Reimagining Iraq's Lost Culture
The stories of artists responding to the continuing conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
On this week’s Cultural Frontline we explore the artistic response to the continuing conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
We join the American artist Michael Rakowitz in London’s Trafalgar Square, as he unveils his new work, a reimagining of an ancient Iraqi artefact, which was destroyed by the so-called Islamic state.
The audio investigator and sound artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan tell us why he has helped former detainees of a notorious Syrian prison to create “ear-witness testimonies” of their experiences.
The acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei talks about why he continues to tell the stories of refugees through his work and the Indian singer Harshdeep Kaur shares the story of the artist that inspires her to make music.
Presented by Tina Daheley.
Picture: Michael Rakowitz's sculpture The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth in London.
Picture Credit: Gautier DeBlonde
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Broadcasts
- Sat 7 Apr 201802:32GMTBBC World Service except Online, Australasia, News Internet & UK DAB/Freeview
- Sat 7 Apr 201808:32GMTBBC World Service except East Asia, Europe and the Middle East, News Internet & South Asia
- Sun 8 Apr 201819:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 8 Apr 201823:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Mon 9 Apr 201803:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, Online & UK DAB/Freeview only
- Mon 9 Apr 201806:32GMTBBC World Service East Asia
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The Cultural Frontline
The Cultural Frontline: where arts and news collide.

