Mokarrameh Ghanbari

Mokarrameh Ghanbari
Native name	مکرمه قنبری
Born	1928 Mazanderan, Iran
Died	24 October 2005
Nationality	Iranian
Style	Outsider art

Mokarrameh Ghanbari (Persian: مکرمه قنبری‎‎, born in 1928 – died October 24, 2005) was a heuristic and self made Iranian painter who won several international talent prizes.

Mokarrameh was born in the village of Darikandeh between Qaem Shahr and Babol, in Mazanderan, and despite her great talent, she never received any formal training in painting.

She began painting at the age of 63 when she came across some artist's paintings which her son had left at her home. She continued her painting using bright, original colors inspired by the beautiful natural surroundings of her neighborhood, and within a few years her works were noticed by painters in Iran and overseas.

She held her first exhibition at the Seyhun Gallery in Tehran in 1995. The artist also participated in ten other exhibitions and was awarded the jury prize at the Roshd Film Festival and another award at the Rural Artistic-Literary Festival. In 2001, she was awarded an honorary certificate at the Conference of the Foundation of Iranian Women's Studies in Stockholm, Sweden and was named the year's exemplary woman.

In addition, she was named the "Female Painter of 2001" by the Swedish National Museum. Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Mokhtari has made a documentary film about the life and works of the artist entitled Mokarrameh, Her Memories and Dreams.

She died at the age of 77 and is buried in the courtyard of her house.

References

• (Persian) Second Anniversary of the painter lady of Darikandeh Village, BBC

External links

• Official website
• Photo report - Second anniversary of her death, BBC
• An interview, Adventuredivas.com
• First documentary of Mokarrameh Ghanbari directed by : Majid Mahichi, 1998.
• Javād Montazeri, Mokarrameh, in Persian, Jadid Online, 21 November 2008, [1].
  Note: This article contains a link both to a slide show (similar to the one presented below) and a video (8 min 29 sec); this video consists of some short excerpts from the film Mokarrameh, Memories and Dreams (Mokarrameh, Khāterāt va Royā-hā) by the Iranian documentary film-maker Mr Ebrāhim Mokhtāri (ابراهیم مختاری).
• Mokarrameh's Fantastical Art, Jadid Online, 1 January 2009, [2].
  Slide Show (with English subtitles), by Javād Montazeri, music by Ali Bolboli: [3] (5 min 5 sec).