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Iraqi sculptor Athar Jaber to create new work for the Palestinian Museum’s inaugural exhibition ‘Jerusalem Lives’

Iraqi-Dutch sculptor Athar Jaber has been commissioned to create a new work for ‘Jerusalem Lives’, the inaugural exhibition of the Palestinian Museum in Bir Zeit, in the West Bank of Palestine, which opens this month. Twenty-eight artists from Palestine, the Middle East and other regions, including Emily Jacir, Mona Hatoum and Oscar Murillo, will produce…

Portfolio

Themes of ‘Archaic’ #2: Art and War

When curating the exhibition ‘Archaic’ for the Iraq Pavilion, curators Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo selected themes within the archaic that are the precursor to any civilization. Among these, is the theme of war. While two of the participating artists at the Pavilion addressed war and conflict, here we highlight recent work by lesser-known Iraqi…

Cartoon

‘Art and Politics’: August Cartoon

The Baghdad-based caricaturist Khudair Alhimyari has drawn ‘Art and Politics’, a new cartoon series for the month of August, commissioned by the Ruya Foundation. The Beautiful Paintings Politician: Beautiful Paintings… Politician: …but frankly, I prefer paintings that are exhibited outside of galleries, on the streets and in public squares Politician: …they can be admired by…

Interview

“A country without history is rootless”: Baghdad-based photographer Hadi Al Najjar

Hadi Al Najjar (b. 1957) is a well known and established photographer in Iraq and President of the Society of Iraqi Photographers in Baghdad. His recent work ‘Beyond the City Lights’, focused on the destitute and marginalized communities living in the old districts of Baghdad. Streets such as Al-Rashid and Al-Mutanabbi are the last remaining…