Negar Ahkami was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Iranian immigrant parents in 1971, and raised in a New Jersey suburb of New York City. She attended The Art Students League of NY since age 10 through her teen years. She obtained a BA from Columbia University in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures.

Ahkami attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2004 and received an MFA in Fine Arts from School of Visual Arts (2006). She has participated in Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Workspace Residency and Governor’s Island residency, and Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington’s Longterm Artist Residency in Arlington, VA. Ahkami has had solo exhibitions at MoCA Arlington, Cody Gallery at Marymount University, Leila Heller Gallery (NY), and LMAK Projects (Williamsburg). Her work has been in group exhibitions at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, The Bronx Museum of Art, Rutgers University, the Walters Art Museum, Princeton University, Kravets Wehby Gallery, and Rossi and Rossi Gallery (Hong Kong).

Ahkami’s work is represented in the collections of The New Britain Museum of American Art, Depaul University Art Museum, Wellington Management Company, the Mohammad Afkhami Collection, and the Farjam Collection (Dubai, UAE). Ahkami divides her time between Arlington, VA and NYC and maintains studios in both places.