“If I cannot change something, I draw — and I keep dreaming.” War, executions and inequality cannot simply be stopped. But even when action seems impossible, we must keep looking, keep thinking, keep asking questions — and refuse to be silent.
This idea runs like a thread through the work of cartoonist and illustrator Sahar Ajami. Her drawings begin with current events and structural injustice, but they do not stop there: they become visual appeals to set things in motion. They demand attention and engagement.
Women occupy a central place in her work. Ajami explores how they experience crises, how they resist, and how their perspective often casts a different light on violence, inequality and loss. She grew up in Iran, where she witnessed how resilient women confront oppression. That background continues to shape her visual language today.
With her work, Sahar Ajami invites us not to remain on the sidelines, but to look consciously, to respond, and to keep questioning the world around us.
About the artist
Sahar Ajami is a Scandinavia‑based Iranian cartoonist and illustrator. She currently lives in Helsinki, but grew up in Iran, surrounded by women fighting for their rights — an experience that forms the core of her work, which focuses on social themes, particularly those related to women and human rights.
After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Design in Tehran, she continued her studies with a Master’s in Ibsen Studies at the University of Oslo, where she explored the visual representation of female characters in Ibsen’s dramas. In 2021, she moved from Norway to Finland, further specializing in digital content creation and becoming active within the local art scene.
Ajami’s practice spans illustration, cartoons, graphics and picture books. Her work has been shown in international exhibitions in Finland, Norway, Iran, Brazil, Italy and China. She is a member of Finnish PEN, Kuvittajat ry and The Cartoon Movement, and has received several international awards. In 2018, together with five other women, she co‑founded Beyond Art Oslo, an initiative that uses art to foster social change.
