All Manner of Experiments: Legacies of the Baghdad Modern Art Group is the first exhibition to fully contextualize this influential movement in Arab modern and contemporary art. Focusing on the group’s formation in 1951 through the early 1970s, it explores how generations of Iraqi artists forged a new postcolonial modernism through painting, sculpture, drawing, and rare archival materials. The exhibition offers a view of modernism from Iraq’s position as a vibrant hub of cultural exchange.
Featuring works from 1946 to 2023, including works by Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, the show highlights the group’s evolving ideas, teacher–student relationships, and experimental spirit, drawing on major regional and international collections. Organized by curators Nada Shabout and Tiffany Floyd at CCS Bard, it also includes a catalog with new essays, artist reflections, and artwork illustrations.
