Curated by Safina Projects and with Community Jameel and CULTURUNNERS supporting production as piloti del padiglione (pavilion pilots), the pavilion returns to the origins of Iraq’s architectural legacy.
DUBAI: “We’re speaking about a culture that has been ignored,” says the Iraqi-German artist Rashad Salim. “There has been no work done on vernacular architecture as part of our cultural heritage. We used to have independent anthropologists and ethnologists and people interested in vernacular culture, but since the invasion and occupation of Iraq things have really gone downhill.”
Salim, who has dedicated his artistic career to the protection and revival of the ancient crafts of Iraq, is talking about something he cares passionately about: the traditional boatbuilding, architecture and craftsmanship of central, southern and western Iraq. It’s a culture that has suffered repeated tragedy and been brought to the brink of extinction by conflict, displacement, and an often bewildering collective trauma.
The Future is Fragile, Handle with Care, 2021 flag by Agnes Denes Agnes Denes, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects & Culturunners
Passers-by strolling on the pavement outside Tate Britain in London today will see a distinctive flag flying in the wind above the celebrated gallery. US artist Agnes Denes’s flag emblazoned with the message
The Future is Fragile, Handle with Care marks the conclusion of Healing Arts London and the launch of a global 2021 Arts & Health Campaign: a “call to action” launched by the World Health Organization, the nomadic social enterprise Culturunners, and a coalition of cultural partners to counter the mental health crisis of isolation, anxiety and bereavement caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “Denes s flag calls out for the urgency of a global response not only to Covid-19 but also to climate change,” says a statement. The film of the flag-raising ceremony is due to be released today at 16.00 GMT; Denes m