Naziha Salim was an Iraqi painter, professor and one of the most influential artists in Iraq’s contemporary art scene

Her work often depicts rural Iraqi women and peasant life through bold brush strokes and vivid colors

On 23rd April 2020, Naziha Salim was spotlighted by the Barjeel Art Foundation in their collection of female artists.

Salim was born into a family of Iraqi artists in Turkey

Her father was a painter and her mother was a skilled embroidery artist

All three of her brothers worked in the arts, including Jawad, who’s widely considered one of Iraq’s most influential sculptors

Salim enrolled at the Baghdad Fine Arts Institute where she studied painting and graduated with distinction

She was active in Iraq’s arts community and one of the founding members of Al-Ruwwad, a community of artists

Later in her career, Salim authored Iraq: Contemporary Art