The Many Colors
of IRAQ
@
MESOPOTAMIA Art
Gallery, Ferndale, Michigan
April 14th - May 18th
What is the realty nowadays in
Iraq and who really are the Iraqi people,
these two questions can be
answered through various ways, one of which is the power of
art. Throughout human history art has been the true mirror
of all nations. That is still the case today, and it will
continue to be so in the future.
Mesopotamia Art, History &
Beyond, Inc. is
a learning studio and art gallery that specializes in
the field of visual arts and Mesopotamian history. For years
it has been dedicated to trying to answer the above
questions about Iraq and its people by showcasing the art
works of a carefully selected high-profile of professional
native Iraqi artists (Chaldeans, who are Christian-Iraqis)
and some of their fellow Iraqi artists in the areas of
modern and contemporary Mesopotamian visual arts.
On the occasion of
AKITU
7307k the ancient
Mesopotamian Chaldean New Year Festival (April 1-11),
Mesopotamia Art Gallery held an art exhibition entitled
The Many Colors of
IRAQ between April
14th and May 18th of 2007. The exhibit
was intended to end on April 28th. However, due
to the request of numerous new visitors who took great
interest in this particular exhibit, the directors of the
gallery decided to extend the show until May 18th,
which is only one day after the date Chaldeans celebrate
their National Flag Day.
Beside the primary show (The
Many Colors of IRAQ),
Bassel Odish the owner of BO studio for the art of stamps
which is located at the Mesopotamia Compound, took this
opportunity to show a variety of his art works which is made
from original old stamps. The show also included a life
traditional music on Oud by the prominent musician Raad
Barakat.
The Chaldean New Year (AKITU) was
a major festival in ancient Mesopotamia. The first city that
started celebrating Akitu was ERIDU, the first
capital of the Proto-Chaldeans since 5300 BC. This festival
is now considered a Chaldean National Celebration that is
shared by all the Chaldean political parties as well as the
cultural and social organizations all over the world.
(Mesopotamia Art Gallery) started celebrating Akitu since
2005. To learn more about the gallery and its part in AKITU
Festival, kindly visit us a:
www.mesopotamiaartgallery.com
.
The May 18th closing
ceremony was one of the most successful shows the gallery
has yet experienced. Covering the show were more than 15
different types media, from TV stations to magazines and
newspapers, along with many web-site representatives. They
interviewed the artists as well as selective individuals
from the tremendous audience who had attended. The media
that covered the show were as follows:
Ishtar Satellite TV
Iraqi Chaldean American TV
(ICA TV)
Chaldean Voice Radio
Voice of Tomorrow Radio
(ICA - Saut Al-Ghad)
Middle-East Radio
Chaldean News Magazine
The Truth Magazine
The Harp Magazine
Voice of Substituted Home
Magazine (Saut AlBMahjar)
The Sun Magazine
Chaldean Detroit Times Paper
Sun of Freedom (Shems Al-Hurreya
Paper)
Voice of Freedom Paper (Saut
Al-Hurreya)
The Truth Paper
Akkad Paper (Canada)
Nineveh Paper (Canada)
Major Chaldean & Other Iraqi
Web-sites
The diverse art works were paintings,
sculptures, graphics (Print-Makes), ceramics - terra cotta, and
Raku, all achieved by nearly twenty five well-known Iraqi
professional artists. The participants included the pioneer
artist Issa Hanna Dabish, the notable pioneer artists, from the
60=s
Generation, Ali Talib, M.Muheraddin, Ismaeel Khyyat. Other
artists were the late awesome artists Khuder Jirgees (1939-2006)
and Ziad M. Haider (1954-2006). There were also artists from the
USA as well as overseas. Among the most prominent ones are
Farouk Kaspaules (Canada), M. H. Abdulla (Spain), Burhan Saleh
Kirkukly (Holland). The list also included Fadhel Tuama, Mahmood
Al-Ubidy, Mazin Elia Sha=awi,
Qais Issa Al Sindy, Roche Binyamen, Wissam Marqus (IRAQ), Josef
Yousif, Joanne Yono, Alaa Hermiz, Sulafa Roumayah, Sam selou,
Suzan Jadan and Zuhair Sha=ouni
(USA). Finally, there were art works by the directors of the art
gallery; the talented writer and visual artist Lavon Ammori and
the visual artist and historian Amer Hanna Fatuhi.
It is also worth mentioning that
Mesopotamia A. H. & B. received many praising e-mails, mails and
phone calls from notable people, i.e., the Iraqi Cultural
Attaché Dr. Abdulhadi Al-Khalili esq., Mr. Ramzi Dalloo,
(Chairman of CDC) and others.
In addition to that, many other Iraqi
and ethnic Chaldean parties, along with cultural and social
organizations attend this event through their chairmen and
executives, i.e.,: Amer Jamil and Kamal Yaldo (Iraqi Democratic
Union), Dr. David Ayoub (Iraqi American House), Farid Matti
(Kurdish Democratic Party - Yakti), Hamid Murad (Iraqi Human
Rights), Qais Sako, Fawzy Delly, Sahir Yaldo, & Shawqi Kunja
(Chaldean Democratic Forum), Mr. Yaldo & Kunjo also represent
Chaldean Voice Radio. Academic and educators who attend that
event include: Professor Shakir Jirjees, Weam Namo (Novelist),
Sue Madonna (Linguistics), Georges Mardo (Writer & Chaldean
activist).
The exhibition was supported in part
by:
International Chaldean Association of
Art (ICA Org.)
www.chaldeanart.com
Chaldean Flag Gifts-shop
www.chaldeanflag.com
Dr. David Ayoub, Michigan Community
Financial Services
ICA Media, Inc., TV, Radio, Paper, &
Print-shop
The Chaldean Educational Center of
America CECA,
www.chaldean4u.org
Amer Fatuhi, Senior Art Director
Painter, Art Critic, & Historian,
Member of iaa
The International Association of
Professional Artists / Paris
Revised by: Weam Namo Yatoma
