Iraq - Biennale Arte 2015

The Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq (Ruya) commissioned the National Pavilion of Iraq at the 56th Venice Biennale, May 2015. The exhibition, Invisible Beauty, is curated by Philippe Van Cauteren, Artistic Director of S.M.A.K. (Museum for Contemporary Art) in Ghent. It features five contemporary artists from across Iraq and the diaspora. The artists work in a range of media and the Pavilion includes new works that have been produced specifically for the exhibition as well as works that have been rediscovered after long periods of inattention. The exhibition is accompanied by a display of over 500 drawings made by refugees in northern Iraq. World-renowned artist Ai Weiwei has selected a number of these drawings for a major publication that is launching at the Biennale.