Iraqi Diaspora Artists Reconnect with Modernist Legacy in Abu Dhabi
An exhibition at NYU Abu Dhabi shows over 30 Iraqi diaspora artists, tracing the enduring influence of the pioneering 1950s Baghdad Modern Art Group on contemporary art.
The exhibition 'All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group' is on view at NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery through January 3, 2027. It features over thirty artists from the Iraqi diaspora, exploring how modernism persists as a structuring condition within their work. The show connects contemporary Iraqi artists globally, emphasizing how cultural memory is carried forward through various forms in Iraq's cosmopolitan art scene, an environment repeatedly destabilized by secularization and shifting socio-political dynamics.
The exhibition includes artists influenced by the historic group as well as those whom its work influenced. The roster spans generations and includes figures such as Dia al-Azzawi, Hanaa Malallah, and Walid Siti alongside the group's founders. It aims to reconnect viewers to the modern moments of Baghdad, which was a vibrant cultural hub in the mid-20th century.
Historical Context
The Baghdad Modern Art Group was established in 1951 by Jewad Selim (1919-1961) and Shakir Hassan Al Said (1925-2004). It grew to engage many of Iraq’s leading artists, architects, and poets, remaining active well into the 1970s. The group sought to develop a new art form that negotiated a time of globally inflected modernism from Baghdad. This movement established a foundational modernist legacy that the current exhibition examines.
Curatorial Vision
Dr. Nada Shabout, the exhibition's curator, is a visiting professor of art history at NYU Abu Dhabi and the founding president of the Association for Modern and Contemporary Art from the Arab World. She holds a PhD specializing in modern and contemporary Arab art and has curated major exhibitions including 'Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art'.
Shabout notes that many Iraqi artists of the subsequent generation felt oppressed by the celebrated, larger-than-life memory of the Baghdad Modern Art Group. The exhibition aims to point artists to where their own connection in that history lies and to remind them of the freedom the group actually advocated for. It shows that the majority of Iraqi artists abroad eventually seek to reconnect with their heritage, using the group as a conduit for this rediscovery.
"The experimental ethos of the group continues to resonate today beyond Baghdad," said Dr. Nada Shabout. She added that this ethos serves to direct and connect contemporary Iraqi artists around the world to each other. The exhibition also aims to show students that it is possible to write history as they see it, inspiring further research.
Global Connection
The exhibition highlights how the group's experimental ethos continues to resonate beyond Baghdad, linking contemporary Iraqi artists worldwide. It positions Abu Dhabi as a central place for telling the story of Arab modernism, supported by local museums, collectors, and academic resources at NYU Abu Dhabi.
The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery is open to the public from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day except Mondays. The exhibition opened on February 12 and will run until January 3, 2027.
