Article, "Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival"

Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival

Supporters see positive signs after years of fear

Section: News, Pg. 13a

BAGHDAD --The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra wrapped up its performance after 10 p.m. -- a bit later than most functions these days in the capital. But most of the audience stuck around to hear the conductor's short speech celebrating the cultural triumph.

It's no small thing to hold a concert in these difficult times, conductor Karim Wasfi told the nearly 200 people.

Despite a recent spike in violence after U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas at the end of June, Wasfi urged Iraqis to continue to support the arts if they want their country to regain a sense of normalcy.

"What the symphonic orchestra is doing ... is meritorious and deserves attention," he said. It demonstrates "there are also positive things happening in the country."

Iraq's once-vibrant arts culture has been slowly coming back to life in recent months, after years of sectarian fighting and a fierce insurgency made the notion of enjoying a concert or visiting an art gallery unthinkable.

"There is more than bombings and sandstorms in Baghdad," says Safiya al-Suhail, a member of Iraq's parliament. "There is hope that Baghdad's artist will experience a renaissance."

Hopeful signs of resurgence

Signs of Baghdad's re-emerging artsscene are visible throughout the city:

*The orchestra is performing more concerts than at any time since the U.S. invasion in 2003, including the concert last month at the posh Alwiya Club. The show featured classical Iraqi music as well as Beethoven's Prometheus Overture and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The concert even had a corporate underwriter: telecom firm Asiacell.

*On Abu Nawas Street, once a hub for Baghdad's best art dealers, most of the galleries have been closed since the worst days of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007. But several galleries reopened in recent months, and a few have held shows to highlight new artists.

*Al-Suhail now holds "salons," or social gatherings, that she describes as her own small effort to push Iraqis toward recapturing their rich, artistic history.

Over the last several months, the member of parliament has invited various Baghdad artists to display their work or lead discussions, as her guests munch finger foods and drink sodas in her backyard.

About 60 people attended one of al-Suhail's gatherings to view the work of several Iraqi photographers and their pictures of Baghdad. A few weeks before that, she had people over to discuss women's poetry with an Iraqi writer.

War hard on arts, artists

Despite harsh sanctions against the Iraqi government and the despotic rule of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had a vibrant arts scene in the years leading up to the war. Private galleries along the Tigris River regularly displayed artists' works, and the famous Mutanabi Street filled with booksellers did a brisk business.

After the U.S. invasion in March 2003, Iraq's cultural identity also came under fierce attack. When Saddam fell, looters raided the Iraqi National Museum, stealing thousands of precious artifacts -- some dating back thousands of years.

By the end of 2006, most of the galleries along the Tigris were shuttered, and gallery owners put their most valuable work in storage. In March 2007, the stretch of bookstores on Mutanabi Street was destroyed by a massive truck bomb that killed 38 people. It took nearly two years to rebuild the shops.

Qasim Sabti, 56, a well-regarded Iraqi painter, says the situation has improved, but Iraq's arts scene remains in disarray. Many of his colleagues fled to Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East during the worst of the fighting. Few have returned.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged Iraqi refugees to return home, but Sabti says there is little reason to come back to Baghdad.

"I wonder what it is the artists would be coming back for," Sabti says in an interview at Hiwar Gallery in Baghdad. "Will they come back for the unemployment? Or death? Or for the lack ... of general services, such as electricity and water?"

Samir Basim Youssef, 26, a musician who plays contrabass with the national orchestra, disagrees. He says there are plenty of reasons to believe Iraq can have a cultural revival.

"Iraq has been attacked by many enemies and has lived through lots of hard circumstances, but it continued its march," he says. "We will certainly continue our cultural life in spite of all these circumstances.

"We are determined."

Contributing: Aamer Madhani

(c) USA TODAY, 2009



War has always been an excuse to steal valuable artifacts from the invaded country or destroy their culture. The United States' war with Iraq has been no different. The article above describes how Iraq's cultural arts center has been destroyed and is just now getting back on its feet after almost 7 years in the dirt. '"Iraq has been attacked by many enemies and has lived through lots of hard circumstances, but it continued its march," he says. "We will certainly continue our cultural life in spite of all these circumstances," (Nadeem).

It is truly admirable that after so much heartache and loss, this country is still willing to get back on its feet and be an even bigger center for the arts than it was before. The work now is in rebuilding the museums and art shops that were destroyed, as well as getting back precious artifacts that were stolen. "When Saddam fell, looters raided the Iraqi National Museum, stealing thousands of precious artifacts -- some dating back thousands of years," (Nadeem).


Nadeem, Majeed "Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.