Opening

Welcome to the unveiling of the sculpture The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist (Lamassu of Nineveh) outside Stavanger Cathedral.

In the summer of 2025, Stavanger Art Museum will present a large sculpture outside Stavanger Cathedral by the Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz. The sculpture depicts a guardian figure from an ancient Assyrian temple that has been subject to looting and destruction since the 1850s. Read more about the work here.

Program for the opening event:

• Poetry reading by Selma M. Yonus

• Conversation with artist Michael Rakowitz and Hanne Beate Ueland

• Mini concert with oud player and singer Nawar Alnaddaf

The event is free and open to all.

Michael Rakowitz is an Iraqi-American artist who lives and works in Chicago. His artistic practice lies at the intersection of sculpture, architecture, archaeology, cooking, and political activism. With colonialism, war, and cultural heritage as core themes in his work, he seeks to bring Iraq’s ancient myths and history into dialogue with contemporary destruction and bloody conflicts. His works have been exhibited at institutions around the world, including dOCUMENTA (13), P.S.1, MoMA, MassMOCA, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, and Palais de Tokyo. Read more about Michael Rakowitz.

Selma M. Yonus is a poet, author, journalist, and human rights activist born in Nineveh, Iraq in 1971. She has published several poetry and short story collections. Since 2009, she has been living in Stavanger. Read more about Selma M. Yonus.

Nawar Alnaddaf is a singer and oud player from Syria who has lived in Norway since November 2015. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic music from Syria and is currently studying at the Norwegian Academy of Music. There, she explores the intersection between microtonality in Arabic Maqam music and other Western musical expressions. Read more about Nawar Alnaddaf.f