PONTIAC, MI.- The Museum of New Art presents Enduring Spirit: Works by Iraqi Chaldean Artists. Chaldeans are a Christian minority predominantly from Iraq. Metro-Detroit is home to the largest concentration of Chaldeans in the U.S. with a population, estimated at 250,000, that continues to increase because of the current instability in Iraq. Chaldeans trace their cultural lineage to the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia and speak their native language, Chaldean a modern form of Aramaic, the vernacular language of Jesus Christ. Increasing violence against Christians in Iraq has forced them to flee their homeland. The chaos has dismantled centers that maintained and passed on their cultural traditions for centuries and has dispersed Chaldeans across several countries. It is a critical time to celebrate and preserve the contemporary history and recent achievements of this immigrant community, particularly because of its strong and positive presence in our local communities.

The exhibition presents a selection of artworks by pioneer, established, and emerging contemporary Chaldean artists living in southeastern Michigan and countries around the world. Subjects common to Chaldean artworks include landscape, traditional scenes of popular life, love, family, war, exile, and politically or socially motivated themes. In exploring their unique identity, Chaldean artists often include visual references to their Mesopotamian heritage, such as ancient symbols or architecture, incorporate Aramaic or Arabic script, or use Christian imagery.

The exhibit is particularly important because it includes works by the important pioneer artist Issa Hanna. He who was a founding member of the first officially recognized artist organization "Friends of Art Society" in Baghdad in 1941 and was a close colleague of Jewad Selim and Faik Hassan, the two best-known leaders of the modern Iraqi art movement. Approximately twenty art works by Issa Hanna were housed in the Iraqi Center for the Arts (previously known as the Saddam Center for the Arts), the modern art component of the Baghdad Museum, before the museum was looted in 2003.

Chaldean artists have faced many challenges, such as discrimination, opposition to free expression, war, and transitions to new countries. At the same time, they demonstrate a complete commitment to art. Their works express a sadness common to contemporary Iraqis, but also the resilience of the Iraqi spirit. And in their works, we can recognize a shared humanity and find hope in the human impulse to create beauty, even in the midst of ugliness.

The Chaldean Educational Center of America, in collaboration with the Michigan Cultural Affairs and Arts Council (MCACA), and Mesopotamia Art History & Beyond (Learning Studio & Art Gallery), is presenting a group exhibit by contemporary Iraqi Chaldean artists at the Museum of New Art (MONA) in Pontiac.