Wathiq Al-Ameri
Iraq/Switzerland
Acclaimed Iraqi-Swiss interdisciplinary artist and performer. Fleeing the regime of Saddam Hussein, he settled in Zurich in 1997. Graduate of the F+F School of Art and Design.
About the artist
Born in 1972 in Baghdad, Iraq, works and lives in Zürich.
Wathiq Al-Ameri is a multidisciplinary artist who has been based in Switzerland since 1997. He studied at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, graduating in 1994, before emigrating to Switzerland where he continued his education at the F+F School of Art and Design in Zurich, earning his degree in 2002.
Al-Ameri is widely recognized for the poetic depth in powerful, visually resonant performances that explore themes of war, geopolitics, and the existential dimensions of life and death.
He was awarded the Performance Art Award Switzerland in 2011, followed by the prestigious Swiss Art Award in 2012.
His work has been presented at major performance art festivals across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East. In 2024, he founded the Babil Performance Art Festival in Iraq, furthering his commitment to fostering contemporary art in the region.