Dr. Mahroo Movahedi is associate fellow year (25-26) a multidisciplinary artist and researcher based in Switzerland, holding a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Bern. Her research and artistic practice span environmental psychology, human geography, anthropology, and contemporary art. Utilizing a sensory ethnographic approach, she investigates embodied knowledge surrounding the Zayandehrud (Life-giving River) in her hometown of Isfahan, Iran, exploring how landscapes, memory, and temporalities intersect to shape human experience.
Her scholarship bridges academic research and artistic exploration, synthesizing embodied practices with foundational theories. Drawing upon the work of Tim Ingold, Edward Casey, Merleau-Ponty, and Sarah Pink, she explores how individuals dwell, move, and narrate their attachments, tracing the lines through which lived time and material form intertwine. Her examination of space and memory is further informed by Henri Lefebvre’s Rhythmanalysis and the affective writings of Ben Anderson and Kathleen Stewart. Alongside Nigel Thrift’s micro-temporalities of gesture and Marc Augé’s anthropology of non-places, these theories illuminate the subtle temporal and emotional intensities that shape urban encounters along the river.
Her artistic output encompasses visual art, installation, experimental audiovisual media, and participatory practices. Central to her methodology is the practice of walking, informed by Guy Debord’s psychogeography and Iain Sinclair’s literary mappings. By integrating these with the spatial theories of Malpas, Cresswell, and Biedler, she treats "drifting" through space as both a method and a narrative, revealing the political, emotional, and historical textures of place.
In her walking workshops and participatory fieldwork, inspired by Michel de Certeau and Rebecca Solnit, movement becomes an embodied narrative act. This is evidenced in her exhibition, Polytemporality, where participants dwell in the riverbed during its seasonal return, fostering new habits and behaviors. Her work ultimately aligns with Doreen Massey’s view of place as a dynamic constellation of social relations.
Currently, she is active in the study of human senses and the affective dimensions of place. She contributes her findings and theoretical reflections to the University of Bern’s academic blog, further exploring how sensory and temporal layers shape contemporary life. Her practice involves collaborative and participatory initiatives that bridge academic inquiry with creative methodologies.
Beyond her research, Dr. Movahedi coordinates interdisciplinary art–science initiatives, such as Art–Science Xplore, guiding the integration of artistic methodologies with scientific inquiry. She has extensive experience managing international projects and fostering collaboration among artists, researchers, and communities. Her work has been exhibited globally at galleries, festivals, and academic conferences, and she continues to contribute to the University of Bern’s research blog, exploring the sensory dimensions of urban landscapes. Her work has been widely presented in exhibitions and academic forums across Switzerland, Iran, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Qatar, and the UAE. Her practice has been recognized with the Young Art Award from Galerie Ute Barth (2016) and the EthnoKino Bern Visionary Talk Award (2023).
