Dia al-Azzawi: Let me tell you a story to break the waking night

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  Richard Saltoun Gallery

  On view through Dec 18

  Source for Dia al-Azzawi: Let me tell you a story to break the waking night
  Nov 05 – Dec 18, 2026

  A former archaeologist and museum curator, Azzawi was a pioneering figure in the development of Iraqi modernism during the 1960s. His practice draws on ancient Mesopotamian artefacts and ethnographic motifs, alongside a deep engagement with Arabic literature. From the mid-1960s, he began incorporating written Arabic into his art, initially drawing on popular phrases reflecting everyday life in Baghdad as part of his anthropological research. He later turned to the shared tradition of oral storytelling as a means of expressing a common Arab cultural identity in the aftermath of the failure of political pan-Arabism in 1967.

  Schedule

  5 Nov - 18 Dec 2026

  Plan exhibition visit

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