Diyar Al Asadi: In His Own Words

Local artist Diyar Al Asadi was born in Baghdad, Iraq, where he lived for the first decade of his life before death threats forced him and his family to flee from their homeland to Egypt. Then in 2009, yet another attempt on their lives drove them to find safe haven once again, but this time in Jordan.

All the while, Diyar used art as a means to dream, hope, and escape. Over the years, he studied and collaborated with many artists and teachers, including Russian artist Eleni Alexander and Saudi artist Elham Jean. Most of his training in Islamic art, however, came from his time working under Iranian professor Fatemeh Pourhatami in Jordan.

In 2012, Diyar moved to the United States after receiving a scholarship to the prominent Art Students League of New York, and today, he calls Phoenix his home, his community, where he paints highly intricate, large-scale works that can take up to 2,300 hours to create.

Here's Diyar, in his own words, on what motivates his creative practice and the stories he strives to share through his art.

Diyar was one of ten local Arizona artists selected from The Carmody Foundation and commissioned to create a one-of-a-kind work of art. The art is then donated to a non-profit partner to be auctioned to assist in their funding to provide much-needed services to the community.