Ashraf Atraqchi

Ashraf Atraqchi is an independent artist and writer from Mosul, northern Iraq. A graduate of the Fine Arts Institute in Mosul, he comes from a family of artists and academics and has been active in the city’s cultural movement since his student days.

Atraqchi has worked as a producer of a cultural radio program and has published numerous articles on literary and artistic criticism in Iraqi newspapers and Arabic-language websites. His writing focuses primarily on the arts, especially the preservation of historical and contemporary sculptures in Mosul, as well as the biographies of Iraqi artists. His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the weekly Iraqiyoon (Iraqis) newspaper, al-Tarbiya (Education) magazine, and Thakirat Madina (A Memory of a City) magazine.

Following years of pressure, threats, an attempt on his life, and ultimately the occupation of Mosul by ISIS in 2014, Atraqchi was forced to flee his hometown. From exile, he has continued to write about art and sculpture, preserving the cultural memory of his city through his work.

Between 2015 and 2017, Ashraf Atraqchi was the ICORN resident in Stockholm.