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

> Dia al-Azzawi: Let me tell you a story to break the waking night at Richard Saltoun Gallery in Uptown. On view through Dec 18.

- Venue: [Richard Saltoun Gallery](https://bronder.nyc/gallery/galleries/richard_saltoun_gallery.html.md)
- Address: 19 E 66th St, New York, NY 10065 ([Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=19+E+66th+St%2C+New+York%2C+NY+10065))
- Neighborhood: Uptown
- Status: On view through Dec 18
- Section: [NYC Art Galleries](https://bronder.nyc/gallery/index.html.md)
- Web page: https://bronder.nyc/gallery/galleries/richard_saltoun_gallery/dia-al-azzawi-let-me-tell-you-a-story-to-break-the-waking.html
- Markdown: https://bronder.nyc/gallery/galleries/richard_saltoun_gallery/dia-al-azzawi-let-me-tell-you-a-story-to-break-the-waking.html.md
- Last updated: Nov 05, 2026 at 07:24 AM

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- When: On view through Dec 18
- Run: Nov 05 – Dec 18, 2026
- Source: https://www.richardsaltoun.com/exhibitions/165-dia-al-azzawi-let-me-tell-you-a-story-to-break/

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.