At PICA we recognise that we are situated within the unceded lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects and offer our gratitude to Elders past and present. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the importance of their care and continued connection to culture, community and Country.

Always was, always will be.

Galleries are open 12–5pm. Our exhibitions are always free.

Elham Eshraghian-Haakansson

Elham Eshraghian-Haakansson

The University of Western Australia – $40,000 Schenberg Art Fellowship  2018

Elham Eshraghian-Haakansson is an award-winning Iranian-Australian video artist, film director and emerging theatre director. Her arena of work centers itself within communal and collaborative social practice. Elham’s research navigates inherited stories and post-memory felt by displaced community through the poetics of the moving image. She invites viewers to become the ‘witness’ rather than the ‘passive bystander’, examining empathy in film, poems and immersive multi-media experiences that facilitate critical discussion surrounding empathy, custodianship, compassion and social change.

Elham’s work has exhibited nationally and internationally, receiving numerous prestigious art awards for her video installations such as the 2018 Dr Harold Schenberg Art Fellowship, 2020 Invitation Art Prize, 2020 14th Arte Laguna Special Prize Award and the 2022 Ellen José Art Prize. She was the recipient for the inaugural Early-Career Creative and Performance Leadership Fellowship with the Forrest Research Foundation in 2022.

Elham co-wrote and directed her debut theatre play a love letter to the Nightingale at the Blue Room Theatre, Perth in 2024. More recently, her Virtual Reality (VR) artwork of the same title was selected as part of the BAFTA-Qualifying 2024 Aesthetica Short Film Festival in the UK.

Elham’s artistic values prioritise agency, empathy and legacy, advocating for community arts programs. As co-founder of the Second Generation Collective she seeks to bridge intergenerational gaps, navigating trauma and communal care. Second Generation Collective were the WA recipients of the inaugural Creative Australia Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy Major Commission in 2023. Their work will be presented at PICA in 2025.

“What does Hatched mean to you?”

Hatched was a steppingstone for me in realising what kind of artist I wanted to be and the kind of art I wanted to make. It was a turning point in realising the foundation of my practice.

“How did Hatched help to develop your practice or career?”

It was such a privilege and an honour to exhibit amongst creative peers from around Australia, and to be part of a space that started to bridge the connection between the arts and local community. This solidified the purpose and direction I wanted to take as an emerging artist. What I learned from this, has been carried on years later.