The National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad has announced it will be lending 40 ancient objects from its collections to be shown alongside contemporary artworks in the Iraq pavilion for the 2017 Venice Biennale, organised by the non-profit Ruya Foundation (Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti, 13 May – 26 November). Some of the items, which include medical artefacts, statues and jugs dating back over 7,000 years, have previously been looted from the institution after the US-led invasion in 2003, and returned to the museum from the Netherlands via an Interpol directive in 2010.
Titled Archaic, the exhibition will also feature work by contemporary artists Luay Fadhil, Sherko Abbas, Sakar Sleman, Ali Arkady, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, and Nadine Hattom, five of which will present new work commissioned by the Ruya Foundation for the pavilion. They will be shown alongside works by Jawad Salim (1919–1961), an influential artist of the Iraqi Modern period, and Shaker Hassan Al Said (1925–2004), his pupil and friend.
In addition, a commission by Francis Alÿs will explore the role of the artist in war and themes of nomadism, based on the artist’s longstanding dialogue with the Ruya Foundation and travels in the region (including visits of refugee camps in Northern Iraq and an expedition with a Kurdish battalion on the Mosul frontline).
21 February 2017
