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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…
Interview 

What is an Image, a Sound, A Word? Interview with the artist Hassan Massoudy

Hassan Massoudy draws on his training as a calligrapher to create energetic compositions based on the written word. In an artistic career that has spanned 45 years, Massoudy’s experimental approach has pushed the limits of a rigid calligraphic tradition. His work includes the writings of poets and philosophers from all ages and cultures, ranging from…
Interview 

Memories of the Future: Interview with Syrian artist Ghaith Mofeed

Regional Conversations is a series of online articles by the Ruya Foundation, which addresses issues surrounding art and conflict in the wider Middle East. Last summer, Ghaith Mofeed, a young artist from Damascus, buried half of an expired Syrian document beneath the ground in the town of Cuenca, Ecuador. He gathered some of the soil…
Cartoon 

‘Art and Elections’: April Cartoon

The Baghdad-based cartoonist Khudair Alhimyari’s series on culture and Iraq continues. This month’s theme is ‘Art and Elections’. Your Favorite Candidate A gallery invigilator ushers a visitor to the exhibition room. The visitor however, admires a series of election posters: ‘I find the work repetitive, but nonetheless beautiful’.