Drawn In

We invite artists and others around the world to gather on Moratorium Day, March 5, in their local museums which exhibit ancient near eastern art. In New York, this action will take place from 9:30 to 5:30 in the Assyrian gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We will respectfully draw with pencil on paper the art around us, which was created as early as five thousand years ago in the land now known as Iraq, where urban life and the written word originated.Our goal is to call attention to all of the civilizations which have
flourished in Mesopotamia under so many names and cultures: Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, the Arab/Muslim Abbasid Empire and  contemporary Iraq.

This is a peaceful vigil, made in protest against US foreign policy under George W. Bush. If someone asks what we are doing, we will speak quietly with them and explain our position, then continue to draw. We will keep in mind the intention:  to pay homage to this land, culture and people, which our government is planning to destroy. We are deeply concerned about an
imminent threat to human life, and to the memory and history embedded in all of Mesopotamia, modern Iraq.

Please spread the word to everyone you know anywhere who is an artist or a lover of art! If this action takes place in other cities, please let us know all about it, and if you have pictures, we would like to see them.

Met Event Committee, Artists Against the War aawnion@hotmail.com
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Note: The Metropolitan Museum of Art only allows us to draw withpencil on paper, so don't bring pen and ink. You can use cameras, but not flash. If the Near Eastern galleries are closed, we will convene in the Islamic rooms.