NUHA AL RADI

 b. 1941, Baghdad, Iraq. 

d. 2004, Beirut, Lebanon.

 Nuha al-Radi was a painter, diarist, and ceramist. Her book ‘Baghdad Diaries’ is famed for unfolding the tribulations and terrors of living through the first Gulf War and the aftermath  that ensued. She has been acclaimed for representing a uniquely female viewpoint in a predominantly male-centric topic of war, occupation and economic sanctions, be it in her writing or her artwork. 

Growing up in India, al-Radi went to English-speaking schools in Delhi and Shimla, and then briefly in Alexandria, Egypt as well, in order to improve her Arabic skills. After the Iraqi Revolution in 1958, al-Radi became a ceramist and joined London’s Byam Shaw School of Art and progressed on to work with Chelsea Pottery. She then went back to Baghdad and showcased her work around Iraq, Britain and Europe. In 1969, she moved to Beirut with her family where she obtained a liberal arts degree from, and then taught at the American University in Beirut. The Lebanese civil war forced her to move back to Iraq. 

She passed away in 2004 due to leukemia but her legacy lives on.