Mosul tells – Restoring Community Links Through Art and Oral History

This performance took place on 4 March in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq. It is part of the Mosul Tells project by @elbarlament7393 and Paia Agency and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and Art+.

Eight young adults from Mosul and the Ninawa region developed the story alongside puppet theater icon and director Alison Duddle and puppeteer Johnny Quick from the UK.

"Nest" is a puppet play that tells the story of two families in Mosul that move beyond their differences, and build a beautiful, welcoming community together. While the elderly couple is in grief for their lost son, the other family is caught in their day-to-day life with their little daughter. When the child seeks contact with its neighbors, the old man gets an idea: what if he planted an apple seed in the garden?
A big tree is growing quickly, and with it, a bird arrives. Step by step, nature returns to the gray neighborhood and the garden starts to bloom. And yet, the greatest surprise for the old people is still to come...

"Nest" talks about working together, making homes for those who need them, and loving and caring for our environment. It also invites you to think about the type of world we will leave for our children.

Dive into a story of reconnecting communities and enjoy the show!

The show was performed on a tour all around Iraq in spring 2024.

You can find more about the project here: https://elbarlament.org/projects/mosul-tells-restoring-community-links-through-art-and-oral-history/

This animation is the outcome of a series of oral history workshops with young adults from the cities of Mosul and the governorate of Ninewa in Iraq. These took place within the project 'Mosul Tells: restoring community links through art and culture'. Coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, the participants conducted research and interviews people from their respective communities, collecting folk tales, myths and memories. These old folk tales were then turned into 3D, 2D and Stop Motion animations."

You can learn more about the project at https://elbarlament.org/projects/mosul-tells-restoring-community-links-through-art-and-oral-history/.

More animations are available on our Mosul Tells playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIegfivpyj0&list=PLfOzilRb58ILvDOLSJAEsAyEj4sxOdIN5&pp=gAQBiAQB

This animation is the outcome of a series of oral history workshops with young adults from the cities of Mosul and the governorate of Ninewa in Iraq. These took place within the project 'Mosul Tells: restoring community links through art and culture'. Coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, the participants conducted research and interviews people from their respective communities, collecting folk tales, myths and memories. These old folk tales were then turned into 3D, 2D and Stop Motion animations."

You can learn more about the project at https://elbarlament.org/projects/mosul-tells-restoring-community-links-through-art-and-oral-history/.

More animations are available on our Mosul Tells playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIegfivpyj0&list=PLfOzilRb58ILvDOLSJAEsAyEj4sxOdIN5&pp=gAQBiAQB

This animation is the outcome of a series of oral history workshops with young adults from the cities of Mosul and the governorate of Ninewa in Iraq. These took place within the project 'Mosul Tells: restoring community links through art and culture'. Coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, the participants conducted research and interviews people from their respective communities, collecting folk tales, myths and memories. These old folk tales were then turned into 3D, 2D and Stop Motion animations."

You can learn more about the project at https://elbarlament.org/projects/mosul-tells-restoring-community-links-through-art-and-oral-history/.

More animations are available on our Mosul Tells playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIegfivpyj0&list=PLfOzilRb58ILvDOLSJAEsAyEj4sxOdIN5&pp=gAQBiAQB

This animation is the outcome of a series of oral history workshops with young adults from the cities of Mosul and the governorate of Ninewa in Iraq. These took place within the project 'Mosul Tells: restoring community links through art and culture'. Coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, the participants conducted research and interviews people from their respective communities, collecting folk tales, myths and memories. These old folk tales were then turned into 3D, 2D and Stop Motion animations."

You can learn more about the project at https://elbarlament.org/projects/mosul-tells-restoring-community-links-through-art-and-oral-history/.

More animations are available on our Mosul Tells playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIegfivpyj0&list=PLfOzilRb58ILvDOLSJAEsAyEj4sxOdIN5&pp=gAQBiAQB

This animation is the outcome of a series of oral history workshops with young adults from the cities of Mosul and the governorate of Ninewa in Iraq. These took place within the project 'Mosul Tells: restoring community links through art and culture'. Coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, the participants conducted research and interviews people from their respective communities, collecting folk tales, myths and memories. These old folk tales were then turned into 3D, 2D and Stop Motion animations."

You can learn more about the project at https://elbarlament.org/projects/mosul-tells-restoring-community-links-through-art-and-oral-history/.

When the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) invaded Mosul in 2014, many families left the city. Some people, however, stayed and hid in shelters, not coming out for some time. Between 16 October 2016 and 20 July 2017, Iraqi Government forces fought alongside allied militias, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and international forces to liberate the city in what is called “the Battle of Mosul”.

This story narrates a hundred days in the life of Ayoob’s family that hid and protected themselves during the Battle of Mosul in the basement of the house of Hajj Sa’adoun (80 years old). 

Ayoob narrates a story of trauma, fear, and eventually hope for the families of Mosul during the final months before its liberation. The end of the siege meant that Ayoob could finally say “we’re reborn”. 

This animation is currently being submitted for film festivals and can be accessed on this website at a later stage.

This animation is the outcome of a series of oral history workshops with young adults from the cities of Mosul and the governorate of Ninewa in Iraq. These took place within the project 'Mosul Tells: restoring community links through art and culture'. Coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, the participants conducted research and interviews people from their respective communities, collecting folk tales, myths and memories. These old folk tales were then turned into 3D, 2D and Stop Motion animations."

You can learn more about the project at https://elbarlament.org/projects/mosul-tells-restoring-community-links-through-art-and-oral-history/.

Mosul Tells was a project that elbarlament and Paia agency ran from 2022 to 2024 with funding from the German Federal Foreign Office. This project strived to foster social cohesion in Mosul through culture and arts.

More than eight different ethnic and religious groups coexist in the city of Mosul. Successive wars and ongoing conflicts affect social cohesion in the city. Over the last two decades, social and cultural connections have been severely damaged, especially after the ISIS occupation of the city.

The project included oral history workshops for young adults and the development of short stories out of their experiences and backgrounds. This served as a basis for a graphic novel. Participants also received training on how to create puppets and presented a puppet show on stage, as well as short animations. The graphic novel, animations and puppet show were part of an exhibition that was shown in different cities in Iraq.

This documentary tells the story of the project, showing scenes from the workshops, exhibitions and the puppet show on stage.