A Conversation with Dia al-Azzawi–On Calligraphy as Inspiration, 1960s Iraq, and the US Invasion

Interviewed by Hans Ulrich Obrist In collaboration with Clare Davies, Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art In this video, curator and Artistic Director of the Serpentine Gallery in New York, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, interviews artist Dia al-Azzawi (b. 1939) about his life and practice in Iraq prior to his departure in 1976 for political reasons. Filmed in 2022, in the artist’s London studio, the video aims to contribute to the living record of Iraq’s cultural life prior to the country’s invasion in 2003. The interview is divided into four chapters: In Beginnings, the artist recalls how his early years as a student of archaeology and the fine arts in newly independent Iraq fostered his desire to create a modern school of art that reflected his own experiences. In Where Artists Gather, he discusses the small but vibrant arts scene that developed in 1960s Baghdad and its connections with artists and writers in Beirut. In Art and Literature, he speaks about his ongoing relationship to Arabic literature and how it has intersected with his own practice. In My Broken Dream, he speaks about two works that respond to the long-term consequences of the 2003 American invasion of Iraq and his own relationship to the country after almost fifty years of exile. Artist’s Biography Dia al-Azzawi (b. Baghdad, 1939) is recognized as a defining figure of modern Iraqi art, celebrated widely for his interest in abstraction and adaptation of Arabic script to the surface of the canvas. He graduated in 1962 with a BA in archaeology from Baghdad University and with a Diploma from the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad in 1964. He contributed to the establishment of Iraq’s most dynamic art movements of the post-independence period including the New Vision Group (Jama‘at al-Ru’ya al-Jadida, est. 1968) and the Iraqi Artists’ Society. He helped found the landmark al-Wasiti Festival in 1972 and the first biennial of Arab Art in 1974. Between 1968 and 1976, Azzawi also worked at the Iraqi Antiquities Department in Baghdad and helped establish museums across the country. The artist has described much of his work from this period as a conversation between the country’s historical arts and contemporary cultural and artistic influences. While in Iraq, Azzawi held five solo shows at the National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, participated in the first Triennial of International Art in India (1968), the first two biennales of Arab Art (1974 and 1976), and the 37th Venice Biennale (1976). After moving to London in 1976, he began exhibiting his work more widely in Europe and internationally, and took part in the 15th São Paulo Art Biennial (1979). Major retrospectives of his work have been held at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2001), the 6th Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival (2009), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha (2016–2017), and, currently, the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford (December 2022–June 2023). Azzawi’s mural sized Mission of Destruction (2004–2007) was displayed at MOMA PS1’s exhibition “Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars, 1991–2011” from 2019 to 2020. Most recently, he participated in the latest, or 58th, edition of the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh. Please note: The captions in this video have been edited for clarity. Read the full transcript here: Subscribe for new content from The Met: Timecodes 0:00 Introduction 0:21 Beginnings: Dia al-Azzawi’s Early Years 5:07 Where Artists Gather: 1960s Baghdad & Arabic Calligraphy 10:53 Art and Literature: Working with Poets 16:00 My Broken Dream: The US Invasion of Iraq and Exile #TheMet #Art #TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt #Museum © 2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art