Kurdish refugee selected as a finalist for top Australian Archibald Prize

"I am proud to announce that I have been selected as a finalist for the Archibald Prize."
Mostafa Azimitabar was imprisoned for over seven years (Photo: Mostafa Azimitabar/Twitter)
Mostafa Azimitabar was imprisoned for over seven years (Photo: Mostafa Azimitabar/Twitter)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish refugee Moz Azimitabar from Iranian Kurdistan has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2022 Archibald Prize.

"I am proud to announce that I have been selected as a finalist for the Archibald Prize, 2022," he tweeted on Thursday.

The prize is worth 100,000 Australian dollars ($72,192), media reports say.

"I decided to paint a self-portrait with toothbrushes, because for 8 years I did not have art materials," he recalled to Amnesty Australia. "In detention, I used toothbrushes and coffee."

He told AFP that this was "one of the best moments of my life".

Moz Azimitabar spent almost eight years in detention, including 14 months locked up in two Melbourne hotels after his transfer to Australia.

Azimitabar finally secured his freedom in early 2021.

Read More: 2 former Kurdish asylum seekers enter Archibald prize

The Australian government in the past has sent thousands of refugees to offshore processing and detention centers in Papua New Guinea on Manus Island and Nauru to deter people from entering Australia via boat. This has led to criticism from human rights advocates.

In October 2021, the Australian government cut all support to the 124 remaining men in Papua New Guinea.

Farhad Bandesh, another refugee from Iranian Kurdistan, also entered his self-portrait in the prestigious 2022 Archibald Prize, but it is not clear if he reached the finals.

Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish refugee also from Iranian Kurdistan, became famous as a voice for those treated hardly and won an award for his autobiographical novel about his journey and imprisonment on Manus Island. In 2020, he was granted asylum in New Zealand.