An Interview with Noor Kadhim, a Founder of INtheFRAME

Image above: INtheFRAME with the artists. Image Courtesy of Noor Kadhim.

Throughout your career you had a different professional experience and now you are engaged in the art promotion. Can you tell us more about yourself and your professional path?

I am still working as a lawyer in an international firm - this is an initiative I run on the side for charitable purposes. I studied law with French at university in Scotland and went on to do my postgraduate qualification (LPC) in Oxford, where I pursued my other talent, editing its student magazine Isis. I have undertaken freelance (features, arts and culture) journalism for UK papers as well as student papers, and am a very creative person generally, hence my love for art. I trained at Norton Rose, a law firm in London with international offices. I speak French and have worked in Paris as part of my legal training. I then moved to Abu Dhabi to work for another large English firm in 2009, before moving to Dubai in 2010 to work for a magic circle international English law firm, where I am currently an arbitration associate. I started ITF as a result of my passion for emerging art, my wish to make art more accessible to the residents of Dubai, and my desire to contribute to the educational infrastructure of the region through investment in charitable programmes and causes.

You set up INtheFRAME with your friend Khatija Sacranie. Can you tell us more about that?

I met Khatija Sacranie at my current law firm (she has since left). We both decided to take ITF further than just a one-project initiative. It started off as the Iraqi Art project, and now ITF has become bigger and will encompass more projects and initiatives. We have a website now too. We wanted to create a networking umbrella organisation that would serve as a platform and a framework for bringing together, and promoting, emerging and established art in the region, and contributing to charities in the region with an educational focus.

Noor Kadhim, a founder of INtheFRAME. Image Courtesy of Noor Kadhim.

Recently INtheFRAME organized an exhibition and auction of paintings, "The Iraqi Art Project”. Could you convey your impressions from the exhibition and auctions?

The exhibition was just a viewing day on Thursday and Saturday, but it went very well and there is a YouTube video on our Facebook page that gives you a virtual "walkthrough" of the gallery. The artwork was beautifully displayed, the auction was very well attended (in excess of 100 guests) and most of the artwork sold - and made us 30,000USD! Given that we have very low overheads, that was an amazing figure for the first event and we plan to hold more exhibitions, of not just Iraqi but other Mid East artists, in the near future.

The highest selling piece was the Iraqi flag by MYNE (that went for 4200 USD) and Alia Dawood's "Boy" sketch also surprised with a sale of 550 USD - 400 USD more than we thought.

Iraqi flag on wood (by MYNE, a London street artist hailing from Mosul) Image Courtesy of INtheFRAME

The auction. Image Courtesy of INtheFrame

How did you make a selection of artworks for 'The Iraqi Art Project'?

Some artists I knew already, such as the London artist MYNE and Lina Ogaily, and others heard about the project and came to us to be involved. Some were recommended by friends. And the established artists such as Dia Azzawi and Mahmud Obaidi etc. came on board at the last minute as they really believed in our project and wanted to show their support. Their artwork is still for sale so if anyone is interested, please get in touch, it is an amazing price and for a good cause.

Do you have a favorite art piece?

I like them all, as they are so diverse - from street art, to sketches, to sculpture. But if I had to pick one, it would be Serwan Baran's piece (the green couple). It’s so interesting and thought provoking.

Dubai is considered to be one of the biggest art centers in the world. How did it come to that in your opinion?

Dubai is a blank canvas and the government has opened its doors to experimentation and cultural enrichment - encouragement of the arts. If the barriers are reduced and the environment is faciliated, who knows what can flourish - I commend the government for putting its investments into this sector. Also let's not forget that Dubai is logistically at the cross roads in the world - the gateway between West (Europe and the USA) and the East (India, China etc). It is best placed to accommodate and expose the arts and innovative concepts.

In recent years the world is in deep economic crisis. Did that influence the art market and how?

There will always be crises - they will come and go. Right now we are in the middle of a particularly bad one. Of course it will affect the art market - sales will not be as high and people will be more conservative in their buying, but that affects all spheres, not just the art market. Particularly, the problem is that art is hard to value, it is very subjective. There is no universal value to art, such as there is for gold and commodities. But that can be an advantage rather than a disadvantage in this current market. Because there will still be people who have enough money to purchase art - and they will. And they will do so because they love the piece and make space in their wallet for it! Art has always been accessible to a small minority of people with extreme wealth who are not necessarily affected by the crisis. While people invest in property with their head, these days, though, they invest in art with their heart.

Tell us about the future plans of INtheFRAME.

We aim to expand and support more than one project - to create opportunities (such as educational sponsorships, contribute to payment of tuition fees for underprivileged students in the Middle East, etc) through further ventures that we’ll undertake. We plan to put on wider exhibitions (not just of Iraqi but other Middle Eastern and North Africa region artists), and work in conjunction with partner organisations involved in art. We also plan to hold more workshops accessible to the public, and the proceeds of these ventures will all be put towards the causes that we espouse. We intend to develop a virtual space on our website for artists, and create membership of ITF through subscription, in the long term after we build up a database of artists and community and artistic events. We are looking to expand our team and would encourage those who are interesting in expanding their own experience to get in touch with us: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Particularly we need logical as well as creative people, and those who are organisers, with a passion for teamwork and charitable pursuits!