The design features a Persian nomadic geometric rug motif, shared by many weavers from Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey to the Central Asian countries beyond the Caspian Sea. The design also is a metaphor for quilting that symbolizes togetherness and teaches us to work and help each other. The threads in a quilt weave our interrelationships and connectedness, sharing the values of a society and, building trust and friendship and bringing hope. This choice of artwork intends to inspire and connect the WRCF community to the award's message. The materials used are top-quality custom solid maple wood, laser engraving and acrylic hand painting. The WRCF's logo inspired the choice of the colours.

Fatima Garzan
Artist
September 2024

About the artist
Fatima Garzan is an Iranian-born Canadian artist. She immigrated to Canada in 1992. Fatima had a BA in Economics and studied Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo where she received her Honours Bachelor of Arts in 2005. Garzan’s art practice spans across painting, printmaking, and installations. Her experimentation with an array of materials from paper to plastic, lead her work to different and unexpected concepts. Her work evokes cultural traditions and the power of re-using and recycling materials in an increasingly congested world.

Garzan has exhibited in Canada, France, and Iran. In 2017, she was the Artist-in-Residence at Salt Spring Island, British Columbia in October 2018 L’AiR Arts residency in Paris, France, Atelier Circulaire in Montréal, Québec in 2019, Alchemy in Prince Edward County, Ontario in 2022, and in 2023 Exchange Artist Residency, an exchange between Centre[3] in Hamilton, Ontario and Martha Street Studio in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

She has work in the Canada Council Art Bank, the City of Kitchener, and recently her work was acquired by CAMH (The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto) in the category of Stand-Alone work competition.

Fatimagarzan.com