Space in the City’s Memory: An Example of Statues in Sulaymaniyah

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/jinte.6.1.0007
• Published date: 11 November 2022
• Date: 11 November 2022
• Pages: 68-78
• Author: Zamoa Daraga
• Subject Matter: Kurdish art,public art,Sulaymaniyah,destruction of statues,Iraqi Kurdistan,intersectionality,conflict

68 Volume Six, Number One

“Space in the City's Memory” — Daraga

Space in the City’s Memory: An Example of Statues in Sulaymaniyah

Zamoa Daraga

Artist, S ulaimani, Iraqi Kurdist an

Abstract: Gardens, parks, and public artworks around the city of Sulaymaniyah are among the city’s

most admired features. An important hallmark of these public spaces are the statues of famous historical

personalities who are remembered for serving the city, particularly those who were martyred for the sake

of the Kurdish nation and were important gures of the Kurdish revolution. Despite their signicance to

the history of Sulaymaniyah, these statutes and the public spaces in which they exist are being reshaped

and removed, at worst destroyed, to make way for new developments in the city.

Keywords: Kurdish art, public art, Sulaymaniyah, destruction of statues, Iraqi Kurdistan,

intersectionality, conict

Every city has its own character and distinguishes itself from other cities through its own unique

identity. Every city’s identity is shaped by the events that took place in the city that have become

part of that city’s history. Cities have the ability to dene us. We can say that every city has its

own ethos and core values that determine its institutions and political systems but that also deeply

impact the lives of its citizens.1 The city of Sulaymaniyah, one of the major cities in northern Iraq,

has its own unique identity.2 Sulaymaniyah has nurtured the writers, actors, poets, painters, and

musicians of Kurdistan since its founding in 1784.3 Developed through economics and shaped by

power, its streets, alleys, and buildings have been built through artistry and politics, and they have

become a living part of the city. One unique feature of the city is its many gardens and parks that

include statues and other works of art. Most of these statues are famous personalities of this city

who are remembered for serving the city. Some of these personalities were even martyred for the

sake of the Kurdish nation and were important gures of the Kurdish revolution. However, this

unique piece of the city’s history and identity, particularly pieces like these statutes that hold the

memories of the 1991 Kurdish uprising and the tumultuous political history since that time, are

being reshaped and removed, at worst destroyed, to make way for new developments in the city.4

Increasingly, year by year, there is an attempt to remove these statues, which are critical

1 Bell 2011.

2 Transliterated spellings of the same name often have multiple spellings. For example, the Kurdish city of Su-

laimani may also appear as “Slemani,” or by its Arabic pronunciation, “Sulaymaniyah.” When quoting another

author, spelling remains as it appeared in the original text or as spelled by the organization using the term/name.

3 Cockrell-Abdullah 2018: 3-10.

4 Editor’s Note: Here the author is referring to the 1990-1991 Gulf War, and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait that was

later followed by the creation of the autonomous Kurdish Region of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Govern-

ment, and the start of the Kurdish civil war in 1994, mostly between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the

Kurdistan Democratic, which lasted roughly through the end of 1997.