Arts & Cultural Center · York Region

A meeting place for art & heritage

Rooted in Iranian culture, open to every curious maker. Discover exhibitions, creative workshops and community gatherings shaped by the art we share.

Explore the academy ↘View the exhibition

Richmond Hill, Ontario

A little about us

Culture lives in what we make together.

Iran Art Gallery & Academy is an independent arts and cultural centre in York Region. We bring Iranian heritage into everyday creative life through hands-on learning, exhibitions and welcoming community experiences.

Meet the founder ↗

Founder & Artistic Director

Pooneh
Pourhabibi

Artist · Designer · Cultural Advocate

Pooneh Pourhabibi is an Iranian-Canadian mixed-media artist, designer and cultural advocate with a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture. In 2023, she founded Iran Art Gallery & Academy in Richmond Hill to create a welcoming home for Iranian art, education and community connection in Canada.

Her practice brings texture, colour and narrative together to explore the relationship between art, history and identity. She is the author of the children’s series Beautiful Iran: A Land of a Thousand Stories & Wonders and the creator of original Shahnameh-inspired art projects for children.

Creating bridges between heritage, art and the next generation.

Made for curious minds

A place to explore.

Each program is an invitation to learn a skill, encounter a story or make something with your own hands.

01 · Learn by making

Creative workshops

Explore calligraphy, painting, pottery, photography and other hands-on art forms.

Try something new↗

02 · Stories in the arts

Exhibitions & culture

Meet Iranian art, places and traditions through exhibitions and shared cultural events.

Gather around art↗

03 · For the next generation

Young artists

Creative experiences help children discover stories, materials and their own imagination.

Create & imagine↗

Meet the teaching team

Artists who love to teach.

Specialized instruction for children and adults, from first experiments to focused artistic practice.

Watercolor Instructor

Atefeh Taasob

Artist and art educator with 15+ years of teaching experience and a focus on watercolor. She holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Design and a watercolor certificate from OCAD University, and currently teaches at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Iran Art Gallery in Toronto.

Pottery · Children’s art

Atefeh

Specialized pottery and creative painting for children.

Professional drawing · Painting

Rahil

Professional Friday instruction in drawing and painting, with a focused approach to technique and artistic development.

Contemporary calligraphy

Sona Amani

A visual artist and calligrapher with 20+ years in painting and visual arts and 12+ years in Persian calligraphy. Her work has been exhibited in Iran, Turkey, Dubai and Canada, and she has taught in Toronto for more than three years.

Academic drawing · Painting

Mehrzad Jaberi

Professional painter and international instructor with 35+ years of experience. His academic, structured teaching covers drawing, realism, hyperrealism, oil and acrylic. Founder of SamRang Art Academy; Monday classes.

A community in motion

Art brings us into the same room.

From gallery conversations to outdoor festivals, our favourite moments are the ones made together. A few glimpses from the academy’s gatherings.

A creative community gathering around a shared table — Made togetherAcademy community

Students and artists sharing a creative table — A table full of ideasCreative learning

Iran Art Gallery exhibition space — Room for artGallery space

Artists standing among portraits in the Beautiful Iran II exhibition

Beautiful
Iran 22026 · Richmond Hill

From our exhibition archive

Beautiful Iran II

Art · Heritage · Community2026

Four days of Iranian art and culture at Boynton House in Richmond Hill. This album brings together the exhibition, our artists, community guests and official visitors.

Explore more moments ↗