Waiting for Iraqi Dates

At 529 Atlantic Avenue (between 3rd and 4th Avenues), artist Michael Rakowitz has reopened a new version of the import-export business his family once operated in Baghdad. Located nextdoor to a travel agency that specializes in flights to the Middle East, Rakowitz’s shop/art installation ships items to Iraq free. In that respect, it has become a crossroads for families from Iraq and the families of military personnel who are stationed there. He also sells four varieties of dates, which are a favorite snack in Iraq — though his are imported from California. Today, Rakowitz was hoping to receive one ton of Iraqi dates — though it is notoriously difficult to import goods from Iraq, Rakowitz found a supplier. Unfortunately, the shipment is currently stuck at the Iraq-Jordan border.
Dates With an Artist: An Iraq Installation [NY Times]
Importing Iraq [NY Metro]
Michael Rakowitz: Return [Who Cares]
Photo by MSG Ronald C. Wegner