Midwest Chapter ConferenceSpeakers

Maryam Ghasempour Siahgaldeh

Friday, October 16, 2026 @ 12:30pm, Hopkins 250

Flame: Fragments of Self Across Borders

Maryam (Nilu) Ghasempour Siahgaldeh (b. 1994) is an Iranian artist and researcher working with documentary and conceptual photography. She is currently an MFA candidate in Photography at Pennsylvania State University. Her practice explores themes of visibility, memory, migration, and belonging through personal narratives, archival materials, and long-term photographic projects. Growing up in northern Iran, she developed a deep interest in documenting everyday life and overlooked human experiences. After migrating to the United States, her work became shaped by displacement, nostalgia, and the experience of living between two worlds. Through photography, she examines how individuals and communities carry memory, identity, and connection across borders.