TARKIB's approach to artistic exchange revolutionized the scene for Iraq’s emerging artists

First off, how and when did the idea behind TARKIB come about? What were the driving ambitions and hopes for the project from its inception?

In early 2015, a young artist asked: “Hella, why don’t we create an installation exhibition?”. I liked the idea. Having already spent two years in Baghdad, I had realized that emerging artists had very few opportunities to exhibit their work and that such an exhibition would introduce something completely new to an artistic landscape still largely shaped by modern art from forty years earlier.

We brought together nine young artists, mainly from the College of Fine Art at the University of Baghdad. Together, we selected the works, developed the exhibition concept, and collectively decided on the group’s name and logo. Five months later, we presented the TARKIB Installation Exhibition at the premises of Burj Babl for Media Development on Baghdad’s Abu Nawas Boulevard, one of the few spaces available for independent artistic presentations at the time.

The public, and members of the wider art and creative scene were shocked. People pointed at us and said, “This is not art.” It was the first installation art exhibition ever held in Iraq. At the time, audiences were largely unfamiliar with artistic practices beyond the classical formats like painting, sculpture, and ceramics, for which Iraq had long been a regional pioneer. Group exhibitions also typically featured only established artists, making the participation of emerging artists equally unusual. The exhibition introduced an unprecedented combination of media and modes of presentation - including found objects with sound, symmetrical photography with light, video projected into a doorway, and paintings installed within a handmade maze. Even more challenging for the audiences was the shift from creating works that sought to please the eye to works that confronted viewers with socially critical themes.

It was precisely this reaction that encouraged the group to continue. The exhibition later evolved into TARKIB’s main pillar, the annual TARKIB Baghdad Contemporary Arts Festival, dedicated to promoting emerging local Iraqi artists.

Can you speak about the name, TARKIB, and how it was chosen?

Tarkib can have different meanings in Arabic. The meaning most closely connected to us is “installation” or “putting things together”. This best describes our philosophy: to introduce contemporary art practices in Iraq, primarily through installation and conceptual art, while bringing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches.

At the same time, the word Tarkib reflects our ambition to contribute to the development of a contemporary artistic identity in Iraq through creative expression.

You describe TARKIB as a platform, it is also a collective, and its work embodies physical spaces, workshops, and exhibitions… Can you speak a little about how all of these various aspects of your work coexist? What are the advantages of this multi-form and multi-space approach to your work?

TARKIB was not the result of strategic planning. Its identity developed gradually over a period of ten years, shaped by the collective responses to the needs and demands of the artists involved, as well as those of our guest contributors.

The decision to work as a collective was made quite simply because TARKIB brings together artists from different disciplines, age groups, passions and perspectives. What unites us is not the ambition merely to please the observer’s eye, but the desire to communicate strong messages, raise awareness and, hopefully, contribute to change.

From its very beginning, through the TARKIB Baghdad Contemporary Arts Festival, we have provided emerging artists with a platform for presenting their work. In 2017, as the collective’s activities and output continued to grow, we decided to move into a house of our own: Bait Tarkib. “Bait” can be translated from Arabic as “home”. More than a venue, Bait Tarkib embodies our belief that artists need a permanent place where ideas can develop over time, collaborations can emerge, and new perspectives can be explored. Through Bait Tarkib, we provide members of the collective, as well as other artists and creatives, with a space to learn and teach, research and produce, and present their work. Bait Tarkib is a central pillar of TARKIB. It is the collective’s home: a place to conduct research, produce work, exchange ideas, and present art to the public.

Its eight rooms provide studio space, tools and equipment for members of the collective and guest contributors. We organise TARKIB’s workshops there and make the rooms available to artists and creatives in need of working space, either for a moderate fee or free of charge. It also serves as a showcase for selected works of the collective produced over the past ten years. Open to the public every day from 4 to 8 PM, it offers interested audiences a community space for dialogue and expression while giving artists a platform to experiment, develop and present their work. Having this permanent hub has made a decisive difference. It has given the collective continuity, visibility and physical place where ideas can grow over time.

Since 2018, the collective has extended its activities into public space through Baghdad Walk, particularly to reach audiences who would not normally have access to cultural events.

How do all these ambitions coexist? Through a strong will, a shared desire and a belief that art can contribute to change within a landscape marked by political, economic, social and environmental conflict. These ambitions are carried by members of the collective who often work and live in precarious conditions and, at times, in situations that involve considerable security risks.

The advantages of this multi-form and multi-space approach is the flexibility it gives us to work across different forms of artistic expression while engaging different layers of society. This many-armed, octopus-inspired structure allows us to bring together young artists and communities and to provide a safe space for expression and dialogue – something they may not find elsewhere in Iraqi society.

How do the artistic projects pursued by your collective’s members work alongside the work of the artists you support outside the collective? Or do all artists who work with you become considered ‘members’?

Sometimes the boundaries are blurred, but not every artist who works with us becomes a member of the collective. The main idea is that TARKIB creates opportunities for emerging artists to discover their potential, develop their practices and realise their ideas.

TARKIB members often present their work alongside emerging artists during the TARKIB Baghdad Contemporary Art Festival or Baghdad Walk. In this process, they may also take on an informal mentoring role, sharing their experience with a younger generation of artists.

At Bait Tarkib, we provide artists with space to rehearse, produce or to present their work. Some become closely involved in the collective over time, while others participate only in a specific project or use the space for a particular phase of their artistic development.

Becoming a “Tarkibi” is therefore not automatic. It is a personal decision: whether someone wants to become part of the wider movement or simply explore it for a time.

What are some of the types of support, community-building, or education programs you offer emerging artists?

First of all, TARKIB provides emerging artists with a platform and access to its wider creative ecosystem. Artists whose work is presented through Baghdad Walk or the TARKIB Baghdad Contemporary Arts Festival receive guided mentorship, opportunities for peer exchange, support for artistic research and experimentation, and financial assistance with production.

We also help artists gain greater visibility through TARKIB’s social media platforms and professionally produced catalogues, available in both printed and digital formats.

What was the artistic and creative scene like in Iraq, or Baghdad specifically, when you started this endeavour? What were some of the issues artists faced, and how have you set about overcoming these through TARKIB’s approach?

Ten years ago, contemporary art practices in Iraq were still in their infancy. Young artists who were interested in installation, conceptual and multidisciplinary art often had to educate themselves through research online, as the traditional academic curriculum remained largely focused on Iraqi modern art from the 1960s and 1970s.

Outside the college campus, there was very little support for emerging artists and almost no independent infrastructure where they could experiment, produce or present their work. Opportunities for mentorship, exchange and professional visibility were also limited.

TARKIB developed as a response to these gaps. We began by providing emerging artists with a platform to explore contemporary art practices and showcase their work. Over time, we expanded this support through mentorship, artistic research, experimentation, production assistance and peer exchange.

Through the TARKIB Baghdad Contemporary Arts Festival, Bait Tarkib and Baghdad Walk, we created spaces and opportunities that had previously been missing: access to education, infrastructure, artistic support and direct engagement with audiences.

How have you seen these things change, develop, shift since you have been running the project? What are the most pressing areas of support needed for Iraqi artists today?

Ten years on, the situation [in Iraq] has not fundamentally changed. A growing interest in contemporary art practices still meet gaps in art education, cultural infrastructure and sustained support for emerging artists.

The most pressing needs today are updated educational opportunities, including revised curricula in both public and private schools and colleges, accessible spaces for research, production and presentation, professional mentorships, and long-term financial support. Artists and creatives also need stronger local, national and international networks that allow them to exchange knowledge, develop their practices and reach wider audiences.

What are your hopes for TARKIB, in the medium to long term, and how does a grant like TSAF’s —specifically an unrestricted grant— help you move toward that goal?

Operating in Baghdad presents both significant challenges and meaningful opportunities. The most pressing difficulty remains financial sustainability. TARKIB works within a challenging funding environment, with limited support for the arts sector and emerging artists. One of TARKIB's core principles is political independence. We therefore do not accept funding from governmental bodies or politically affiliated individuals or groups, although this is common practice in Iraq because much of the available funding comes from these sources. This decision is essential, as political affiliation could endanger TARKIB's work when power structures change. We want to continue our work independently of political influence and corruption.

Tarkib has faced further challenges during periods of instability, including the 2019 Tishreen Uprising, which affected the security of its members and led to my abduction in 2020. The subsequent COVID-19 pandemic also had a severe impact on the collective. Despite these circumstances, TARKIB has remained operational, demonstrating resilience and strong commitment to its community under precarious conditions.

The period between 2019 and 2024 was marked by extreme financial uncertainty. TSAF’s support has finally brought light at the end of the tunnel. Over two years, the unrestricted grant will help us keep our core programs running, sustain our operations, and implement a fundraising strategy based on diversified income sources.

Looking ahead, TARKIB aims to continue serving as a platform for contemporary art practices that supports and promotes emerging Iraqi artists while giving the wider community access to art that encourages healing, reflection and dialogue. Our long-term vision is to establish an institute for contemporary art focused on artivism, community-based practices, and raising awareness of socially critical issues within the Iraqi context.