Sundus Abdul-Hadi

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Sundus Abdul-Hadi
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NationalityIraqi-Canadian
Alma materConcordia University
Occupation
  • Multimedia artist
  • Writer
  • Curator
OrganizationMaktaba Bookshop

Sundus Abdul-Hadi is an independent Iraqi-Canadian multimedia artist[1], writer and curator. She is also the founder of Maktaba Bookshop,[2] and the co-founder of We Are The Medium. She is known for her work on care, trauma, and representation, working with a variety of media from visual arts, the written word, and space-making.[3][4]

Biography

Born to Iraqi parents in the UAE, Abdul-Hadi immigrated to Montreal during her childhood. Having been immersed in the arts from a young age, she pursued a BFA in Studio Arts and Art History, followed by an MA in Media Studies at Concordia University.

Career

Sundus Abdul Hadi has authored two books, Shams, a children's book about trauma and survival, and Take Care of Your Self: The Art and Cultures of Care and Liberation. Her essays have been published by Jadaliyya,[5] Sea Foundation,[6] Herizons Magazine,[7] and Kalimat Magazine.[8] Abdul Hadi has been an exhibiting artist since 2006, showing her artwork internationally. Most recently, her practice involves cultivating and curating the concept bookshop she founded in the Old Port of Montreal, Maktaba Bookshop.[9]

Throughout her career, Abdul-Hadi has taught in different institutions, and led various workshops. In 2010, she was invited to be a "distance teacher" with Sada (Echo), facilitating a month-long workshop with youth in Baghdad. This experience helped her develop workshops around art and social justice, fostering a growing, connected community. In 2020, she led a seminar on Care with Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research, in Bethlehem, Palestine. She has also taught in the Communications Studies department at Concordia University in Montreal.

Books

Take Care of Your Self: The Art and Cultures of Care and Liberation

In her book Take Care of Your Self: The Art and Cultures of Care and Liberation,[10] artist Sundus Abdul Hadi redefines self-care as a vital community practice essential to building a just society.[11] Challenging the commodification of self-care, she frames it as a necessary act rooted in personal, communal, and global healing—central to decolonization, empowerment, and liberation.[12][13]

Abdul Hadi explores how art fosters regenerative narratives to confront systemic oppression and trauma, highlighting the work of transcultural artists who intertwine care with resistance.[14][15] By centering marginalized voices and creating brave spaces for their stories, she reveals the power of care in shaping a world in urgent need of healing.[16][17] The book was published in 2020 by Common Notions Press.[18]

Shams

Shams is a children's book about trauma, care and survival written and illustrated by Sundus Abdul Hadi.[19] It was published in English in 2020 by We Are The Medium, and in Arabic by Tamer Institute for Community Education, in Palestine. Abdul Hadi has also performed a multi-media storytelling of "Shams" at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto and NYU Kevorkian Center in New York City.

Essays

Abdul-Hadi wrote the essay "Iraq is Healing" during the 2019 October Revolution in Iraq.[20][21] She also wrote the essay "Intuition as Creative Force",[22] which was commissioned by Sea Foundation in Tilburg for their fold On Spirit.

Artworks

"Warchestra" (2007–2010) is a mixed media series blending painting and sound, exploring war and culture while challenging Western representation of Iraq during and after the 2003 Iraq War.[23][24] Abdul-Hadi reimagines violent portrayals of Iraq by incorporating cultural elements into the backdrop of war, replacing images of militants holding weapons with musicians playing instruments[25]. A full-length album titled Warchestra, created in collaboration with Narcy (Yassin Alsalman) and various artists, is part of the project.[26]

The Flight Series (2010–2015) combines digital manipulation, painting, and Arabic calligraphy to depict flying figures over Arab cities, created alongside her sister, photographer Tamara Abdul Hadi.[27] This work explores violence, survival, and identity, symbolizing healing and empowerment in the context of conflict and displacement.[28][29]

Inanna in Damascus (2008) powerfully addresses the forced prostitution of young Iraqi refugee girls, critiquing both Western misrepresentations of the Arab world and internal regional issues.[30] The artwork, highlighting Iraq's vulnerability in war, was misrepresented in Arabic media and censored from the exhibit Le Corps Découvert at the Institut du Monde Arabe.

The New Sumerians (2019-ongoing) is an evolving project that explores ancestry and displacement by reimagining contemporary Iraqis as Ancient Sumerians. In collaboration with photographer Ahmad Naser Eldein, Abdul-Hadi manipulates portraits with sculpted facial and body features inspired by Sumerian art, beginning with a self-portrait wearing the 5,000-year-old mask of "The Lady of Uruk."

Artist Collectives and Spaces

Maktaba Bookshop

An artist-run bookstore and cultural space in Montreal's Old Port, founded by Abdul-Hadi and Yassin Alsalman in 2022. Maktaba focuses on Middle Eastern and North African cultural representation, offering a safe space for BIPOC communities. Abdul Hadi describes Maktaba as an art project and "an extension of home". Maktaba has also popped up in different locations as an installation project, in KOTN in Toronto, Pique in Ottawa and as reading rooms at le Fonderie Darling and Montreal, arts interculturels.

We Are the Medium

A global interdisciplinary collective founded in 2013 by Abdul-Hadi and Alsalman. It focuses on marginalized voices through art, storytelling, publishing, and education, reshaping narratives through collaborative projects across various media.

Take Care of Your Self

Sundus curated the exhibit and series of events titled Take Care of Your Self in Montreal in 2017.[31] It was her research-creation project during her MA in Media Studies, which was an exploration of care as a political and community-centered act.[32] Featuring 27 artists of color, it emphasizes healing and empowerment in the face of trauma and displacement.[33] The project evolved into a book of the same name.

References

  1. ↑ "The Deeply Rooted | Exhibitions | MutualArt". womanmade.org. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  2. ↑ Carpenter, Lorraine (2022-06-17). "The Maktaba bookstore and boutique in Old Montreal aims to inspire". Cult MTL. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  3. ↑ Jul 1, Ahmed Habib; Read, 2013 7 Min. "Art and identity". briarpatchmagazine.com. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  4. ↑ Østergaard, Laus Katrine (2023). The Caring Curator : Exploring Conditions for Care in Curatorial Practices.
  5. ↑ جدلية, Jadaliyya-. "Sundus Abdul Hadi". Jadaliyya - جدلية. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  6. ↑ "Sundus Abdul Hadi Archives". SEA Foundation Netherlands. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  7. ↑ "Fall 2024 -". 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  8. ↑ "Issue 05 (Spring 2012) — Kalimat Magazine". kalimatmagazine.com. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  9. ↑ brittanyhenriques (2022-06-18). "Old Montreal bookstore inspired by Middle East, promotes inclusion". CityNews Montreal. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  10. ↑ Abdul Hadi, Sundus (2017-09-12). Struggle and the Politics of Self Care: A Curatorial Perspective (masters thesis). Concordia University.
  11. ↑ Evering, Danica (2017-12-08). Impostering: Complicating Power in Social Practice (masters thesis). Concordia University.
  12. ↑ "Maktaba : une librairie-boutique nouveau genre dans le Vieux-Port". urbania.ca (in français). Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  13. ↑ Steinvorth, Sofia (2022). "Rest as Resistance. From Self-Care to Decolonial Narratives". Cultures of Silence. Taylor & Francis. pp. 155–171. doi:10.4324/9781003206712-13. ISBN 978-1-003-20671-2. Archived from the original on 2022-12-01.
  14. ↑ Millner, Jacqueline (2021-09-29), "Care, interrelatedness and creative practices", Care Ethics and Art, London: Routledge, pp. 11–24, doi:10.4324/9781003167556-3, ISBN 978-1-003-16755-6, retrieved 2025-03-15
  15. ↑ Kehdi, Beshara (2023). "Arab American Curriculumwork". Journal of Asian American Studies. 26 (2): 185–193. doi:10.1353/jaas.2023.a901067. ISSN 1096-8598.
  16. ↑ Collective, Undisciplined Environments (2024-10-17). Insurgent Ecologies: Between Environmental Struggles and Postcapitalist Transformations. Fernwood Publishing. ISBN 978-1-77363-708-2.
  17. ↑ Liberti, Federica (2023). "Dreaming Possibilities: Reshaping Imaginaries with Feminism and Social Change". International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity. 11 (1–2): 323–332. doi:10.7202/1115437ar. ISSN 2563-6871.
  18. ↑ "Take Care of Your Self by Sundus Abdul Hadi". Common Notions Press. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  19. ↑ "Shams". Tamer Inst. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  20. ↑ Medium, We Are The (2019-11-16). "Iraq is Healing: The October Revolution, Systemic Change and Intergenerational Trauma". Medium. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
  21. ↑ Saliba, Samia (2020-01-01). ""We Know We Are Forgotten": Re-Centering Women in the Study of Economic Sanctions on Iraq, 1990-2003". WWU Honors College Senior Projects.
  22. ↑ Se@admin (2023-10-06). "Sundus Abdul Hadi | Intuition as Creative Force". SEA Foundation Netherlands. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
  23. ↑ Oumlil, Kenza (2021-04-01). "The Poetry of Suheir Hammad: Transnational Interventions in the Age of Islamophobia and Digital Media". Islamophobia Studies Journal. 6 (1). doi:10.13169/islastudj.6.1.0093. ISSN 2325-839X.
  24. ↑ Mehta, Brinda J. (2013-03-01). "'Walling' Baghdad: Spatial dissonance and tactics of war". International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies. 7 (1): 55–69. doi:10.1386/ijcis.7.1.55_1. ISSN 1751-2867.
  25. ↑ "Rana, Rashid", Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Oxford University Press, 2013-07-25, doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b109312, retrieved 2025-03-15
  26. ↑ El-Shaarawi, Nadia (2012), "Iraq", Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health, New York, NY: Springer New York, pp. 946–948, doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_425, ISBN 978-1-4419-5655-2, retrieved 2025-03-15
  27. ↑ Gordiychuk, Kateryna (3 June 2017). "Iraqi-Canadian mom, daughters paint new picture of Arab communities". CBC.
  28. ↑ Oumlil, Kenza (2016-04-01). "Alternative media, self-representation and Arab-American women". Journal of Alternative & Community Media. 1 (1): 41–55. doi:10.1386/joacm_00017_1. ISSN 2634-4726.
  29. ↑ Arda, Balca (2017-02-21). "Self Image Making of the Diasporic Artists: "The Sousveillance Strategies in the Diasporic Art of Middle Eastern Diaspora"". Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East & North African Migration Studies. 4 (1): 124–146. doi:10.24847/44i2017.122. ISSN 2169-4435.
  30. ↑ Levin, C. Melinda. (2011). "REHLET IRAQI (AN IRAQI JOURNEY)" (PDF). Diss. University of North Texas.
  31. ↑ Indongo, Nantali (8 July 2017). "Taking care of yourself through art and culture". CBC. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  32. ↑ Buurman, Nanne (2017-04-01). "Engendering Exhibitions: The Politics of Gender in Negotiating Curatorial Authorship". Journal of Curatorial Studies. 6 (1): 115–138. doi:10.1386/jcs.6.1.115_1. ISSN 2045-5836.
  33. ↑ Loewen, Claire (7 July 2017). "Plateau exhibition shines light on struggle and self-care". The Gazette.

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