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Interview 

Maqams on the Digeridoo: Oud player and composer Rahim al Haj

Rahim al Haj is a composer and Oud player based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born and raised in Baghdad, he studied at the Institute of Music under Munir Bashir, and toured the world as part of the Baghdad Ensemble before fleeing Iraq in 1991. He speaks to RUYA about his early career as a musician and how he fuses the…
Interview 

“A half-finished Iraqi flag”: Baghdad-based photographer Ayman al-Amiri

Ayman al-Amiri (b. 1995, Baghdad) is well known among young photographers and filmmakers in Baghdad. He was 8 years old when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, and his photographs reflect daily life after the conflict.  Ayman’s work has been presented at international film festivals in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and New York and appears in RUYA’s Welcome to Iraq…
Interview 

Curating the Iraq Pavilion: Q&A with Philippe Van Cauteren

In November 2014, Philippe Van Cauteren, curator of the Iraq Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale, travelled to Baghdad with RUYA’s chairman Tamara Chalabi. There, they met artists in their studios, and visited the city’s cultural institutions and galleries. As well as mentoring the artists, RUYA hosted a day long symposium on international contemporary art…