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Every Building in Baghdad

“Every Building in Baghdad” examines the work of Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji through the collection of his original photographs and building documents.

Rifat Chadirji, IRQ/314/154: Offices and stores, Tobacco Monopoly Administration, Baghdad, 1966. Photographic paste-ups, 8.27” × 11.69”. Courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation

“Every Building in Baghdad: The Rifat Chadirji Archives at the Arab Image Foundation” examines the work of Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji through the collection of his original photographs and building documents held at the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut. With the work of his architectural office, Iraq Consult, and in his other professional and intellectual roles, Chadirji became a pivotal cultural figure in Baghdad during the period of its postwar modernization from the 1950s through the 1970s.

As an architect, planning consultant, and Director of Buildings for various government agencies, Chadirji was central to the organization of Baghdad and to the consolidation of its postwar image. With nearly one hundred buildings Chadirji helped foster the emergence of the factories, colleges, monopoly headquarters, communication structures, and other new building types that appear in Baghdad following Iraq’s 1958 revolution.

Rifat Chadirji, IRQ/315/186: Offices, Central Post, Telegraph and Telephone Administration, Baghdad, 1975. Photographic paste-ups, 8.27” × 11.69”. Courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation

He meticulously photographed his own architectural work in an attempt to produce documents that could survive the damage, alteration, and potential destruction of his buildings.

Rifat Chadirji, IRQ/338/151: Administration Offices, National Insurance Company, Mosul, 1969. Photographic paste-ups, 8.27” × 11.69”. Courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation

The exhibition includes 60 photographic paste-ups documenting Chadirji’s own building projects, as well as hundreds of his photographs shot in the streets of Baghdad from the 1960s to the early 1980s.

Rifat Chadirji, IRQ/331/026: E. Abboud Building, Baghdad, 1955. Photographic paste-ups, 8.27” × 11.69”. Courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation

until 31 December 2016
Every Building in Baghdad: The Rifat Chadirji Archives at the Arab Image Foundation
curated by Mark Wasiuta, Adam Bandler and Florencia Alvarez
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
Madlener House
4 West Burton Place, Chicago

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Every Building in Baghdad

“Every Building in Baghdad” examines the work of Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji through the collection of his original photographs and building documents.

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