CANADA'S IRANIAN-CANADIAN COIN

A London, Ont., artist's design for a new coin has been selected by the Royal Canadian Mint as winner for their newest collection celebrating Canadian diversity.

Soheila Esfahani, a visual arts professor at Western University, crafted small gold and silver coins with a turquoise centre in her design called "transcendence and tranquility."

 

Esfahani spoke to CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive host Colin Butler to share how her Iranian roots inspired her design.

Colin Butler: Your coin design is beautiful. Can you describe it to us?

Soheila Esfahani: The coin design has elements of Eslimi or arabesque design that comes from Islamic culture. It also has elements from a flower from Persepolis, and also a maple leaf, so all of these things become almost like a medallion on the coin, with the centre being turquoise.

CB: What went through your mind when you found out you had the winning design?

SE: I was quite excited because part of my art practice is that I code these designs on everyday objects and exhibit them as my art pieces. So this was very much in line with what I've been doing but really on another level because the coin is an object that circulates all the time. It was an interesting and amazing opportunity I had. I was excited that all of these things I'm thinking about in the coin design were coming together.

CB: You talked about Islamic design, the floral patterns and the symmetry. Was that the inspiration for this design?

SE: Partly, I was originally thinking about what would be an object that Iranians tend to bring to Canada when they immigrate or visit, to remember their culture, and that one object is a Persian rug. We all sort of bring one with us at one time or another to use in our homes in Canada.

I was looking at the rug that I had in my house — and it's centre medallion — so I used that floral design as inspiration for this coin design. But those kinds of floral designs are also used in other kinds of decorative designs.

To read the complete article, see:
Q&A: London artist's Royal Canadian Mint coin design celebrates Iranian-Canadian heritage (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/q-a-london-artist-s-royal-canadian-mint-coin-design-celebrates-iranian-canadian-heritage-1.7123905)

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