Roya Amirsoleymani

Roya Amirsoleymani (she/her) is an independent curator, writer, creative producer, artist advocate, and consultant in contemporary performance and visual art. She is based on Twana lands on the Olympic Peninsula in rural Washington, where she co-stewards an informal residency for artists, writers, and musicians of color. As an emerging writer, she has published several art and personal essays in various publications, journals, and zines, both domestic and international; recently self-published and distributed her first chapbook; and is working on a long-form, experimental narrative, ephemera, and archival project about death and friendship. From 2012-2023, Roya was a director and curator with Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), where she organized exhibitions; experimental dance, theatre, and interdisciplinary performance; community and public programs; residencies; grant programs; and the annual Time-Based Art Festival. Curatorial projects include dozens of international, national, and local performances as well as the exhibitions “Remembering to Remember: Experiments in Sound”; “We Got Each Other’s Back” by Carlos Motta; “No Human Involved: The 5th Annual Sex Workers’ Art Show” with Stroll PDX; and “THROUGH AND THROUGH AND THROUGH: New Work by Gordon Hall” with an accompanying collection of writings by the artist. Her curatorial and producing practices center the ideas, labor, and livelihoods of artists historically marginalized by mainstream art worlds and economies. She is currently producing projects by artists Ahamefule J. Oluo; San Cha; and Holland Andrews & yuniya edi kwon. She received a BA in Contemporary Visual Culture & Gender Studies from the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in California and MA in Arts Management from University of Oregon.