Dia al-Azzawi is a prolific multi-disciplinary artist: painter, sculptor, draftsman, printmaker, publisher and designer. He uses artistic and cultural references from Arab heritage, natural history and folklore, to create contemporary works that are both local and can create a dialogue with other cultures.
The first Iraqi artist to have solo exhibitions outside Iraq, Azzawi wrote a manifesto called Towards a New Vision (1968) in reaction to the collapse of political pan-Arabism, which became the foundation for joint Arab cultural activities including al-Wasiti Festival (1972), the Union of Arab Artists (1973), and the Arab Art Biennales (1974 onwards). Since leaving Iraq (1976), Azzawi maintained his relationship with the region through exhibitions across West Asia and North Africa, as well as Europe and America.
From the 1980s onwards, Azzawi created over 100 unique artist’s books and limited-edition print collections based on Arabic literature across the ages. As a result of conflict and sanctions in Iraq, he produced a series of monochrome works called Land of Darkness (1991–present) and documented the systematic murder of Iraqi intellectuals. Similarly, he has long documented the injustice suffered by the Palestinian people, including one of his most important and best-known works: Sabra and Shatila Massacre (1982–83), now in the Tate Modern.
Beyond his own work, Azzawi supports other artists through publishing, collecting, commissioning, and donating from his private collection to public institutions. His ceramics studio in Amman hosts artists from across the Arab world, while his online Arabic-language magazine Makou focuses on modern art from Iraq. In addition to joint initiatives to explore the Arab experience, he has also curated international projects, such as an exhibition of prints and graphic design from the Third World (1979–80) and an international poster competition on the themes of freedom of opinion and Palestine (1980).