Modernism in the Middle East and Arab World
Exploring modernity and its intellectual trends in the Middle East is a very fitting endeavour, as ‘Middle East’ itself is a ‘modern’ term which has…
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Sabri, Atta (1912–1988)
Born in Kirkuk, Iraq, Atta Sabri was among the pioneer generation of Iraqi modern artists with careers peaking in the mid-20th century. He was an…
al-Attar, Suad (1942--)
Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Suad al-Attar moved to London in 1976. She holds a prominent position within the narrative of Iraqi modern and contemporary art…
Hikmet, Mohammed Ghani (1929–2011)
Mohammed Ghani Hikmet is considered one of Iraq’s most prolific artists and influential modern sculptors. Hikmet is best known for his monumental sculptures that dot…
Jader, Khalid al- (1922–1988)
Dr Khalid al-Jader was born in Baghdad, Iraq. He had a distinguished career as an Iraqi artist, scholar, and administrator throughout the mid-20th century. He…
Yousef, Saadi (1934–)
Saadi Yousef is an Iraqi poet, author, journalist, and political activist. He has published 45 volumes of poetry, nine books of prose, several essays and…
Umar, Madiha (1908–2005)
Madiha Umar was the first Iraqi woman to receive a governmental scholarship to travel to Europe, where she officially studied education but also began art…
Droubi, Hafidh al- (1914–1991)
Considered an important figure in the development of art education in Iraq, Hafidh al-Droubi held important posts during his career including the Deanship of the…
Hassan, Faiq (1914–1992)
Faiq Hassan was among the pioneers of Iraqi modern art. Along with Jewad Selim and Hafidh al-Droubi, Hassan held a premier position in the development…
Haidar, Kadhim (1932–1985)
Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Kadhim Haidar studied art at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad after receiving a degree in Arabic Studies from the…
Selim, Jewad (1921–1961)
Born in Ankara, Turkey, Jewad Selim descended from an Iraqi family of artists. His father is Hajj Mohammad Selim, his sister Naziha Selim and brothers…
Al-Bayati, Abdul-Wahab (1926–99)
Iraqi poet Abdul-Wahab al-Bayati was one of the foremost pioneers of Arabic poetry during the twentieth century. His poetry was revolutionary in poetic form and…
Nasiri, Rafa al- (1940–2013)
Born in Tikrit, Iraq, Rafa al-Nasiri earned a bachelor’s degree in printmaking from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad in 1959. From 1959 to…
Shaikhly, Ismail al- (1924–2002)
Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Ismail al-Shaikhly was among the Baghdadi Institute of Fine Art’s first graduating class in 1945. At the institute, he studied under…
al-`Ayni, Yusuf (1927–)
A playwright, actor, and director, Yusuf al-`Ayni was instrumental in the development of Iraqi theater from the 1950s through the 1970s. His three-decades-long career coincides…
Jabra, Jabra Ibrahim (1920–1994)
Born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in 1920, Jabra Ibrahim Jabra was a distinguished intellectual whose literary writing, translation, and criticism played an important role in Arab…
Al Said, Shakir Hassan (1925–2004)
Al Said was a prolific and influential artist. He was a founding member of the Baghdad Group for Modern Art (Jama’at Baghdad lil-fann al-hadith) in…
Belkhodja, Néjib (1933–2007)
Néjib Belkhodja was a Tunisian artist credited for leading Tunisian modern art in a new direction in the 1960s. He attended the Lycée Carnot and…
al-Sayyāb, Badr Shākir (1926–1964)
Badr Shākir al-Sayyāb is the unrivalled champion of the Arab Free Verse movement. One of the most well-known poets of the twentieth century, he revolutionized…
Huroufiyah
The perception of the Arabic letter in art has gone through many changes from the Islamic civilization to the modern age. Following the political and…
Arab-American Theater
Arab-American Theater is a general term that describes plays and performances by Americans of Arab descent written in Arabic and/or English from the early twentieth…
The Egyptian School of Fine Arts
The Egyptian School of Fine Arts [Madrassat al-Funun al-Jamila al-Misriyya] opened its doors on 13 May 1908, a date cited by many art historians as…
Zeid, Fahrelnissa (1901–1991)
Fahrelnissa Zeid was a prominent and influential figure in Turkish modern art. An accomplished early modernist Turkish painter, she was as influential for modern Jordanian…
Spaces for Modern Art in North Africa
In the twenty-first century, works of modern art appear in national museums, private museums, galleries, and independent exhibit spaces across North Africa (defined here as…
Zaini, Jassim (1943–2012)
Jassim Mohamed Zaini was a leading figure in the development of the fledgling Qatari art scene in the 1960s. Zaini was one of the few artists…