Elyas Alavi is a published poet, curator, and visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, installation, moving image, poetry, and performance. His work examines the complex intersections of race, displacement, gender, religion, and sexuality, addressing hyper-invisibilities and challenging conventional notions of culture and belonging. Alavi’s practice often interrogates histories in the South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, exploring their entanglements with globalization, settler colonialism, and the mobility and displacement of Black and Brown bodies.
Alavi holds a Master of Visual Arts from the University of South Australia (2016) and a Master of Fine Arts from Chelsea College of Arts, University of London (2020).
Alavi has published three poetry collections, earning critical acclaim and winning several prestigious literary awards, including the International Peace Poetry Prize in Tajikistan (2012), the Annual Reporters Poetry Prize in Tehran (2009), the Young Poets Book of the Year in Iran (2008), and the Afghan Young Poets Prize (2007). His poetry has been translated into English, Greek, Urdu, Kurdish, and Spanish, and has appeared in prominent publications such as World Literature Today (University of Oklahoma) and the PARSE Journal (University of Gothenburg).
He has been commissioned by a number of galleries, artist-run initiatives, and biennales, including the Sydney Biennale, Lahore Biennale, ACE, TarraWarra Biennale, Griffith University, Hyphenated Biennale, Granville Arts Centre, Next Wave, Nexus, POP, and UTS. Alavi is also a recipient of the prestigious Samstag Research Fellowship, which enabled him to further his professional practice through in situ research in London.
Alavi holds a Master of Visual Arts from the University of South Australia (2016) and a Master of Fine Arts from Chelsea College of Arts, University of London (2020).
Alavi has published three poetry collections, earning critical acclaim and winning several prestigious literary awards, including the International Peace Poetry Prize in Tajikistan (2012), the Annual Reporters Poetry Prize in Tehran (2009), the Young Poets Book of the Year in Iran (2008), and the Afghan Young Poets Prize (2007). His poetry has been translated into English, Greek, Urdu, Kurdish, and Spanish, and has appeared in prominent publications such as World Literature Today (University of Oklahoma) and the PARSE Journal (University of Gothenburg).
He has been commissioned by a number of galleries, artist-run initiatives, and biennales, including the Sydney Biennale, Lahore Biennale, ACE, TarraWarra Biennale, Griffith University, Hyphenated Biennale, Granville Arts Centre, Next Wave, Nexus, POP, and UTS. Alavi is also a recipient of the prestigious Samstag Research Fellowship, which enabled him to further his professional practice through in situ research in London.
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Studio Artist:
2025 - Present