NYU Abu Dhabi gallery hosts exhibition on Iraqi modern art history

Dr. Nada Shabout curated an exhibition titled All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery in the United Arab Emirates.

The show explores the history of the Baghdad Modern Art Group, which Jewad Selim and Shakir Hassan Al Said established in 1951. The group included many Iraqi artists, architects, and poets who worked to create a new art form that blended global modernism with the cultural heritage of Mesopotamia.

The exhibition traces how Iraqi artists responded to the formation of the Kingdom of Iraq in 1932. After Britain dismantled the Ottoman Empire, artists began to question if traditional Islamic art could represent their contemporary lives. They turned to modern art as a way to explore a shared global humanity. This movement led to a period of artistic maturation in the 1950s, which the article describes as a golden age for Iraqi art theory and practice.

The gallery displays works from the original group members and the younger generations they influenced. The exhibition is scheduled to run until January 3, 2027. It connects contemporary Iraqi artists around the world by highlighting the group's experimental legacy.