Mariya Afra

Portfolio 2026 · Mannheim, Germany

MaryamVahid Esmaeili

Visual Artist & Digital Painter

Art is my soul and heart

See my work Get in touch
Illustrated portrait of Maryam Vahid Esmaeili on a pink, teal and navy geometric background
Times SquareOn Times Square billboards three years in a row, 2024–2026
13+years in design & advertising
10+years teaching graphic design & pottery
5disciplines, one visual language
MAAnimation · BA Graphic Design

Selected Work

Logos, packaging, digital painting, calligraphy and clay — Persian letterforms, colour and storytelling turned into clear visual signs.

Portrait photo of Maryam Vahid Esmaeili

About me

Hello, I’m Maryam

A multidisciplinary visual artist working across graphic design, painting, illustration and ceramics. I blend structure, colour and storytelling to create meaningful visual experiences.

“Art is my soul and heart, so the school is the home of my heart.”

Skills

  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Photoshop
  • InDesign
  • After Effects
  • Premiere
  • Web design
  • Calligraphy painting
  • Digital painting
  • Pottery
  • Photography
  • Communication

Education

  • MA Animation2024
  • BA Graphic Design2016 · University College of Nabi Akram, Tabriz
  • Diploma, Graphic Design

Languages

  • Persian, Turkish, AzerbaijaniNative
  • EnglishFluent
  • GermanA2 (integration course)

Memberships

  • AIA Francesince 2023
  • Tabriz Graphic Designers Societysince 2022

Work Experience

Exhibitions, conferences, teaching and studio work — from Tabriz to Berlin, Athens and New York.

  1. 2026NFT NYC exhibition and Times Square billboards
  2. 2026Paper accepted, 21st Int. Conference on the Arts in Society, University of Athens
  3. 2025NFT NYC & Collect: two days on Times Square billboards
  4. 2025Solo calligraphy painting exhibition
  5. 2025Virtual presenter, 10th Int. Conference ARETL, Berlin; paper published (DOI)
  6. 2025Group exhibition of art professors, Azad University, Tabriz
  7. 2025Invited oral presentation, 20th Conference on the Arts in Society, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
  8. 2024–25Lecturer in graphic design, Azad University, Tabriz
  9. 2024NFT.NYC “60 Alpha”: selected from 5,000+ submissions, a week on Times Square billboards
  10. 2024Founded Honar Bar Tan (Art on Body)
  11. 2023FIAP France exhibition; member of AIA France
  12. 2022Member of the Tabriz Graphic Designers Society
  13. 2021NFT creator; graphic designer at Radannam and Penguin Snow Park
  14. 2019Graphic designer and photographer, Tansoo; pottery workshops begin
  15. 2017Solo painting exhibition
  16. 2014Graphic design lecturer, Yeganeh Art School, six years
  17. 2013Manager and franchisee, Maghsad advertising agency, five years

Papers & Conferences

Art history and art education: research from my work as a university lecturer.

  1. 2025
    “From Workshop to Augmented Reality: Rethinking Art Education in the Age of Digital Aesthetics”PublishedProceedings of the 10th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education, Teaching and Learning (ARETL), Berlin · Vol. 3, Issue 2, pp. 26–41 · with Mohammadhassan Asnaei · virtual presentation

    Read the paper · DOI

  2. 2025
    “Animating History: A Tale Told by Urartian Pottery”Invited talk20th International Conference on the Arts in Society, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh · 28–30 May 2025 · presented online

    ▶ Watch the presentation▶ Watch the podcast

  3. 2026
    “Vessels of Time: Haldi and Dionysos in Pottery from Urartu to Olympus”Accepted21st International Conference on the Arts in Society, School of Philosophy, University of Athens · 10–12 June 2026 · paper accepted
Animating History conference presentation · Carnegie Mellon University, 2025
Urartian Pottery podcast on the research · 7:44

Videos load from YouTube (youtube-nocookie.com) only after you click play.

Let’s work together

Thank You

Life is short and the world is vast. Wherever I work, I want to leave a meaningful trace.

Send an email CV (EN) Lebenslauf (DE) Portfolio PDF