Ruya Foundation’s chairman Tamara Chalabi continues her diary about her research trip in Iraq with curator Jonathan Watkins, for the Pavilion of Iraq at the 55th Venice Biennale: Iraq is rich, not only in oil but also with the resonance of extraordinary cultural traditions.  Yet many Iraqis struggle to eke out an existence against the backdrop…

Ruya Foundation’s chairman Tamara Chalabi writes about her research trip in Baghdad with curator Jonathan Watkins, for the for the Pavilion of Iraq at the 55th Venice Biennale: With Jonathan Watkins, Director of Ikon in Birmingham and curator of the pavilion, we travelled as a team to Iraq for the first time in December 2012,…

With Jonathan Watkins, Director of Ikon in Birmingham and curator of the pavilion, we travelled as a team to Iraq for the first time in December 2012, to start developing ideas for the pavilion. Arriving in Baghdad, we took the approach of an ‘open call’, inviting artists to meet and show us their work. We…