“Please Touch the Art,” – College of Design

“Please Touch the Art,” an interactive installation that invites viewers to engage physically and emotionally with the artwork, will be exhibited April 6–9 in Gallery 181 at the Iowa State University College of Design.

This master of fine arts thesis exhibition by Parisa Keshavarziyan, graduate student in integrated visual arts, challenges traditional boundaries between artwork and audience, she says in her artist statement—emphasizing participation, communication and shared experience.

“Through interaction, each visitor contributes to the evolving nature of the work, making the exhibition itself a living, collective process.”

A public reception will be from 5:30–7 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, in the gallery.

About the artist

Keshavarziyan is a Persian artist from Tehran, Iran, whose work centers on storytelling, symbolism and audience engagement. She received her undergraduate degree in urban planning from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. While her academic background began in planning and design, her practice gradually shifted toward studio art, where she continues to explore narrative, communication and user experience through visual media.

Keshavarziyan’s work spans photography, animation, 3D art and stop-motion, integrating design and multimedia to create immersive and engaging experiences. She received the Photography Prize from the Iran Ba Mast Project in 2019.

Since enrolling at Iowa State University in 2023, Keshavarzian has served as an art history teaching assistant and as a graduate assistant with the College of Design’s student success team. She presented at the ISU Graduate and Professional Student Senate Research Conference in both 2025 and 2026 and has led a stop-motion workshop for students.

Her work has been selected for recent exhibitions including the “Art, Music, Poetry Exhibition” at the Memorial Union Art Gallery and the “Spring 2025 IVA Graduate Exhibition” in Gallery 181, both last spring, and the “Embodied” exhibition at Mainframe Studios in Des Moines in February.

Contacts

Parisa Keshavarziyan, Integrated Visual Arts Graduate Student, Department of Art and Visual Culture, amouei@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Director of Strategic Communications, College of Design, hsauer@iastate.edu