Its easy to forget that Baghdad was once the intellectual and artistic capital of the world. Before political struggles, invasions and wars left its nation in tatters, Baghdad was characterised by its unique urban design and architecture, with cities as far flung as New York lovingly nicknamed “Baghdad on the Hudson.” Today, with over 7.6 million inhabitants, it remains the second largest capital in the Arab world, and its being reignited by the Baghdad Modern Art Group.
On February 12, New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery will open All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group to the public, where it will remain on view through June 7. Curated by art historian Nada Shabout, the exhibition examines the radical legacy of the Baghdad Modern Art Group and its enduring influence on contemporary Iraqi art. Admission is free, and the gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12 pm to 8 pm.
Originally organised by the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard), the exhibition was first presented at the Hessel Museum of Art, where it received widespread critical acclaim, including “best of” recognition from The New York Times. The NYU Abu Dhabi presentation continues the project’s scholarly and curatorial investigation into one of the most significant modern art movements in the Arab world.
Founded in 1951 by artists Jewad Selim (1919–1961) and Shakir Hassan Al Said (1925–2004), the Baghdad Modern Art Group emerged during a pivotal period of nation building in Iraq following the end of British colonial influence. At a time when Iraq was negotiating questions of cultural identity and political sovereignty, the group sought to articulate a distinct visual language that spoke to their roots to engage in global artistic discourse.
Rejecting narrow interpretations of “Islamic art,” members of the group experimented with abstraction, calligraphy, figuration and references to Iraq’s ancient Mesopotamian civilisations. Their manifesto framed artistic practice as an open-ended investigation, emphasising experimentation and intellectual engagement. Rather than viewing modernism as a Western inheritance, the group positioned it as a global conversation in which Iraqi artists lead. And the regeneration of Baghdad doesn't stop with art. In November 2025, the city also announced plans for a new forest district designed by Gensler.
Featured artists in the exhibition include Faraj Abbo, Dia al-Azzawi, Hanaa Malallah, Mahmoud Sabri, Naziha Salim, Jewad Selim, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Madiha Umar, Ismail Fattah (al-Turk) and Walid Siti, among many others. By situating historical works alongside contemporary practices, the exhibition highlights the continuity and transformation of the group’s experimental ethos, championing younger generations to continue to contribute.
The exhibition brings together painting, sculpture, works on paper and extensive archival materials, many of which were previously undocumented. Spanning from the 1950s to the present, it traces how the ideas of the Baghdad Modern Art Group continue to resonate across generations of Iraqi artists, both within Iraq and throughout the global diaspora.
The project has received lead support from the Barjeel Art Foundation, The Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation, the Farjam Foundation and the Ibrahimi Collection, with major support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
Established in 2014, the NYUAD Art Gallery is one of the region’s only university galleries dedicated to scholarly and experimental exhibitions. Through All Manner of Experiments, the institution advances its mission to map under-examined moments in art history and spread research and fresh dialogue in the Gulf and beyond.
