A group of Iraqi artist wanted to establish a cultural center in Baghdad, but plans were continually put off due to war. Finally, the artists decided to set up the Hiwar Centre in an old house in 1992, and it became a meeting place for artists and creatives to talk, leave each other messages, exhibit their work, and became a “lung through which intellectuals could breathe,” at a time where this was impossible in most other facets of life for Iraqis. In 2005, the center was given a grant to rebuild the center.
