Azad Karim (1954, Arbil, Kurdistan, Iraq) He studied at the Institute of Visual Arts of Baghdad and at the Academy of Fine Arts of Ljubjana, where he graduated in 1980. He completed his postgraduate studies in graphic art has been working as painter and graphic designer in Slovenia for nearly thirty years. After his training in Baghdad, he took courses in many different cultural cities in Europe, after which he finally settled in Slovenia. In his art he combines his eastern and western experience of the world. His artworks are fraught with impressions and symbols from both worlds. His artworks are marked by this duality and synthesis of two worlds. Azad Karim lives and works in Ajdovscina, Slovenia.
 

Major individual exhibitions:
2013 – Coastal Galleries Piran/Obalne galerije Piran – Exhibition Centre Monfort Portoroz, Lost Artifacts exibition
2013 – Provincial Museum Ptuj Ormoz/Pokrajinski muzej Ptuj Ormož, Lost Artifacts exhibition
2013 – Milotič Gallery, Pula, Croatia
2012 – Museum of Dolenjska, Novo Mesto, Jakčev dom, catalog The whole Earth had one language, foreword about author by Jasna Kocuvan
2012 – St Barbara Gallery, Idrija, catalogue The whole Earth had one language, foreword about author by Jasna Kocuvan, foreword at exhibition opening by Maja Marinkovska
2012 – Rijskmuseum van Oudheden – National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, Netherlands – Verloren Erfgoed/Lost Heritage. Exhibition consists of paintings, instalations and videos.
2012 – Gallery Frederiek van der Vlist, Leiden, Netherlands – exhibitions of paintings from The walls series.
 

Major group exhibitions:
2013 – international artistic extempore Piran 2013, Slovenia
2013 – exhibition of artwork, created at painting colony at Izlake – Zagorje – 1964 – 2013, 50 meetings, Slovenia
2012 – International artistic workshop: Slovenia Open to Art, Sinji Vrh, Sežana, Slovenia
2012 – Cultural Centre of Lojze Bratuž, Gorizia, Italy – Fifty Artist for Fifty Years – Exhibiton celebrating 50th anniversary of Cultural Centre
2012 - The mobile global exhibition ( Show Your Hope) the world in Slovenia; catalog Show Your Hope, text by Matjaž Brulc
2012 – Majski salon, Exhibition and Convention Centre Ljubljana; catalog Majski salon 2012, text by Aleš Sedmak
2012 – Our fifty years/Teh naših petdeset let, Cultural Centre Lojze Bratuž, Gorizia, Italy, catalog Our fifty years, text by Jurij Paljk.
2012 - Slovenia Open to Art exhibition at Great gallery of Kosovelov dom, Sežana, Slovenia, text by Anamarija Stibilj Šajn
2011 - IV. International Printmaking Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey, catalog IV. International Printmaking Exhibition, text by Richard Noyce
2011 – Digital Abstraction 2011, MIKK, Murska Sobota, Slovenia, catalog Digital Abstraction 2011, text by Dominik Šteiner
2011 - Majski salon, Cultural institute Delavski dom Trbovlje, Slovenia, catalog Majski salon 2011,  Seven hundred flowers bloom/Cveti sedemsto cvetov; text by Dejan Mehmedović
2011 - KUD France Prešeren, Trnfest 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Express your hope/Izrazi svoje upanje: The world of ex-Yu
2010 - Terpictura, Centro Culturale Tullio Crali Gorizia, Italy, catalog Terpictura, text by Eliana Mogorovich
2010 - 2nd International Biennial of Sculptors and Painters - Meditarrenean 2010, Split, Croatia, catalog Mediteran 2010, text by Tonko Maroević
2010 - 9th Lessedra world Art Print Annual, Sofia, Lessedra Gallery, Bolgaria, catalog 9th Lessedra world Art Print Annual
2010 – Majski salon, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia katalog Majski salon 2010
2010 – DSLU Northern Primorska Region, Nova Gorica, Slovenia, Milotič Gallery, Pula, Croatia; catalog Artist Society of the Northern Primorska Region,  Openness to the world of color / Otvorenost svijeta boja, text by Iztok Premrov
2010 – DSLU Northern Primorska Region,  City Hall, Klagenfurt, Austria; catalog  Artist Society of the Northern Primorska Region/Verein bilderden kunstler aus Nordprimorsko, text by Vladimir Bačič
2010 – the 6th Artistic Days of Novo Mesto exhibition, Museum of Dolenjska Region Novo mesto, Slovenia; catalog  the 6th Artistic Days of Novo Mesto, text by Jožef Matijevič
2009 – City Gallery, Nova Gorica, Slovenia, exhibition of DSLU Northern Primorska Region
2009 – Coastal Galleries Piran/Obalne galerije Piran,  Children are not to blame; Slovenia, catalog  Children are not to blame/Noi bambini noi abbiamo colpa, text by Nives Marvin
2009 – Majski salon, City Hall Gallery Kranj, Slovenia; catalog Majski salon 2009, My image/Moja podoba, text by Milček Komelj
 

Prizes:
2014 - Certificate of Rihard Jakopic Recognition
2012 – The great Purchase Award of Jury at international extempore Piran, Slovenia
2012 – nominee for ZDSLU 2012 award
2011 – Purchase Award at international extempore Piran, Slovenia
2009 -  The great Purchase Award of Jury at international extempore Piran, Slovenia
 

Artistic workshops:
2012 - Slovenija odprta za umetnost / Slovenia Open to Art
2011 - VII. International Artistic Meeting at Vipavski Križ, Slovenia
2011 - MMM Art Medana, Goriška brda, Slovenia
2011 – Artistic Colony Artists for Karitas, Sinji vrh, Slovenia
2010 – Artistic Colony of Lions club Zemono, Sinji vrh, Slovenia
2010 – International Artistic Colony "S Francetom na Čatežu"
2010 – The 6th Artistic Days of Novo Mesto
2010 - VI. International Artistic Meeting at Vipavski Križ, Slovenia
2010 -  International Artistic Colony Dornberk
2010 - MMM Art Medana, Goriška brda, Slovenia
2010 - Artistic Colony Artists for Karitas, Sinji vrh, Slovenia