Revisiting the Pioneers of Iraqi Modern Art, 75 Years On

Seventy-five years after the founding of the Baghdad Modern Art Group, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha will present an exhibition examining the collective’s contribution to Iraqi and Arab modernism.

Opening on 25 October 2026, What Lingers in the Artist Mind: Experiments and Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group is curated by art historian Nada Shabout. Bringing together artworks and archival material, the exhibition traces the group’s development, artistic experiments and influence on subsequent generations.

Established in 1951 by artists Jewad Selim and Shakir Hassan Al Said, the Baghdad Modern Art Group sought to develop a distinctly Iraqi artistic language while engaging with international modernist movements. Its members drew inspiration from Mesopotamian heritage, Islamic art and local cultural traditions, reinterpreting these influences through contemporary artistic approaches.

Organised across 17 thematic sections, the exhibition spans the 1940s to the present. Highlights include Selim’s Baghdadiat (1956), preparatory studies relating to Baghdad’s Freedom Monument, and works by Naziha Selim, Lorna Selim and Mohammed Ghani Hikmat.

The exhibition also examines the group’s wider influence through artistic education, changing membership and later collectives, including the New Vision Group and al-Mujaddidin.

Beyond the artworks, the exhibition addresses a significant challenge in documenting Iraqi art history: the disappearance of artworks and archival records through decades of conflict, displacement and institutional destruction.

Building on earlier presentations at Bard College and NYU Abu Dhabi, Mathaf’s exhibition draws on its Iraqi art holdings to reconsider both the achievements of the Baghdad Modern Art Group and the gaps that remain in its historical record.

Source: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art