Acclaimed Iraqi artist Dia Al Azzawi prepares for his exhibition ‘I am the cry, who will give voice to me?”
Doha: Preparations are under way for two major exhibitions by internationally acclaimed Iraqi artists Dia Al Azzawi and Mahmoud Obaidi which will open next week.
Presented by Qatar Museums (QM), the exhibitions will in part focus on key moments in the political history of Iraq and the Arab world and showcase works from two artists from two different generations.
Taking place simultaneously at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and the QM Gallery Al Riwaq for the first time, the Dia Al Azzawi exhibition titled ‘I am the cry, who will give voice to me? * Dia Al Azzawi: A Retrospective (from 1963 until tomorrow)’ will cover 9,000sqm and include over 500 works. It will open on Monday at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and on Tuesday at QM Gallery Al Riwaq, and run until April 16.
A day later, QM will open Fragments, an exhibition by Mahmoud Obaidi, which will run from October 18 January 30 at QM Gallery in Katara Cultural Village, Building 10.
Al Azzawi and Obaidi are longstanding friends, having first met in Amman in 1993. Since then, they have worked on a number of successful projects together, and Al Azzawi continues to act as a mentor to Obaidi.
In a recent interview between Obaidi and art curator, critic and historian of art, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Obaidi said: “Dia is a very important person who kept Iraqi art together, he is the backbone or spine of Iraqi art. He was the rope who connected us all. Today we still have this network between us because of him.”
Al Azzawi is a renowned artist who has exhibited extensively and has played an important role in the promotion of Iraqi and Arab art to international audiences. He has been in exile from Iraq for over 30 years, and currently lives and works in London.
Obaidi is an Iraqi-Canadian contemporary artist. His conceptual body of work addresses critical issues of injustice and inequality in everyday life. With a caustic approach to current political debates, Obaidi deconstructs judgments, labels and stereotypes that create a constant state of tension.
