Ghazaleh Rastgar, also known as Ghazaraza, is a multidisciplinary Iranian-Canadian artist based in Toronto. Born in Shiraz, Iran, and studied at OCAD University, she has worked as a full-time artist since 2016. Her practice spans painting, murals, textiles, and digital media.

Ghazaleh’s work draws from Persian visual culture, personal memory, and the experience of life in the diaspora. She blends traditional motifs with contemporary techniques—layering bold color, expressive figures, and fraying fabrics to explore identity, belonging, and cultural inheritance. Her work is often inspired by love, feminism, and spirituality, offering intimate reflections on what it means to live between worlds.

Her visual language fuses symmetry, movement, and texture—often evoking the structure of Persian carpets and the fluidity of memory. Alongside her studio practice, she has created public murals across Canada and beyond that centre identity and visibility in shared spaces.

Exhibitions

2025 “BLUSH” at Micak Gallery - Aurora

2025 Being Scene 2025 by Workman Arts - Toronto

2024 “Know Where” at Isza Gallery - Toronto

2024 Being Scene 2024 by Workman Arts - Toronto

2023 Art Toronto with “The New Other“ - Toronto

2023 “Femme Vie Liberte” at Paris Museum of Modern Art - Paris

2023 Collective Arts Brew Series 24 Exhibition - Toronto

2022 Being Scene 2022 by Workman Arts – Toronto

2021 The Artist Project – Online Exhibition

2020 Feminist Art Festival at OCADU – Toronto

2018 Venus Rising at Hashtag Gallery – Toronto

2018 You Should Come at Darling Mansion (Sponsored event) – Toronto

2016 Society of Illustrators – New York; Comic and Cartoon Annual - NYC

2015 Spring Equinox Festival at CSI Annex – Toronto

Clients

  • Luminato Festival

  • Giphy

  • TIFF

  • Lavazzo

  • StreetARToronto – City of Toronto

  • Historica Canada

  • EastEnd Arts

  • Mount Pleasant BIA

  • The Junction Bia

  • Bell Canada

  • Fast Company

  • Lenny Letter

  • Hemisphere Magazine

  • HotDocs

  • Resist! Publication Vol. 1 & 2

Publications

2023 Euronews
2021 CBC Arts
2019 CBC Arts
2018 She Does The City
2018 Streeter
2018 Paper Darts
2017 Haaretz
2017 HuffPost
2016 The Cut

Awards & Grants

2024 Ontario Arts Council Grant
2021 American Illustration 40
2018 Toronto Arts Council Grant
2018 American Illustration 37 (Online)
2016 Society of Illustrators