The Journey
In mid June of 2005, a human rights worker in Baghdad , we'll call her A., wrote an email describing the plight of a collective of artists in Baghdad, The Iraqi Plastic Arts Gallery. A. met Mr. Muhammed and his daughter Dalya, both members of the collective.
They explained to her that they and their fellow artists had neither
a place to show nor a place to sell their art. The unemployment rate in Baghdad hovers around 60%, and so they had no source of income either.
The wheels were set in motion to bring the art to Chicago for the HAMSA From the Middle East to the Midwest Festival, which was to take place on August 27 th and 28 th . The festival was organized and executed by Genesis at the Crossroads, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging cultures in conflict through cultural exchange, by blending elements of those cultures that express humanity the most: art, music, dialogue, and food.
A. organized with the artists to photograph the paintings in time for a CD to be handed off to another human rights worker returning to the US, who then delivered it to Chicago . Upon receipt of the CD, the paintings were chosen and requests were made for the artists to send them. Shipping framed art out of Baghdad is too expensive. So that prospect was untenable.
A. measured and numbered the paintings, and the artists took the paintings from their frames and hand rolled them into 4 tubes which A. was then to carry on the plane with her. With 36 paintings in hand, she made her flight.
In the meantime, back in Chicago, arrangements were made to secure volunteers to build stretchers for the paintings and to stretch the canvasses when they arrived. Tim Dashnaw, a Chicago furniture maker, agreed to help. When the paintings finally arrived, one week before the festival, Mr. Dashnaw worked days at his business and through the night on the paintings. Thanks to his dedicated efforts, twenty paintings (all that the allotted space would allow) were ready for the show. We thank him for his hard work.
On August 27 th , the HAMSA festival began. The Iraqi Plastic Arts Gallery tent, sponsored by Filmmaker Harold Ramis (the emcee for the festival), was set up, and people began to flow through. Over the two days, the paintings, described as, spectacular and "provocative" by the
Chicago Tribune (Wednesday, Sept. 7th, 2005), and, a testament to human endurance... by
Time-Out Chicago (Aug. 25th-Sept. 1st, 2005), were viewed by over a thousand people. The HAMSA Festival was dedicated to one of the artists,
Sarmed Khazi, who was killed by a car bomb on June 23rd, 2005.
That was the beginning.
Since 2005, this project has continued to grow, culminating in the opening of Iraqi Art's gallery in Chicago Illinois on December 10th, 2006 and the formation of the non-profit organization in May 2007.
We continue striving to fulfill our
mission of support, education and cultural exchange. But, we can't do it alone. At present, the artists receive 65% of the pretax sale of their art. One of our goals is to be able to give 100% of the pretax sale to the artists. We can't do this without funding. Your help is essential for us to continue growing, and for the achievement of our goals
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click the donation link below.
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Tax deductible donations to Iraqi Art
Until we receive our determination from the IRS, tax
deductible donations must be made by check or money
order through our fiscal agent;
Donations made in the following way are tax
deductible to the fullest extent of the law:
In the Pay to the order of section of the check or money
order write: The 8th Day Center for Justice
In the MEMO section of the check write: Iraqi Art
Donations should be mailed to:
Iraqi Art
7013 N Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60626
