BAGHDAD
ART SCENE - WEB SCRIPT
Simona
Foltyn: A slight wind of hope is blowing through old Baghdad. On a rainy autumn
day, a small group of artist and art enthusiasts gather on historic Rashid
Street for an open air photography exhibition. It’s an
unusual sight in a city that has been marred by violence for much of the past
16 years.
Hussein
Motar: It was wonderful, it was very spiritual. People they don’t see this
daily, and the world does not see this about Baghdad.
Simona
Foltyn: Hussein Motar is taking part in the art walk, a weekend event during
which young artists exhibit their work at famous landmarks throughout the city.
His photography project documents Baghdad’s transformation over the past
decades by hanging up old photographs of Baghdad alongside his own. Motar chose
famous archive pictures of the capital, and photographed the same places to
show how the city has changed. While there has been some development, much of
Baghdad’s old architecture has suffered from damage and neglect.
Hussein
Motar: This particular picture is hung on a building from the year 1933, it’s a
very old and beautiful building, the combination of the columns and the outside
details and also the balconies is very particular and it distinguishes Al
Rashid street.
Simona
Foltyn: Motar, aged 20, comes from a generation that grew up mostly indoors to
avoid the violence that raged on Baghdad’s streets in the wake of the 2003
American-led invasion. For years, daily explosions and sectarian strife altered
the physical appearance and social cohesion of the city. Then, after a brief
lull in violence, ISIS took control of a third of Iraq’s territory in 2014, and
although its so-called caliphate never extended to Baghdad, the group
terrorized the city with car bombs and suicide attacks. Security has much
improved since ISIS’s defeat in 2017 and gradually, the concrete blast walls
that have blocked off streets and buildings for years are coming down. Motar’s
exhibition is an effort to rediscover and reclaim his city.
Hussein
Motar: People started to think of Baghdad like it doesn’t represent them due to
the architectural changes and like destruction you can see. We are trying to
make them believe again.
Simona
Foltyn: As much as these young artists seek to overcome the impact of the war,
it has inevitably shaped their art. Louay Al Hadhari exhibits his work in
Liberation Square.
Louay
Al Hadhari: I worked on the topic of women who were taken as slaves by ISIS and
sold on the market as sex slaves.
Simona
Foltyn: Al Hadhari says his sculpture of a woman from Iraq’s Yezidi minority
has broken shackles to represent the ongoing fight for freedom in Iraq.
Louay
Al Hadhari: I chose Liberation Square because the Freedom Monument is the
largest monument in the Middle East, which represents liberation.
Simona
Foltyn: The Freedom Monument in Baghdad’s Liberation Square was designed by a
famous Iraqi artist called Jawad Saleem in the 60s, a time when Baghdad was a
jewel of Arab capitals with a thriving art scene. Many decades and wars later,
that scene is a shadow of its former self. Artists today struggle to grab the
attention of a public that’s too exhausted to care. Only a few people stopped
to observe the exhibits of the young artists.
Louay
Al Hadhari: So many people are just working they don’t know about art, they
even more of them, they don’t have any education like that, so this is
something new for us.
Simona
Foltyn: It’s not just declining educational opportunities that have stunted
interest in art over the past decades. After the demise of Saddam Hussein’s
secular dictatorship, Iraq witnessed a resurgence of political Islam and
conservative Islamic values that deemed much of art as “haram” or forbidden.
Only a few organizations dare to push the boundaries. This art institute,
called Bait Tarkib or the House of Installation in Arabic, was established in
2015 to promote contemporary art.
Hella
Mewis: When we did the first installation, exhibition, people we were shocked
and said This is not art. This is a question: what is art?
Simona
Foltyn: Bait Tarkib is run by Hella Mewis.
Hella
Mewis: The Iraqi society, some of them of course are conservative, but some of
them are simply afraid to make a change. So this is
why what we are trying to do -- not to be afraid to make a change and other
people will follow, I’m sure, they started to follow us.
Simona
Foltyn: Bait Tarkib organizes exhibitions and workshops to help emerging
artists develop their portfolios and get exposure through events like the art
walk. It receives funding from French and German cultural institutes, but not
the Iraqi government.
Hella
Mewis: The government doesn’t care at all about the young generation and art
especially. Culture, no, nothing. Grants like we have in Europe so we have
grants for the young generation, grants for cultural institutions, here is
nothing.
Simona
Foltyn: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities does organize and fund
several art festivals and other cultural activities to promote Iraqi artists,
musicians and writers, according to spokesperson Omran Al Obeidi.
Omran
Al Obeidi: Every year we put in place an integrated plan to support cultural
and artistic activities in all of Iraq. The ministry provides all the required
facilities for these events.
Simona
Foltyn: But Al Obeidi admitted that the number of programs is limited due to
insufficient funds. The ministry’s share of the government’s 2019 budget is
less than 0.2%. We’ve got the smallest budget of all the ministries but we
overcame this difficulty through appropriate management and the selection of the
right activities that deserve the attention and that have relevant cultural
impact in the artistic media and the cultural field.
Simona
Foltyn: But the bulk of resources are spent on salaries and not programs. More
than 98% of the ministry’s 2019 budget of $118 million is earmarked for
administrative expenses and the payroll for its 13,800 employees, with only
$1.9 million left for art, music and other cultural activities. The lack of
government support reverberates through all segments of Baghdad’s culture
scene. Iraq’s National Symphony Orchestra once received more government
funding, and attracted conductors and musicians from around the globe. Today it
suffers from a shortage of funds and basic facilities, including a dedicated
building. The orchestra meets three times a week to rehearse at this dance
studio at the music and ballet school.
Mohammed
Amin: There’s no comparison. The simplest things the orchestras around the
world have are lacking here. The location, as you see, it’s not convenient or
appropriate for an orchestra rehearsal because of the echo.
Simona
Foltyn: Some of the musicians are frustrated at the perceived lack of
opportunities. Nepotism is prevalent, and getting ahead requires connections,
says this 19-year old violinist. He’s been with the orchestra for seven years,
but hasn’t been offered a salaried position. So he plays for free.
Shirwan
Mohammed: I’ve been playing in the second violin and then I got promoted to the
first violin, and I’ve been in every concert they’ve had, but I still haven’t
got the employment because I don’t have any connections.
Simona
Foltyn: Despite all these challenges, on this night the orchestra draws a
packed audience at Baghdad’s national theatre. Fakhar Hadaad and Faisal Habib
are medical students and regular concert goers. For them, being able to visit
cultural events like this one is a sign of Baghdad rising.
Faisal
Habib: People in the beginning used to be afraid maybe of congested places and
crowded places such as this one.
Fakhar
Hadaad: Music is one aspect of a normal life and this is what we are trying to
have around here, even though we are having a lot of obstacles from having a
normal life, but yeah, we are trying our best.
##
|
TIMECODE |
LOWER THIRD |
1 |
2:20 |
HUSSEIN MOTAR PHOTOGRAPHER |
2 |
3:47 |
LOUAY AL HADHARI ARTIST |
3 |
5:14 |
HELLA MEWIS BEIT TARKIB |
4 |
6:15 |
OMRAN AL OBEIDI MINISTRY OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND
ANTIQUITIES |
5 |
7:27 |
MOHAMMED AMIN IRAQI NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA |
6 |
8:02 |
SHIRWAN MOHAMMED VIOLINIST |