
US Botanic Garden, Washington DC, 2019- workshop and presentation, March 2019
-
George Washington University, Nov 2019, presentation, Sept 2019
-
Women’s Shelter, N Street NW, Washington DC, Sept 2018
Residencies
-
Sept 2019: Buniho Creative Hub, Messejana, Portugal Residency
-
July 2022, MudHouse, Crete, Greece
PRESS
Kayhan Life (London), “Strait of Hormuz Work by Artist Saya Behnam is Shortlisted for Grant,” August 2026
Washington Post Feb 2023
Nowruz Journal, May 2021 and 2022
Elan Magazine: May 2021
Posh Seven- Loudoun County, Oct 2020
Nowruz Journal (Sacred Geometry and Talismans)
Vasari 21
Voice of America 2017
Atomic DC
Washington Post 2017
EDUCATION
BS in Biology (Botany, Biology of plants), Tehran University
Certified programs, Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC