Biography

Ali Arkady (b. 1982) is an artist, photographer and filmmaker from Khanaqin, Iraq. Graduating from Khanaqin's Institute of Fine Art he has been working as an independent photographer since 2006. In 2014 Ali joined VII Photo Agency as part of their VII Mentor Program. Ali’s work has focused on wounded and disabled Iraqis during war, as well as the daily life of his countrymen. He has done intimate work on the plight of the Yazidis, an ethnic group residing in Syria and Iraq, after their expulsion by Daesh (Islamic State). More recently Ali produced some of the most important evidence of war crimes in the past 30 years while covering Iraqi forces in the battles for Mosul. He portrayed humanitarian conditions and conflicts that Iraq has gone through with sensitivity and an unflinching eye. Ali chose to cover the deteriorating situations of people in his country following the regime change of 2003. He had presented compelling work titled ‘Iraq: Situations’ for an internationally acclaimed project 'Over My Eyes’ produced by DARST which included several most important contemporary photographers from Iraq today. This year he won the prestigious Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents 2017, and the Most Resilient Journalist Award for his exceptional courage and persistence. The award was presented to him at Free Press Live 2019 in The Hague and had his work shown as part of the Venice Biennale 2017.