Cultural life
Mosul’s extraordinary history is written into the fabric of the Old City. To this day, the city and its region are imbued with the great diversity of their populations, home to Arab communities as well as to Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmens, Kurds, Yezidis, Shabaks, Sabean Mandaeans and others. Diversity is central to the identity of Mosul, and this spirit deserves to be promoted ...
The spirit of Mosul is made of living heritage and a vibrant cultural life, from traditional music festival to the booksellers of street. UNESCO and its partners have engaged in a comprehensive plan to restore cultural life and cultural institutions. Cinema, Music, and all creative industries are at the heart ️of UNESCO’s work in Mosul.
With the support of the European Union, UNESCO in partnership with the City Theatre of Ghent established a filmlab in the Institute of Fine Arts of Mosul. 20 Students have been trained and got hands-on experience on each of the different roles that define the fundamental aspects of a cinema production: director, screenwriter, editor, actor, set and costume design, audio and light technician, assistant, while producing 9 short movies.
Moreover, a Creative Space at “The Station” in Mosul has been constructed and furnished in June 2021. It serves as a hub for young people working on cultural and creative industries to meet, learn and exchange ideas. Many events such as concerts, workshops, and exhibitions are taking place in the space. UNESCO's Heritage Emergency Fund financed a project prepared by the NGO Action for Hope, "Wassla (Connection) to Revive cultural life in the city of Mosul" (2019-2020).
Multiple events resulted from the project, including the launch of a documentary film, "Long Live the Music", and music-related activities. Moreover, to support the revival of traditional music in Mosul, UNESCO in partnership with the NGO Action for Hope launched “Listening to Iraq” programme. As part of this programme the training of 24 musicians from Mosul was successfully completed, leading to the creation of four ensembles, who befitted from grants for the music touring in Iraq. In addition, “Mosul Traditional Music Festival”, first of its kind since the liberation of Mosul in 2017, is set to take place from 24 to 27 March 2022.
