Luton photographers have travelled to northern Iraq to bring an emotive art exhibition to the town.

Ian Rowlands and Ben Hodson, a Digital Photography and Video Art student at the University of Bedfordshire, are overseeing the curation and import of an exhibition about the mass killings and warfare the Iraqi people were exposed to under Saddam Hussein’s regime, as well as dealing with the theme of peace.

It will be displayed at the Luton Arts Festival B:Fest in May to raise money for the Preemptive Love Coalition (PLC), a charitable organisation working in co-operation with Kurdistan Save the Children to eradicate the backlog of Kurdish and Iraqi children waiting for life-saving surgery.

Ben said: “The exhibition brings together a wide range of Iraqi artists, media and styles, telling the moving stories of the people that have had horrendous crimes perpetrated against them by Saddam Hussein’s regime.

“We are travelling to the northern region of Iraq, which is known as Iraqi Kurdistan, and have arranged to video and photograph the PLC charity workers, the families they are helping, the community of artists, local business men, politicians and religious leaders.

“We hope some of the Iraqi artists will travel back with us to provide talks and workshops about the exhibition. We are also looking forward to this being the beginning of a long-term relationship with the Iraqi artists.”

Ian and Ben are hoping to organise a tour of the Preemptive Love Coalition exhibition around the UK and Europe.

For further information visit www.benhodson.co.uk

Reader feedback:

Discuss this story: