Contemporary Arab Representations. The Iraqi Equation

 

 

18 December 05 – 26 February 06

 

 

Opening: December 17, 2005, 5 - 9 pm

Sinan Antoon / Arab Image Foundation / Fadhil Al-Azzawi / Fernando Báez / Shimon Ballas / Hana Al-Bayaty / Sargon Boulus / Sawsan Darwaza / Tariq Hashim / Koutaiba Al-Janabi / Nedim Kufi / Faisel Laibi / Gema Martín Muñoz / Maysoon Pachachi / Salam Pax / Haris Pellapaisiotis / Oday Rasheed / Talal Refit / Samir / Baz Shamoun / Samuel Shimon / Hushim Al-Tawil / Saadi Youssef / amongst others

The images and news that have reached us since the Gulf War, since the invasion and occupation of Iraq, depict the extremely complex political, but also cultural and social situation of the country in extremely simplified form. But the dramatic situation the country is living through is no reason to ignore the creative achievements, ideas, and difficulties that have shaped Iraqi culture in the past decades – a period upon which the revolution, political violence, and finally the consolidation of the dictatorship have left their stamp.

Since the end of the 1950s, Iraqi culture has been characterized by several phases of short, long, or sometimes permanent exile, by the growth of a vast, worldwide diaspora, and by the constrained development of artistic creation in the country itself. It is high time to confront with each other the various discourses and positions that have developed differently in Iraq and abroad, in order to map out the tensions and antagonisms resulting from this special situation. To this end, it seemed important to us to provide a forum for creative Iraqis who worked and work in the country itself or in exile: writers and poets, filmmakers, photographers and artists, experts and political analysts, but also a few foreign Iraq specialists, whose analyses contribute to a better understanding of the problems that led to the current situation.

Contemporary Arab Representations. The Iraqi Equation is a project directed by Catherine David, organised and produced by KW Institute for Contemporary Art and the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, in cooperation with Arteleku-Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa and Universidad Internacional de Andalucía-UNIA arteypensamiento. The Iraqi Equation is made possible through the support of the Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes) and the Ministerio de Cultura de España. With additional support from Juan Lucas Young / sauerbruch hutton architects, Al-Kamel Verlag, Schiler Verlag and Banipal magazine. A supplement to the accompanying program takes place at  Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) on January  20 and 21, 2006 under the title Middle East News.

The Iraqi Equation is a part of Contemporary Arab Representations a long term project directed by Catherine David, organised and produced by Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, Arteleku-Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa and Universidad Internacional de Andalucía-UNIA arteypensamiento.

Catherine David is a Fellow of the Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes) at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin.

Accompanying program:

17.12.2005, 7.30 pm
Poetry reading by Fadhil Al-Azzawi, Sargon Boulus, and Saadi Youssef

18.12.2005, 3 - 11 pm
Literature and Culture in the 60's and 70's in Iraq; Policy and Occupation in Iraq.

Talks and discussions: 

24.02.2006, 7 - 10 pm
Series of talks: Cultural Destruction in Iraq

25.02.2006, 7 - 10 pm
Contemporary Iraqi Literature

Readings and talks – Carte Blanche to Banipal