About

Saeed Abdollahi (he/him) is an Iranian architectural designer, photographer, and emerging filmmaker based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Calgary and has been professionally engaged with photography as an artist and educator.

His work has received international recognition, including being named CBC Calgary’s Asian Changemaker of the Year in 2024 for his documentary photography project Wage Earner. He also received the Blue FIAP Ribbon from Photo Art PRAGUE 2018 in the Czech Republic and 3rd prize in the Series section for his ZOL collection at the 16th International Exhibition in Tulle, France, in 2020. He has also received numerous acceptances from international FIAP photography exhibitions around the world.

Saeed’s practice is rooted in social documentary photography, visual ethnography, and stories of displacement, identity, and migration. Growing up in the historic city of Isfahan, Iran, and later immigrating to Canada, he brings a deeply personal perspective to his work, focusing on the lives of marginalized communities and the emotional realities of immigrants.

Recently, Saeed has begun expanding his visual practice into filmmaking. His current work explores the mental and emotional landscapes of migration through moving image, performance, memory, and experimental documentary forms. Through this transition from still photography to film, he continues to investigate themes of longing, belonging, cultural displacement, and the invisible conflicts carried by immigrants as they rebuild their lives in a new country.

Through both photography and film, Saeed aims to create work that is socially engaged, emotionally honest, and attentive to human experience.

  • 2024: CBC Calgary Asian Changemaker Award – recognized for the Wage Earner photography project’s social impact

    2020: Third Place Award, 16th International Photography Exhibition “Tulle 2020” – Tulle, France (for ZOL photo series)

    2018: Blue FIAP Ribbon, Photo Art PRAGUE, Prague, Czech Republic

  • 2025: Wage Earner – Arts Commons Window Galleries, Calgary, AB, Canada

    2024: Wage Earner – Calgary Public Library, Calgary, AB, Canada

    2023: Wage Earner – Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    2020: ENTRYHALL – Qoqnos Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran

    2020: ENTRYHALL – Aknoon Art Gallery, Isfahan, Iran

    2019: Loss – Niloufar Art Gallery, Yazd, Iran

    2019: Loss – Aknoon Art Gallery, Isfahan, Iran

    2017: ZOL – Safavi House Art Gallery, Isfahan, Iran

  • 2025: Emerging Photographers Showcase – Contemporary Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada (juror: Naomi Potter)

    2023: Identity Ether – Art Gallery of Alberta (InFocus Photo Festival), Edmonton, AB, Canada

    2023: Tell Me a Story: The Role of Storytelling in Photography – Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO, USA (juror: Mary Statzer)

    2023: Emerging Photographers Showcase – Contemporary Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada (juror: Tiffany Jones)

    2020: 16th International Exhibition of Photography, Tulle 2020 – Tulle, France (international juried salon, FIAP/PSA patronage)

    2020: Cominios 2020 International Salon – Belgium & France (international juried salon, FIAP/PSA patronage)

    2019: 2nd International “Capodimonte” Small Prints Contest – Montenegro (juried by GPU, FIAP, PSA, IAAP)

    2019: NYC Exhibition – Manhattan, USA (international photography salon)

    2018: Photo Art Prague – Prague, Czech Republic (international juried photography exhibition)

    2018: Salon Daguerre – Paris, France (international juried photography exhibition)

    2018: Bristol Salon of Photography – Bristol, United Kingdom (international juried photography exhibition)

    2018: Zhuhai International Photo Exhibition – Zhuhai, China (international juried photography exhibition)

    2017: Brooklyn 2017 Photo Exhibition – New York, USA (international juried photography exhibition)

    2017: Documentary Photography Group Exhibition – Downstairs Gallery, Azad University of Najafabad, Isfahan, Iran

    2017: AB Awards International Exhibition – Kolkata, India (international juried photography exhibition)

  • 2025: Artist Talk – Critical Media Lab, Department of Anthropology, University of McGill (September 2025 - Upcoming)

    2023: Artist Talk – “Wage Earner,” Open Show Pasadena/East LA (October 24, 2023)

    2023: Artist Talk – “Wage Earner,” Nickle at Noon series, Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary (September 14, 2023)

    2022: Article – Azam Jamshidian, “Introduction to an Artist,” Agah Art Magazine, vol. 3 (March 2022), p. 26

    ·2020: Television Interview – Boostan-e Farhang program, IRIB TV5 (Isfahan, Iran, February 24, 2020)