List of Iraqi artists

The following is a list of important artists, including visual arts, poets and musicians, who were born in Iraq, active in Iraq or whose body of work is primarily concerned with Iraqi themes or subject matter.

Note: This article uses Arabic naming customs: the name "al" (which means 'from a certain place') or "ibn" or "ben" (which means 'son of') are not used for alphabetical indexing. Artists are listed alphabetically by their paternal family name. For example, the Iraqi artist Hashem Muhammad al-Baghdadi, is listed under "B" for Baghdadi, the paternal family name while the artist Zigi Ben-Haim, is listed under "H" for Haim.

A

B

C

D

E

  • Enheduanna, 23rd century BCE poet, wrote on Cuneiform tablets
  • Ali Eyal (b. 1994), multi-media artist and painter

F

  • Lisa Fattah (1941–1992), German-born painter, wife of Ismail Fatah al-Turk, active in Iraq
  • Fuzûlî (Muhammad bin Suleyman), 15th century poet
  • Mun'im Furat (1900–1972), sculptor[19]

H

J

K

  • Nida Kadhim (b. 1937), sculptor
  • Hayv Kahraman (born 1981), painter and sculptor
  • Farouk Kaspaules (born ?), artist
  • Hashim al-Khattat, "Hashim the Calligrapher," (1917–1973), calligrapher, considered as the last of the classical calligraphers
  • Rachel Khedoori (born 1964), Australian-born artist of Iraqi heritage (twin sister of Toba Khedoori)
  • Toba Khedoori (born 1964), Australian-born artist of Iraqi heritage, known primarily for highly detailed mixed-media paintings (twin sister of Rachel Khedoori)
  • Paulus Khofri (1923–2000), composer, lyricist and painter
  • Nedim Kufi (b. 1966), multi-disciplinary visual artist and graphic designer

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

W

Y

Z

See also

Major Iraqi public artworks

References

Further reading

  • Iraq Arts and Culture
  • Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists, Oxford University Press, 2017
  • Bloom, J. and Blair, S.S. (eds), Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture, Vols 1–3, Oxford University Press, 2009
  • Davis, B., "The Iraqi Century of Art," Artnet Magazine, July, 2008, Online
  • Dougherty, B.K. and Ghareeb, E.A., Historical Dictionary of Iraq, Scarecrow Press, 2013
  • Farhat, Maymanah, "Iraqi Artists in Exile," Selections magazine, no. 30, 2015 Online
  • Hann, G., Dabrowska, K. and Greaves, T.T., Iraq: The Ancient Sites and Iraqi Kurdistan, Bradt Travel Guides, 2015, pp 29–32
  • Jabra, I.J., The Grass Roots of Art in Iraq, Waisit Graphic and Publishing, 1983, Online:
  • Khalil, S. and Makiya, K., The Monument: Art, Vulgarity, and Responsibility in Iraq; University of California Press, 1991
  • Lindgren, A. and Ross, S., The Modernist World, Routledge, 2015
  • Sabrah, S.A. and Ali, M., Iraqi Artwork Red List: A Partial List of the Artworks Missing from the National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, Iraq, 2010
  • Salīm, N., Iraq: Contemporary Art, Volume 1, Sartec, 1977; Mathaf Encyclopedia of Modern Art and the Islamic World, Online:
  • Shabout, N., "Ghosts of Futures Past: Iraqi Culture in a State of Suspension," in Denise Robinson, Through the Roadbloacks: Realities in Raw Motion, [Conference Reader], School of Fine Arts, Cyprus University, (23-25 November 2012), 2015
  • Shabout, N., "The Preservation of Iraq's Modern Heritage in the Aftermath of the US Invasion of 2003," in: Elaine A. King and Gail Levin (eds), Ethics And the Visual Arts, New York, Allworth, 2006, pp 105 –120
  • Tuohy, A. and Masters, C., A-Z Great Modern Artists, Hachette UK, 2015; Al-Ali, N. and Al-Najjar, D., We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War, Syracuse University Press, 2013;