TL;DR
Get art and craft supplies delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery is presenting “All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group,” curated by Nada Shabout and on view through January 3, 2027. The exhibition brings together artists from the group, founded in Baghdad in 1951, and later generations influenced by its work.
NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery is presenting “All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group,” an exhibition curated by art historian Nada Shabout that traces the group’s influence from its founding in Baghdad in 1951 through later generations of artists. The show is scheduled to remain on view through January 3, 2027, bringing a history of Iraqi modern art into a present-day UAE gallery setting.
The exhibition gathers work by artists associated with the Baghdad Modern Art Group and artists whose practices were shaped by its ideas. The announcement describes the group as an influential circle that brought together artists, architects, poets and others. Its founders were Jewad Selim (1919–1961) and Shakir Hassan Al Said (1925–2004), two major figures in Iraqi art.
Among the works identified in the announcement are Selim’s Good and Evil, An Abstraction (1951), an oil painting, and Al Said’s Horse (1962), also an oil painting. The contemporary work listed includes Rand Abdul Jabbar’s Earthly Wonders, Celestial Beings series (2024), made in glazed stoneware. The announced artist list spans multiple generations, including Faraj Abbo, Suad al-Attar, Dia al-Azzawi, Hanaa Malallah, Naziha Salim, Madiha Umar and Ismail Fattah (Al-Turk).
Shabout, who curates the exhibition, is a senior investigator at NYU Abu Dhabi’s al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art and a visiting professor of art history. She is also the founding director of the Modern Art Iraq Archive and founding president of the Association for Modern and Contemporary Art from the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey. The gallery’s announcement presents the exhibition as a study of the group’s legacy, rather than a display limited to its founding members.
A Baghdad Art Movement in Abu Dhabi
The exhibition places the Baghdad Modern Art Group’s history in view for audiences in the UAE while connecting its mid-20th-century experiments to art made decades later. That span matters because the group’s story is not presented as a closed historical episode: the gallery’s announcement says its work influenced artists both at the time and in following generations, and that its experimental approach continues to resonate among Iraqi artists around the world.
The show also offers a way to examine how artists in Iraq responded to the conditions of a changing society and to debates about cultural identity and modernity. Its broad roster and inclusion of a 2024 work give visitors grounds to consider how those questions have been carried forward. The exhibition’s framing is the curator’s interpretation; the announcement does not provide visitor numbers, audience response or an independent assessment of the group’s influence.
Popular right now
Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus Espresso and Drip Coffee Machine with AutoFroth, Stainless Steel (ES351)
Shark HydroVac MessMaster Cordless Wet Dry Vacuum and Mop Combo, AW261
Apple AirPods Max 2 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones – Midnight
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The Group’s 1951 Beginnings
The Baghdad Modern Art Group was established in 1951 by Selim and Al Said. The announcement situates its emergence amid efforts by Iraqi artists to find a visual language suited to contemporary life. After Iraq became an independent state in 1932, artists explored the changing parameters of a secularized modern society and questioned whether established artistic practices could express the realities they saw around them.
The group formed during what the announcement calls Iraq’s “golden age” of the 1950s, when a generation of artists helped develop standards of art theory and practice. Members looked to modern art as a shared international space while working from Baghdad’s particular history and cultural setting. The exhibition’s title, “All Manner of Experiments,” signals its emphasis on varied approaches and continuing legacies, rather than a single style or a uniform artistic program.
““All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group””
— NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery exhibition announcement
Details Beyond the Announcement
The source announcement does not specify the exhibition’s opening date, the number of works on display, the gallery’s full programming schedule or whether public events will accompany the show. It also does not explain how individual works were selected or provide further detail on loans and collection arrangements beyond the credits listed for specific pieces.
The claim that the group continues to direct and connect contemporary Iraqi artists is the exhibition announcement’s characterization. The material provided does not offer interviews with artists, visitor responses or other evidence to measure that influence. The show’s eventual reception and any changes to its dates or programming remain unreported.
The Exhibition Runs Into 2027
The exhibition is scheduled to remain at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery through January 3, 2027. Readers seeking access information or updates on related programming can consult the gallery’s official listing. No additional event dates or programming details are included in the announcement provided here.
Key Questions
Where is “All Manner of Experiments” on view?
It is at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery in the United Arab Emirates.
How long will the exhibition run?
The gallery announcement says it will remain on view through January 3, 2027.
Who founded the Baghdad Modern Art Group?
The group was established in 1951 by Iraqi artists Jewad Selim and Shakir Hassan Al Said.
Does the exhibition include contemporary artists?
Yes. The announced roster includes artists from later generations, and the exhibition lists Rand Abdul Jabbar’s 2024 series Earthly Wonders, Celestial Beings.
Who curated the exhibition?
Nada Shabout, a scholar of modern and contemporary Arab and Iraqi art, curated the show.
Source: hyperallergic.com
