Heterotopia art exhibition in Erbil focuses on migration abroad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The "Heterotopia" art exhibition began on May 15 in the Cihan art gallery at Cihan University in Erbil. It focuses on the culture of migration abroad and will continue until June 15.

Artist Ahmad Nabaz organized the exhibition with the help of the Cihan Cultural Centre and the Goete Institute of Iraq. It features work from nine artists. Seven of these artists are Kurdish, while the remaining two are Iranian and Palestinian.

"Each tried in their own language tried to be connected to the concept of heterotopia," Nabaz said. "Some of them use their personal memory since they experienced migration themselves and moved to Europe."

"The exhibition will continue for one month."

Heterotopia is a good title for the exhibition, Nabaz said, since it explains the lives of refugees when they live in between dystopia (in hell) and utopia (the place they aim to reach). 

Heterotopia is a concept initially invented by philosopher Michel Foucault in 1967 in a discourse with a group of architects as a new type of mid-space term that means 'another place' that falls between utopia, where everything is an ideal, yet also dystopic, and a place of hell. Heterotopia is a non-space that lies between utopia and dystopia, often called the third space.

"We hope this will raise public awareness about issues of migration," reads the exhibit's description. "Many of the participating artists have gone through similar experiences of their own."

Furthermore, the exhibition description says that "the individual in the eastern world, especially the Kurdish person, has an ancient history of migration and instability due to the results of war and the disasters it brings. Moreover, political and religious conflicts give one the feeling of not having the ability to hope for change and development." 

"We are a group of contemporary artists who deal with the issue from a moral and human standpoint," it added. "We work through our artistic practices to address the concept of migration from different perspectives, starting from local to the larger map that crosses many borders and includes many residents of this planet, for all humans are looking for a dream to have safe places."