Recognized as one of the pioneers of modern Arab art, Dia al Azzawi (Baghdad, 1939), started his artistic career in 1964, after graduating from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad.

Al-Azzawi played a foundational role in Iraqi art movements such as the New Vision Group (1969) and the One Dimension Group (1971). His work is found in international private and public collections including the Museum of Modern Art- Baghdad, Damascus and Tunis; Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Amman; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Kinda Foundation, Saudi Arabia; Una Foundation, Casablanca; Arab Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi; Development Fund, Kuwait; Jeddah International Airport; British Museum, London; Tate Modern, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; Colas Foundation, Paris; Harba Collection, Iraq and Italy; Gulbenkian Collection, Barcelona; and Library of Congress and the World Bank, Washington, DC.