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BIOGRAPHY

Sherko Abbas is a Kurdish-Iraqi artist. He was born in Iran in 1978, where his family lived as refugees, and returned to Iraq when he was two years old. He studied Fine Art in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq and graduated with a Master in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2015. He works within various media including video, performance, text, sculpture and sound. His practice is dedicated to collective memory, sonic and visual memory, as well as the geopolitical situation of contemporary Iraq.

Through his work, he observes how war has been absorbed into local culture in Iraq through music, film, cartoons and children’s toys. Abbas’ works have been exhibited and screened internationally including at: Archaic, the Iraq pavilion at the 57th Venice biennale; Theater of Operations, MoMA PS1, New York; May Flames Pave the Way for You, Arsenal gallery, Białystok; Push Festival, Manchester , UK; Independent Iraqi Film Festival, Online screening; 38th Kassel Documentary Film And Video Festival, Kassel Germany; Aashra, Ashkal Alwan Online Film; Towner International, Towner Eastbourne, Eastbourne; Speaking Across Mountains, Middle East Institute, Washington D.C.; Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin, Louvre Auditorium, Paris; Baghdad Mon Amour, Institut des Cultures d’Islam, Paris; Vernacularity, Alternativa Festival, Gdansk; Estrangement, The Showroom, London.

Abbas also works as a curator, organizer and coordinator of cultural events. He curated, inter alia, the project “Sermedy Le 437.072 sq km” (2007) and was the operation manager of the project “Post-war Culture in Iraq” (2010), both at the Amna Suraka Museum, Sulaimani. In 2017, in collaboration with the curator Aneta Szyłak, he researched and coordinated the project “In-between Worlds. Kurdish Contemporary Artists”, resulting in a collection of artworks from over 30 Kurdish-Iraqi artists and a book. The collection is now part of the Imago Mundi collection under the auspices of the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, Treviso, Italy.

Contact:

Sherkodado@gmail.com

Upcoming and ongoing events

WORLD WEATHER NETWORK

Ruya Foundation has commissioned two art projects along the Tigris River and in the marshes of southern Iraq, to address the country’s water crisis. Iraqi artists Sherko Abbas and Akeel Khreef“Akeel Khreef will explore the impact of rising temperatures on the delicate ecosystems of the historic river and marshes.

Selected exhibitions:

2022

10Visite Festival cultural centre in Antwerp, Belgium

OPEN CITY DOCUMENTARY film festival, Close-up Cinema, London

HABIBI COLLECTIVE film screening at the station-Baghdad

INTERNATIONAL VIDEOARTb At Fábrica do Braço de Prata, [Lisbon]

MAY FLAMES PAVE THE WAY FOR YOU contemporary Kurdish Art NOMUS Nowe Muzeum Sztuki w Gdańsku

2021

MAY FLAMES PAVE THE WAY FOR YOU contemporary Kurdish art at NOMUS Nowe Muzeum Sztuki w Gdańsku curator: Aneta Szyłak

38th Kassel Documentary Film And Video Festival Kultur Bahnhof Kassel at BALi Kinos And Online

Brouhaha/ When The Wild Instrument Sing– Noise Performance at Home Manchester, UK

IIFF 2021 Independent Iraqi Film Festival.

aashra, Ashkal Alwan’s audio/visual streaming platform Online Film

2020

May Flames Pave the Way for You at Arsenal Gallery, Poland

Towner International at Towner Gallery, UK

2019

Theatre of Operation MoMa PS1, New York

Speaking Across Mountain Middle East Institute Washington. D.C

Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin at Haus der Kulturen der Welt/ Berlin

The phantom museum, this project funded by Gotha institute.

Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin at Louver/ Paris

2018

Baghdad, mon amour, Institute des Cultures d’Islam, Paris, curated by Morad Montazam

2017

Archaic, Iraq Pavilion at 57^th Venice Biennale, curated by Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo

The city and me hurt each other, English Hospital Sulaimanyah, Iraq, curated by Rebeen Majeed

2016

Clamor, Institute of Fine Arts Hall, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

2015

Vernacularity, Alternativa International Visual Arts Festival in Gdansk, Poland, curated by Aneta Szylak, Emily Pethick and Beatrice Josse

Small things that matter more, Sala Gallery Italy, curated by Rebeen Majeed

Dire Straits, Lumen Festival, New York City, curated by Sandra Skurvida

Digite, collaboration project at The Showroom-London organized by Shama Khan

Goldsmiths Graduate Show, Goldsmith, University of London

2014

Freedom at the Barricades, Vaxjo Art Hall in Sweden, curated by Martin Schibli

When the Wild Instrument Sing, at Goldsmiths, the University of London (an ongoing sound performance that was initiated by Sherko Abbas, in collaboration with musicians and sound artists)

2012

Dire straits, Import/Export, Kassel, Germany, curated by Sandra Skurvida.

2011

Be alert, Merg Gallery, Hawler (Erbil), Iraq, curated by Awni Sami (Awni SB)

OtherIS TVDINNER, IM International, Queens, New York City, curated by Sandra Skurvida

Estrangement, Alternativa International Visual Arts Festival Gdansk, Poland, curated by Aneta Szylak and Hiwa K

2010

Estrangement, The Showroom, London, curated by Aneta Szylak and Hiwa K

Curatorial experience

2017

Researcher and coordinator of the project In-between Worlds. Kurdish Contemporary Artists with the curator Aneta Szylak, resulting in a collection of over 30 Kurdish-Iraqi artists and an accompanying book in the framework of the Imago Mundi project by Fabrica and Benetton Foundation, Treviso, Italy

2010

Post-war Culture in Iraq, operation manager of a project, National Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

Operation assistance of Richard Wilson for his installation 20;50, National Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

2009

The organiser of the workshop Kurdish Colour, led by professor Michel Fehr of Art in Context Program UdK, Berlin, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

2007

Curator of the project Sarmady, National Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

2005

2005 Project. Initiator, coordinator, website and catalogue editor of an exhibition featuring 10 young artists from Sulaimanyah, National Museum of Amna Suraka, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

Catalogue

Theatre of Operation

Renconters Internationales Paris/ Berlin

Baghdad, mon amour.

Archaic, Iraq Pavilion at 57^th Venice Biennale

In-between Worlds. Kurdish Contemporary Artists, Imago Mundi

Import/Export

Art Monthly

Alternativa

Dado

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