English

Essay

Themes of Fatherland #1: The Witness

In a recent interview, the Iraqi-Kurdish Serwan Baran said of his new exhibition for the Iraq Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale: “I want viewers to be witnesses to the crime, to understand what it means to have lived a lifetime of conflict.” The artist’s new commission for the exhibition The Last Meal (2019) depicts…

Interview

‘I want to convey a lifetime of relentless, never-ending conflict.’: interview with Iraq Pavilion artist Serwan Baran

Iraqi-Kurdish artist Serwan Baran will present the solo exhibition ‘Fatherland’ at the Iraq Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. Baran was born in Baghdad in 1968, and lives in Beirut, Lebanon. He graduated from Iraq’s Babel University with a degree in Fine Arts and was taught by the Syrian-German artist Marwan. Baran served as a…

News

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

Serwan Baran will represent Iraq at the 58th Venice Biennale, presenting a solo exhibition which will run from 11 May to 24 November 2019. This will be the fourth National Pavilion of Iraq commissioned by the Ruya Foundation and follows the critical success of ‘Archaic’ which Ruya commissioned for the 57th edition of the Biennale…

Interview

Imperial Race: A New Board Game About Iraq’s Ancient Heritage

A couple of months ago, the annual Global Grad Show in Dubai showcased innovative student-led projects from design and technology schools across the world. The Amman-based Iraqi designer and artist Durrah Alomar, a recent graduate of the German Jordanian University, presented Imperial Race, a new board game that teaches players about Iraq’s ancient heritage. Alomar…