Firas Al Basri

Firas Al Basri: 'I do not know who I am without my art'

A mild, self-effacing man, Firas Al Basri is the quintessential artist. He has always known exactly who he is and what he wants to give to this world as an artist. “Oftentimes in life, you don’t have a choice but to be yourself,” says Basri, “and that has been the case with me, I do not know who I am without my art.”
Born in Basra, Iraq, Firas received a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Baghdad Institute of Fine Arts (Department of Sculpture) in 1977. There he apprenticed as a sculptor with renowned Iraqi artists and sculptors. He was part of many art exhibitions until his graduation. Basri says, “In Baghdad, I was part of a group of gifted and creative art students, with ambitions that were larger and greater than the space we occupied at the institute.” He left Iraq in 1978, forced like his peers in the art world to leave his beloved country, as Iraq began to go through radical change. “The experience of exile was not easy,” says Firas, “but it enriched my life.” In 1987, Basri went on to secure a master’s degree in Sculpture from the State Academy of Arts in Kiev, Ukraine.

Firas came to Canada in 1991 to join his wife and family, abandoning his PhD studies in Ukraine. When he arrived in Canada, Firas found it hard to pursue his chosen art form of sculpting, as he did not have access to the raw materials nor the space to create. He decided to study graphic design at the University of Toronto and went on to make a living as a designer and writer for various Iraqi interests in Canada, like newspapers, publishers, national events, and social, and cultural institutions. At the same time, Firas continued to explore other forms of art, saying, “My main themes come from my sculpture background and the influence of the 4000-year-old history and art of my homeland Iraq. This has influenced my art to be a mix of realism and abstract forms, with an increasing use of colour.”
For the past two decades, Firas has successfully participated in several personal and group exhibitions in Canada (London, Toronto, and Montreal), Iraq, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Cyprus, the USA, and Sweden. He says that his work often focuses on how people seek change and find beauty in their differences. To him, being an artist means having the ability to express ideas and emotions through creative ways. “The goal of the artist is to present new and inspiring visions, stimulating the creativity in others, and enhancing the appreciation of the beauty of life.”

Firas describes dealing with changes in space and time as some of the hardest times in his life. However, he has taken inspiration from these changes to create a unique artistic style. He says, “it is also a struggle from a financial perspective, to be a creative artist.”
Al Basri is a Member of the Society of Fine Iraqi Art; the Teachers Union of Iraq; the Iraqi Association of Journalists, Writers, and Artists. He is a founding member of the Iraqi Canadian Artists Federation. 