Safen Muhammad

Safen O. Muhammad Manages and directs ART+, a non-governmental art and cultural organisation working towards building awareness and training youth and others on the arts, culture and environment. He has eight years of experience as an artist working with refugee and IDP children throughout the Kurdistan region, particularly in the city of Slemani. He has also worked and collaborated with local and international NGOs, such as the UN, AptART, CDO, Skateistan, Make life Skate Life, Un Ponte Per,  Kurdistan Botanical Foundation, Commission Scolaire de Montréal and international artists creating murals, canvases and street and refugee camp art projects. Additionally, Safen has ten years of experience working as an environmental activist and volunteer in Slemani assisting Iraqi environmental organisations such as Nature Iraq and Waterkeepers Iraq. Safen has helped the aforementioned groups complete workshops, educational campaigns and awareness murals and art projects. He recently completed a yearlong research project at Zheen Archival and Research Center funded by the Nahrein Network at University College London. Currently he is involved in designing and setting up a climate change awareness exhibition at the University of Sulaimani funded by the German Embassy in Baghdad, to work and train students about the effects of climate change and climate action. He also manages the first ever Skate-park in Iraq, opened in the city of Slemani in 2018. He oversees the training of a new generation of Kurdish and Iraqi youth on the fundamentals of skateboarding and sport therapy with youth with special needs. Previously he worked as a newspaper designer for Hawlati Newspaper published in the city of Slemani.