Exhibition to represent Kurds through art

Our University is hosting a photo-art exhibition to portray the culture of Kurdistan-Iraq.

The event, on Wednesday 8 February, is said to represent ‘the pain and joy of people who live in Iraq.’ The exhibition is coordinated by Dr Omer Tekdemir, Research Associate at the University’s School of History, Politics and International Relations.

Well-known painter, sculptor and plastic surgeon Dr Ala Bashir, who was born in Iraq, will attend and speak at the event.

Tola Faraj, PhD Student at the University, is a curator and representative of the Kurdistan Photo organisation in the UK. He said: “The Kurdistan Photo-art exhibition offers a full-exposure of art and thought from cultural heritage, historical sweeps of beautiful images to the contemporary human and natural images.

“This exhibition art event will be dedicated to the exploration and construction of Kurdish identity and heritage in Iraq and how these photographs intersect within the wider Kurdish society and beyond.”

Dr Karzan Karim added: “For the Kurdish case, this kind of event brings together those working on Kurdish issues in universities, arts, museums and media organisations to interrogate the changing ways in which every day Kurdish life has been represented and archived in the Middle East region and the UK.”