Profiles

Iraqi-Kurdish artist Hiwa K was born in Kurdistan (Northern Iraq) in 1975. His early studies focussed on European literature and philosophy, learnt from available books translated into Arabic. Emigrating to Germany 20 years ago, Hiwa K…

15th of January 2017 was not an ordinary day in the city of Sulaymania, Iraqi Kurdistan. This day was special because an extraordinary work of art was installed on a public wall. The work of art, installed on the main wall in Reaya hill,…

by Ismail Hamalaw 1 Telling stories from my childhood, or even from the moment of my birth, may seem to be a very classical way of beginning writing about myself. However, the story of my birth has several versions. In fact, storytellers…

By Houzan Mahmoud I NEEDED to do this. After many years as an activist, it felt like it was finally the right time to co-found this initiative, a project that has the potential to lift feminist and gender consciousness, to really challenge…

I am Baran           By Baran July 2016 This is the first time I have ever written about myself. It feels harder than doing any other form of writing, but the companion who usually reassures me and shares the burden with me is my cloth…

Karwan Omar Karwan Omar, a Kurdish pedagogic dancer, and choreographer and the director of a dance company, was born in Sulaymaniah in Kurdistan. He moved to Switzerland 17 years ago and has been active as a theatrical actor and dancer for…

HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF FEMINIST ART IN A CULTURE WHERE WOMEN’S VOICES ARE ABSENT. By Kani Kamal WHEN I studied art at university in Sulaymania 16 years ago, the course was based on an old fashioned way of thinking. There was a gendered…

Profile: Bayan Salman, Bayan Salman was born in South Kurdistan but lives and works in Paris. She is also a journalist, academic feminist and author of several novels, poetry collections and translations. She has written in Kurdish, Arabic…

Profile: Khabat Abas,  My journey into music started when my father wrote a story for me called My Cello’s Golden String. This story was of a girl’s dream about a golden cello that plays colorful sounds for her. Since then my life has…