Post-War Art & Cultural Festival in Sulymaniyah a Resounding Success

Erbil | November 6, 2009

dor Schneider (right) at the exhibition in Sulimaniyah

On November 7, Erbil Regional Reconstruction Team Leader Andy Snow and Public Diplomacy Officers participated in the opening of the "Post-War Art and Culture Festival" in Sulimaniyah. The first of its kind, the festival ran November 7-9 at the former Red Jail, one of the Baath regime's detention and interrogation centers.

The opening was attended by KRG Prime Minister Barham Salih, First Lady Hero Ibrahim Ahmed Talabani, UK Deputy Consul General Beverley Simpson, other officials and diplomats, and a large number of artists and scholars from Iraq, the UK, the U.S., Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Nigeria, and other countries.

In his remarks at the opening ceremony, Team Leader Snow noted that "Art captures elements of the human condition that transcend time, distance, borders, language, and other barriers to meaningful connection between people, creating opportunities for an intimate "conversation" between people who otherwise might never meet.  The Iraqi, British, and American artists participating in this festival have offered all of us the opportunity to have those crucial conversations."

The program included an exhibition of photos from Susan Meiselas' book Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History; a unique art installation incorporating crude oil by British artist Richard Wilson; exhibitions by Iraqi artists; a film screening and slideshow on post-war Iraq by Professor Maki Omaran, Babylon College of Fine Art; documentary screenings; live art and performances; and a symposium titled Reinvention: Iraqi Contemporary Art & Culture in a Post Conflict Zone, which included a colloquium and panel discussion with curators, artists, officials, and academics from Iraq, Iran, UK, and USA.  Ambassador Schneider subsequently visited Sulaimaniyah Museum, Zamwa Gallery, American University in Iraq - Sulaimaniyah, and with Meiselas held a roundtable at the American Corner located in Sulaimaniyah Public Library with 30 local artists and musicians on ways to find markets art in the region, on art education, and on dedicating public spaces for displays of art.

RRT Erbil provided the festival organizer, ArtRole, with a $24,750 micro-grant to support the participation of former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands and Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service Dr. Cynthia Schneider and U.S. artist and MacArthur Fellowship ("Genius Award") recipient Susan Meiselas. Other sponsors included the Kurdistan Regional Government, the British Embassy, and local Khak TV.