“I grew up in Iran, but I was from Iraq. Then I came here, to America, and I still continued
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The Dance of Words
IARP is a sponsor of a new exhibit opening on February 25 in Minneapolis, The Dance of Words, a group exhibit of artworks that reference the use of text and calligraphic traditions found in many languages and cultures. Iraqi-American artist Ayad Alkadhi is among the featured artists. The exhibit is organized by the Katherine E. Nash Gallery and the Arab American Cultural Institute in Minnesota.
Dates of Exhibit: February 25 – March 15, 2013
Exhibit Location and Hours: Quarter Gallery, Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota
405 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN
Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
The Gospel of Rutba: Presentation by Greg Barrett
Join investigative journalist Greg Barrett on Thursday, February 21 for a presentation on his new book, The Gospel of Rutba: War, Peace and the Good Samaritan Story in Iraq (Orbis Books, 2012). The book begins with the story of Iraqi Muslims rescuing seriously injured American Christians Peacemakers and nursing them back to health during the 2003 “shock and awe” bombings.
Photos: Reception with Iraqi Authors and Filmmakers at the University of St. Thomas
On January 24, 2013, IARP co-hosted a reception with Iraqi and American veteran authors and filmmakers. The featured authors and filmmakers were refugees, immigrants, and veterans who created books and videos about their stories in Veterans Book Project workshops with IARP and The Advocates for Human Rights in 2012.
The reception was co-hosted by IARP, The Advocates, and the International Leadership Program at the University of St. Thomas. To view the books and videos online, visit http://iraqiartproject.org/bookmaking-and-videomaking/.
Photos below were taken by Rebecca Jean Lawrence Photography (facebook.com/RJLawrencephoto):
Iraq-Minnesota connections: Mohamed Miran, aircraft engineer and refugee
An article in the TC Daily Planet highlighted a video made by IARP and an Iraqi refugee living in Minneapolis:
Iraqi Minnesotans and U.S. veterans tell their stories: Meet them January 24
The TC Daily Planet featured our upcoming reception with Minneapolis Iraqis and veterans who have made books and videos about their experiences with the Iraq War:
Luke Wilcox of the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project told TCDP about the January 24 reception for U.S. vets and Iraqi refugees who told their stories through the Veterans Book Project. The reception will be 7-9 p.m. at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, Schulze Hall Atrium, 1000 LaSalle Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55403.
Iraqi and American Veteran Art
The Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project (IARP) brings art and culture from the Cradle of Civilization to the United States. We bring Iraqi and American veteran artists together in dialogue around the war and its lasting effects. We create a platform for the support of Iraqi art in an effort to support the rebuilding of culture and the recording of stories. We invite you to participate.
This is an overview of Iraqi and veteran art presented by IARP on our arts website, www.iraqiartproject.org:
The Good Samaritans of Iraq
The story of how Iraqi Muslims rescued U.S. Christians during the 2003 Shock & Awe bombings.
In March 2003, three U.S. Christian peacemakers survived the first days of “Shock and Awe” in downtown Baghdad only to be injured (two of them critically) in a car accident as they left Iraq. Bleeding, stranded and in a desert ditch, Philadelphia’s Shane Claiborne (of Irresistible Revolution fame), Seattle’s Cliff Kindy and Christian Peacemakers Team veteran Cliff Kindy of rural Indiana, were rescued by Iraqi Muslims and taken to an unlikely haven: the heavily bombed Sunni town of Rutba, a remote Syrian Desert hub for Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime. The town and the surrounding western Anbar region were being heavily bombed by the U.S. military. Three days earlier a team of U.S. Special Forces from Fort Campbell, Kentucky-Tennessee had mistakenly destroyed Rutba General Hospital, the only public hospital within 200 miles.
Join Iraqi authors and filmmakers on January 24
You are invited to a reception on January 24 at 7:00 p.m. with Iraqi and American veteran authors and filmmakers. The featured authors and filmmakers are refugees, immigrants, and veterans who participated in Veterans Book Project workshops with IARP and The Advocates for Human Rights in 2012.
The reception is co-hosted by IARP, The Advocates, and the International Leadership Program at the University of St. Thomas. Free and open to the public, the event will be an opportunity to meet many of the Iraqi and American veteran artists, as well as view the books and short films (3-8 minutes each) the artists created in Veterans Book Project workshops with IARP and The Advocates.
Forming relationships of understanding promotes healing
The following is an excerpt from an article appearing in the January 2013 edition of InterActs, the newsletter of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Read the full article on page 8 here.
“The healing journey for veterans in the aftermath of war can take varied pathways. Some veterans of foreign wars have found it helpful to develop relationships of understanding, not of war, with the people of the countries where they were deployed.
World Bank pledges $900 million for Iraq
(Reuters) – The World Bank pledged $900 million to Iraq over the next four years to help it create jobs, build stronger institutions and improve social inclusion, the global development lender said in a statement on Tuesday.
Iraq’s government developed the strategy with the World Bank, the private sector, and other stakeholders to focus especially on better management of Iraq’s vast oil wealth and improve its investment climate. The programs will also focus on inclusion of women.
To read the full article, click here.