Artist Shahrzad Ghaffari in front of her work-in-process at Leighton House. Photograph by James Houston
Leighton House, the former home and studio of British artist Frederic Leighton, was once a lively meeting place for artists and writers who would gather beneath the domed ceiling of the elaborate Arab Hall (named after the vast collection of Middle Eastern tiles adorning its walls) to converse and listen to music. Now, a major renovation, including the construction of a new wing, seeks to reestablish the house as a creative hub by inciting a dialogue between its Victorian heritage and contemporary visual culture through a programme of events, exhibitions and artist collaborations. Ahead of its reopening later this Spring, Millie Walton visited the museum to speak to its first commissioned artist Shahrzad Ghaffari and preview her work-in-progress LUX: Much of your work is inspired by Persian poetry. How do you see the visual medium of painting interacting with poetry"

Shahrzad Ghaffari: Painting has been my passion since I was a child. Everybody always knew what to buy me: paper, crayons, paints. Then, slightly later on, I became interested in poetry and started to read a lot but the two came together when I was experimenting with trying to find my own style in painting, an honest way of expressing what’s within.
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Ghaffari at work. Photograph by James Houston
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