Composer's Workshop: Issam Kourbaj

Issam Kourbaj

Title: Drawing on my journey

A presentation by Syrian-born Cambridge-based visual artist Issam Kourbaj on his journey as an artist, touching on his artwork and performances in collaboration with other creative science and humanity disciplines at the University of Cambridge. He will also be speaking about his response to the ongoing Syrian conflict and about the destruction of his homeland and cultural heritage since March 2011.

Issam Kourbaj comes from a background of fine art, architecture and theatre design. He was born in Syria and trained at the Institute of Fine Arts in Damascus, the Repin Institute of Fine Arts & Architecture in St Petersburg and at the Wimbledon School of Art. He has lived in Cambridge, UK, since 1990, where he has been artist-in-residence, bye-fellow, and lector in art, at Christ’s College.

His works have been featured at museums around the world, including Fitzwilliam Museum, Museum of Classical Archaeology, and Kettle’s Yard House and Gallery; Penn Museum; British Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum; Brooklyn Museum; Tropenmuseum; the Venice Biennale; and the Henry Moore Institute.

For the BBC’s ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects,’ Neil MacGregor (the former Director of the British Museum) chose Issam’s artwork Dark Water, Burning World as the 101st object.