Ibn Rushd Lecture II 16/06/2026
BASATEEN: Spaces for Free Thought in Iraq
A walk through Iraqi contemporary art scene with artist & cultural practitioner Ali Raid Najm
Iraq remains unknown to most followers of the news in other countries, even more so to those following Western media. And certainly a vibrant art scene is something unexpected by them; yet it does exist. So what is a young contemporary Iraqi arts scene concerned with these days, and where are its spaces?
In his presentation Basateen – the plural of Bustan, meaning gardens in Arabic – Iraqi artist and cultural practitioner Ali Raid Najm walks us through the diversity of Iraq’s contemporary art scene, presenting his perspective on contemporary arts in Iraq today and introducing a young generation of artists, who often face challenges that prevent them from showing their work internationally, yet are redefining creative expression in Iraq today.
Ali will present ten artists working across various disciplines including painting, balance art, upcycling, artificial intelligence, performance, installation, calligraphy, and sound.
German-Iraqi artist Nora Al Badri will respond to Ali Raid’s presentation, contemplating the existence of artistic creation amidst all the destruction, and how it reflects issues in Iraq today. She will compare the Iraqi arts scene to those in other (post-)war countries of the Global South, and seek to position young Iraqi artists among international arts movements.
Join us online for this upcoming Ibn Rushd Lecture
About the Speakers:
Ali Raid Najm is an artist, writer and cultural practitioner from Babylon, Iraq. He designs and implements creative workshops at the intersection of heritage, art, and community engagement. His practice explores how ancient cultural traditions can inspire contemporary creativity and self-expression.
Nora Al-Badri is a multi-disciplinary and conceptual media artist with a German-Iraqi background. Her works are research-based as well as paradisciplinary and post-colonial. She lives and works in Berlin. She graduated in political sciences at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main and is a lecturer at the Eidgenössische Hochschule (ETH) in Zurich. Her practice focuses on the politics and the emancipatory potential of new technologies such as machine intelligence or data sculpting. Al-Badri’s artistic material is a speculative archaeology from fossils to artefacts or performative interventions in museums and other public spaces, that respond to the inherent power structures. She has exhibited in many places, among others the Viktoria and Albert Museums’ Applied Arts Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, Design Biennal Istanbul, ZKM Karlsruhe, Science Gallery Dublin, and Ars Electronica. Al Badri’s work was featured in media such as The New York Times, BBC, Artnet, Wired, Le Monde Afrique, Arte TV, Smithsonian, Al Ahram, Vice, Hürriyet, Dezeen, Polska, La informacion, De Volkskrant, Gizmodo, and The Verge.
Event in English
Tuesday June 16, 2026
7pm CEST
Online Event via Zoom, please register to attend: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/xNKJB8FlRaG9m_Hi1vxLuQ
Curated and presented by Cora Josting
Image credit: courtesy of the artist (Ali Raid Najm)
Graphic design & social media: Suha Nasser