Esam Pasha — Biography



 

 After the fall of Baghdad in April, 2003, Esam served as a translator for the coalition troops. His actions saved numerous lives by preventing potential conflagrations. And, because he was the Iraqi National Judo champion from 1993 to 1997, he was a valuable member of the team that trained the new Iraqi police and troops.

In the days following the fall of Baghdad, Esam first gained recognition through a series of articles published about him in the international press because he was the first artist to paint a new mural over the largest outdoor portrait of Saddam Hussein. Steven Vincent, the murdered American journalist, wrote several articles about Esam, recognizing him for his extraordinary bravery while working as an interpreter, despite certain grave personal risk.

In 1999, Esam had earned a degree in business administration in Baghdad, but he instead chose to become an artist. Before the war, as a member of the Iraqi Art Society, he had exhibited extensively in Baghdad, including the Iraqi State Art Center, the International Babylon Festival (1998), the Political Poster Exhibition (1998), the Jamil Hamoudy Exhibition (the Iraqi pioneer) held in Innana Gallery, Baghdad (2001). Internationally, his paintings were selected for the Iraqi Contemporary Art Exhibition in Vienna, Austria (1998), the Victor Hugo Exhibition at the French Cultural Center (1998), “Humanity Crosses The Threshold of the New Millennium” (held by International Committee of the Red Cross (1999), the “Iraq: Terre Oublée” exhibition in Paris (2000), and “Art Across Borders” which toured Europe and the United States.

In 2000, Esam also created a large panoramic mural representing the history and civilization of Iraq for the United Nations Development Program in Baghdad. Unfortunately, the mural was destroyed when the U.N. office was bombed and burned by the terrorists.

Esam’s first trip ever out of his country came in June 2005, as he luckily secured a work visa. Before his arrival, he had been serving as translator for the Head of Services Advisor of the Police Section of the British Embassy in Baghdad.

Fortunately, Esam’s visa was extended by having won a six-month international artist-in-residency at the Griffis Art Center in New London, Connecticut, where he continued his painting. In addition, since 2004, he has been writing chapters for his book about life in Baghdad before, during, and after the war. He has also helped to organize a major group exhibition called “Ashes to Art: The Iraqi Phoenix,” curated by Peter Hastings Falk at the Pomegranate Gallery.