Peshawa Mahmood

Born in 1981 in Qaladze, Iraqi Kurdistan, Mahmood Peshawa is a painter, illustrator, calligrapher, and performer. A graduate of the University of Sulaymaniyah, Fine Arts Department, he later taught drawing, painting, mosaic, and art history at the School of Fine Arts in Ranya. His paintings have been exhibited notably at the Amna Suraka Museum in Sulaymaniyah.

An activist artist, he creates large-scale works that question the Iraqi political system and its abuses. During his exile—from Iraq to Marseille via Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia—Peshawa reinvented his artistic practice by favoring quick drawings made on ephemeral or salvaged materials. After arriving in France in 2016, he has taken part in exhibitions and performances and led workshops. He is a member of the Agency of Artists in Exile.