The many worlds of Sonia Balassanian, an Iranian American political artist of Armenian descent who came to renown in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Imagine Otherwise is an anthology of books on queer, non-binary, or female-identifying artists who have produced a substantial body of work but may have no publication concerning their art or life in print at the time of commissioning. The overall proposition, to “imagine” a world “otherwise,” stems from the desire to find a different way of looking, writing, and reading about art. Can art be examined unreservedly, unburdened of the limits imposed by any perceived “dominant hand” of hegemony?

In the first volume of the series, author Dr. Omar Kholeif reveals a deeply personal portrait of Iranian Armenian American artist Sonia Balassanian. Weaving through poetry, memoir, and historical anecdote, Kholeif explodes the edges of the New York art world, tracing the contours of Balassanian’s world.

Sonia Balassanian was born to a family of Armenian heritage, in Arak, near Isfahan, Iran in 1942. Uninspired by the rigid curriculum in which she was instructed, the young artist began her creative pursuits by writing poetry. After her marriage to Edward Balassanian at the age of twenty-three, she moved with her husband to the US to study fine art, where she principally lives and works to this day. With a career spanning more than five decades, Sonia Balassanian’s art is celebrated for its political fervor, as it is for its lyricism, and its occasional whimsy, which sparkles despite the political chaos and turmoil that has surrounded her. 

Published by Sternberg Press in collaboration with artPost21

Dr. Omar Kholeif has worked as a broadcaster, filmmaker, editor, publisher, and museum director. They have curated over 60 exhibitions, and authored, co-authored, or edited over 30 books, which have been translated into 12 languages, including Goodbye, World! Looking at Art in the Digital Age (2018). Dr Kholeif was co-curator of “Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber” and serves as director of collections and senior curator, Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE and is the founding director of www.artpost21.com.