Iraq International Book Fair to Host 350 Publishing Houses

The third edition of the Iraq International Book Fair is set to kick off in Baghdad next month.

Baghdad - Alaa al-Mafraji

08:18-22 November 2022 AD ـ 27 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1444 AH

Iraq International Book Fair to Host 350 Publishing Houses

The third edition of the Iraq International Book Fair is set to kick off in Baghdad next month.

The third edition of the Iraq International Book Fair is set to kick off in Baghdad next month. Running from December 7 to 17, the event is organized by Al-Mada for Media Culture & Arts, a media and cultural foundation that moved from Damascus to Baghdad after 2003

Over 350 Iraqi and Arabic publishing houses from 20 countries will take in the event. Given the exceptional role it plays among the Iraqi and Arabic publishing houses, Dar Al Mada will boast the largest pavilion to display its massive, annual productions.

This year’s edition has been named after Hadi al-Alawi (1932-1998), an Iraqi, Islamic intellect, historian, and linguist.

According to the Ihab Al-Qaisi, director of the book fair, the nomination after Alawi has been made for “the role he played over 50 years in studying the Islamic and Arabic modern, scientific renaissance, the unique ideas he had about the Orient, and his deep knowledge of the Chinese and Islamic civilizations.”

Qaisi said that panels hosting experts to speak about Alawi and his creative journey will be held every day during the book fair. In addition, a bust of the late Iraqi intellect will be unveiled during the event.

For this year’s edition, Dar Al Mada reprinted all Alawi’s works in a step that aims at introducing a new generation to his works.

The fair is set to host a number of intellectual and cultural sessions with the participation of thinkers and writers from Iraq and other Arab countries. It will also host poetry readings, book signings, art exhibits and seminars exploring the political movement in Iraq.

Iraqi cultural and artistic institutions, including the Iraqi Scientific Academy, the Union of Iraqi Writers, and the House of Cultural Affairs, will participate in the fair.

From Orange Peels to Bottle Caps: Thousands of Artists Create Their Own ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’

Rob de Heer talks next to his artwork, one of 60 pieces exhibited and inspired by the famous "Girl with a Pearl Earring," painting by Johannes Vermeer, at The Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)

16:17-31 March 2025 AD ـ 01 Shawwal 1446 AH

From Orange Peels to Bottle Caps: Thousands of Artists Create Their Own ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’

After sending its most famous work to be featured in Amsterdam’s blockbuster 2023 exhibition of nearly every work by Johannes Vermeer, the Mauritshuis museum found itself with a blank space where the iconic “Girl with a Pearl Earring” had been displayed.

The Hague-based institution turned to more than 2,700 artists, from Texas to Ukraine, from age 7 to 70, who created their own interpretations of the 17th-century masterpiece.

A selection of 60 works using materials ranging from orange peels to bottle caps to sweatshirts were exhibited in the museum while the painting was on loan 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the north.

“The submissions continue to come, it will never end with her,” Martine Gosselink, director of the Mauritshuis museum, told The Associated Press, pointing to the ongoing popularity of works featuring the mystery girl.

A 2020 investigation into the painting using a battery of modern imaging techniques uncovered details about Vermeer's methods and the makeup of his pigments, but not the young woman’s identity.

“I bring together the original The Girl with a Pearl and the face of a Wayang puppet,” artist Rob de Heer told the AP, standing in front of a screen in the museum’s foyer where all of the winning submissions are displayed.

De Heer, who primarily works with mixed media, wanted to take an image from the Golden Age history of the Netherlands and combine it with one evoking its colonial legacy. Wayang puppets are a traditional form of theater in parts of Indonesia, which was ruled by the Netherlands until 1949.

His surrealist work is followed in the rolling display by a piece featuring the original girl’s face superimposed on an antique tea tin.

Other submissions include works by South Korean artist Nanan Kang, who used an ear of corn for the face; Georgian artist Nino Kavazauri, who reimagined a modern girl waiting at a bus stop with a cup of coffee; and Simon Chong, a Welsh animator, who works on the popular television series “Bob’s Burgers” and created a girl in the show’s cartoon style.

The winners were displayed in a replica frame in the exact spot where “Girl with a Pearl Earring” usually hangs, between two portraits by Dutch Baroque painter Gerard ter Borch.

The popularity of the first competition prompted a second round and those submissions are now on display at the Fabrique des Lumières in Amsterdam. The museum continues to feature submitted works of art on its Instagram page.

Gosselink, who has been the museum’s director since 2020, said the breadth and depth of the works made it difficult to select who would be featured in the exhibition.

“I would dare to say that some of the ones we selected are new pieces of art, and they would be served very well in a new surrounding, like a museum," Gosselink said.

Iraq International Book Fair to Host 350 Publishing Houses

Iraq International Book Fair to Host 350 Publishing Houses

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From Orange Peels to Bottle Caps: Thousands of Artists Create Their Own ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’

From Orange Peels to Bottle Caps: Thousands of Artists Create Their Own ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’

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