Kunst in Irak.

Op de site van The Guardian vond ik dit artikel over kunstenaars en hun kunst in Irak. Misschien iets waar je niet zo gauw aan zou denken bij een land in oorlog. Maar de kunstenaars zitten in conflict, met het recht op persvrijheid die ze nu hebben, met de censuur die toch weer uitgaat van de Amerikanen, met radicale moslimbewegingen die onstaan en met hun land wat kapot gaat.

• "Lots of us were optimistic when we saw the Americans. We thought the days of censorship were over and we would have democracy, but with the Americans came their tanks and barbed wire and again we feel imprisoned."

• "We got the freedom we were looking for but the same freedom is creating beasts. Lots of the writers who were writing for Saddam are writing now for the new [radical] political parties."

• "I am an artist trying to document the tragedies in my country," says Khalil. "I would love to paint flowers and happy life but go out to the street and tell me where can I find these."

• "The art of satire is something new in our country," said Jalal Kamil, the leading Iraqi actor and director who is behind this series, "and the potential is great. For the first time we can work without fear of the censors."