Pedram Ziaei was born in 1986 in Saghez, a city in Iran’s Kurdistan province, during the Iran-Iraq War. As members of the Bahá’í faith, a persecuted religious minority in Iran, his family fled the country, seeking refuge in Turkey. After 18 months in exile, they resettled in Canada.

From an early age, Pedram explored multiple avenues of creative expression, including sculpting, writing, life drawing, music, and later, digital art. In 2008, he attended the Florence Academy of Art’s Gothenburg, Sweden studio, where he trained intensively in traditional drawing techniques. Although he returned home before entering the painting portion of the program, the experience laid a strong foundation in charcoal and pencil work, deepening his understanding of form and light.

In 2010, he began his career in visual effects, eventually joining Industrial Light & Magic, where he continues to work professionally. For over a decade, his personal artistic practice went dormant, dimmed by the demands and rhythms of the film industry and mental health challenges.

In 2023, he began painting for healing and expression. Working primarily in oil paint, his current practice is a deeply personal exploration of form, texture, and memory, an unfiltered connection to a part of himself long left unexpressed. Through painting, he reclaims the quiet, essential voice that first led him to art.

Pedram lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter.