Baghdad-Out! The Cultural Agenda of Baghdad
Onno Dirker’s report/artistic project after this experience has been turned into a limited edition book. To view it please download the two PDF editions of Cultural Agenda from 2003 and 2004, the goal in 2009 is to create the third Cultural Agenda, the Baghdad-out.
As almost all the cultural elite of Baghdad have now left the city, the ‘agenda’ would now have to address these issues: How has this emigration affected the cultural output of Iraqi artists? Has it indeed led to an explosion of free expression unfettered by political interference? How has the internet enabled Iraqi artists, seperated physically, to continue cultural engagement from within, for example, Syria, Jordan and the Lebanon?
The research phase of the project will commence with a tour of the Syrian capital, Damascus and Beirut, Lebanon, to meet Iraqi artists living there in exile in order to discuss the concept of the agenda. This project follows the recent visit of Onno Dirker to Lebanon.
Beirut Every-Other-Day. The Ruin in the City.
In collaboration with Cecilia Andersson, the Lebanese cultural association 98weeks research project presents Beirut Every-Other-Day, a series of workshops investigating Beirut’s urban space.
98weeks research project is a newly established cultural association based in Beirut whose aim is to collectively elaborate artistic practices and theoretical forms of inquiries. 98weeks aims to create a platform for debate, discussion and production in Lebanon and the Middle East.
The first workshop will be lead by Spanish artist Lara Almarcegui. During the workshop we will explore specific sites in Beirut; empty spaces and abandoned constructions. What histories, economies and conflicts are still present through these sites? How can such physical remains provide ways to rethink Beirut’s layered history? By asking questions we hope to also be able to envision future possibilities.
Arthub is sending artist/architect Onno Dirker to participate in this project. Onno has been working on various projects connected to the subject of this symposium, one very relevant is the mapping of cultural activities in Bagdad (Iraq) during the ongoing war (year 2003/2004).
The workshop starts with a public seminar on 22 September where Lara Almarcegui presents her work. The seminar also hosts Swedish curator Cecilia Andersson along with Lebanese architect/artist Tony Chakar, moderated by architect George Arbid.
Background
Prior to and since the outbreak of the Third Golf War in 2003 any western understanding of the cultural life within Baghdad has been at best limited.
To gain a greater understanding of Baghdad’s cultural life Atelier Veldwerk (Studio Fieldwork The Hague-Bruxelles) initiated the Cultural Agenda of Baghdad project.
The first ‘agenda’ was printed in 2003, as a double page spread in a January edition of the Dutch newspaper, Volkskrant, just two months before the Allied bombardment of the city.
With help from many Iraqi sources the ‘agenda’ pieced together, in a form never before seen, a one month overview of cultural events within and around the city, spanning theatre, music, cinema and the visual arts. It gave western readers a completely different perspective of life within the city at the time.
The second ‘agenda’, compiled in July 2004, after the transfer of political power from Allied troops to the Iraqi government, painted a different picture. Cultural life had diminished considerably, with many cultural sites destroyed or closed. Television filled the void, with the production of many new soap operas, predominantly comedic in their content. It was published as a spread within the VPRO TV Guide.
