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Essay 

‘Art, Companionship and Everyday Life’ by Aneta Szyłak

In 2008, the curator Aneta Szyłak and the artist Hiwa K founded Estrangement, a series of workshops for artists in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In this essay written ten years later as the introduction for Ruya Notebooks #2, Szyłak reflects on the challenges of this innovative project. Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes around…
Essay 

Themes of ‘Archaic’ #1: ‘Earth’ by archaeologist Dr. Jane Moon OBE

For the exhibition ‘Archaic,’ curators Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo selected themes within the archaic that are the precursor to any civilization. For the first blog in this series, archaeologist Dr. Jane Moon reflects on the theme of ‘earth’ and what this means for the ancient civilizations of southern Iraq, and archaeologists today. Dr. Jane…
Essay 

World Refugee Day: Art in Iraq’s Refugee Camps

Today is World Refugee Day, we commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. – United Nations In December 2014, the Ruya Foundation set up a project to provide drawing materials to adult refugees living in the refugee camps of northern Iraq. These emergency camps had been set up in the summer of…
Essay 

Venice Conversations: How Can I See What You Saw?

The Berlin-based artist Nadine Hattom left Iraq with her family as a child. She reflects on her family’s journey, identity and the ancient traditions of the Mandaean community that she grew up in. The Mandaeans are a religious group from southern Iraq whose cultural practices particularly relate to water, and who were known for their craftwork on…