Whispers From Baghdad - Iraqi Art Exhibition
In 2005, a human rights worker in Baghdad sent out an e-mail describing the plight of a collective of artists there, The Iraqi Plastic Arts Gallery. In response, a humanitarian aid worker met Mr. Muhammed and his daughter Dalya, both members of the collective.
They explained to her that they and their fellow artists, many of whom held degrees from the College of Fine Arts in Baghdad, had nowhere to display or sell their art. The unemployment rate in Baghdad hovers around 60%, and so they had no source of income either.
The humanitarian worker began the arduous task of gathering paperwork and signatures from the various ministries to get the necessary clearances for the art to be taken out of Iraq. Shipping framed art out of Baghdad is too expensive; that prospect was untenable.
The artists took the paintings from their frames and hand rolled them into four tubes. Official paperwork and 36 paintings in hand, she made her flight. At each layover, she was required to open the tubes and show the paintings. They almost didn't make it through Amman, Jordan . But, a good cause is sometimes rewarded and the paintings were allowed through.
The 36 original paintings will be displayed, accompanied by a video of interviews with the artists.