Interview with Iranian Journalist Vida Rabbani: Discussing Her Work and the Struggles Faced in Prison Art

Artistic Resistance: Vida Rabbani's Prison Paintings

In the confines of Iran's most notorious women's prison ward, Vida Rabbani, a journalist and former reporter at Shargh Daily and Seda Weekly, found solace and expression in paint. Her art, born out of the adversity of her 2022 arrest during Iran's anti-government protests and subsequent sentencing to more than 11 years combined over two cases, transformed confinement into a form of creation.

Rabbani's paintings, each 70 x 50 cm (19.6 x 27.5 inches) due to the limited resources available, are modest in scale yet expansive in emotional reach. She used bedsheets as canvases, stretching them over wooden frames salvaged from the prison's carpentry shop. The work, both courageous and tender, documents the intimate textures of carceral life in Evin Prison.

Rabbani's brushes wore out, and she had to negotiate with the warden for a palette knife and two brushes. Aided by fellow inmates, she covertly assembled acrylics and brushes, working often under the threat of confiscation. Her images were not just acts of self-expression; they became acts of collective preservation.

Rabbani's paintings give a visual voice to the unseen lives of women navigating both isolation and solidarity behind bars. She captured the joyful and bleak moments of the ward, layering renderings of institutional staircases and portraits of fellow political prisoners. Her work, illuminated only by a desk lamp late at night, is a testament to the power of art as a form of resistance.

Vida Rabbani's inmates' reactions encouraged her to continue painting, with some even bringing her food and coffee during the process. She was inspired by a BBC piece about a British man who began painting during his imprisonment and later became a professional painter. Rabbani believes that limitations can stimulate creativity, as they force the mind to rely more on imagination to find solutions and adapt.

Rabbani's art evolved in secret, and she plans to exhibit or publish her prison paintings as they were never just for her, but meant to be shared. She spent 32 months in prison before her sentence was suspended, and she was released from Evin Prison. Her paintings, created in a space synonymous with repression and pain, are a beacon of hope and resilience.

In an interview, Rabbani spoke about documenting the visual culture of prison, the improvisational methods behind her work, the emotional toll and healing of art-making under surveillance, and how painting became her most powerful form of witness. Her art is a testament to the human spirit's ability to create and endure in the face of adversity.

Interview with Iranian Journalist Vida Rabbani: Discussing Her Work and the Struggles Faced in Prison Art