Spotlight

News 

Rest in Peace, Luay Fadhil, 1982-2023

Ruya Foundation was sorry to hear of Luay Fadhil’s untimely death in Baghdad where his body was found six days after he disappeared. Born in Baghdad in 1982, Fadhil was a filmmaker and one of the artists in Ruya’s Archaic exhibition of the Iraq Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale. After training as a construction…
PROJECT 

‘Fatherland: Serwan Baran’ the Iraq Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale

The Iraqi artist Serwan Baran will represent Iraq at the 58th Venice Biennale. This is the first time Iraq will be represented by a solo artist at the Biennale, and the exhibition, entitled ‘Fatherland’ is co-curated by Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo. Iraqi-Kurdish artist Serwan Baran was born in Baghdad in 1968, and is considered…

Projects

PROJECT 

Ruya Shop: A Contemporary Art Space and Library in Baghdad

The Ruya Foundation has opened a contemporary art library and projection space in Baghdad. The Ruya Shop is located on Mutanabbi Street, which is known for its weekly book market selling used and rare books. Every week, during the book market’s opening hours, the Ruya Shop will project a selection of video and photography by…

Journal

News 

In Search of the Marshes: the Iran-Iraq War

The marshes became a battle ground during the Iran-Iraq war, and Saddam Hussein later drained them to punish the Marsh Arabs for participating in uprisings against him. It took decades for the delicate ecosystem of the marshes to begin to recover, and they were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016. From his studio…
Event 

Watch the ‘Letters to My Father’ Film

Watch the film ‘Letters to My Father’ which shows behind the scenes footage of the Iraqi artist Salam Atta Sabri and introduces his latest publication with a conversation between Salam Atta Sabri, Tamara Chalabi and Philippe Van Cauteren. Salam Atta Sabri (b. 1953, Baghdad) is one of the most important Iraqi artists of his generation.…

Updates

News 

In Search of the Marshes: the Iran-Iraq War

The marshes became a battle ground during the Iran-Iraq war, and Saddam Hussein later drained them to punish the Marsh Arabs for participating in uprisings against him. It took decades for the delicate ecosystem of the marshes to begin to recover, and they were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016. From his studio…
 

In Search of the Marshes: The Karkh and the Rusafa

The eastern and western shores of the river Tigris that runs across Iraq are known in Baghdad as the Karkh and the Rusafa. They serve as the starting point for the Baghdad-based artist Aqeel Khreef’s exploration into the effects of climate change on Iraq’s southern marshes, which the ancient Tigris river feeds into. In the…
Event 

Watch the ‘Letters to My Father’ Film

Watch the film ‘Letters to My Father’ which shows behind the scenes footage of the Iraqi artist Salam Atta Sabri and introduces his latest publication with a conversation between Salam Atta Sabri, Tamara Chalabi and Philippe Van Cauteren. Salam Atta Sabri (b. 1953, Baghdad) is one of the most important Iraqi artists of his generation.…
Event 

Online Book Presentation ‘Salam Atta Sabri: Letters to My Father’

Follow the book presentation ‘Letters to My Father’ by the Iraqi artist Salam Atta Sabri online on 16th February 2021 at 8 pm (GMT+1). Salam Atta Sabri (b. 1953, Baghdad) is one of the most important Iraqi artists of his generation. He was raised in an artistic environment – his father Atta Sabri was also…