2025 Assyrian Renaissance Cultural Celebration

Date: February 28, 2025

Sargon Rasho

Date: October 12, 2024

Sargon Rasho, 1949-2024

Sargon Rasho was born to Rebecca and Mikhail Rasho on August 28, 1949, in Habbaniya, Iraq. In 1969, he began composing music and lyrics, both for himself and for other singers. He studied engineering at the University of Baghdad before moving to the United States in 1973, where he performed at parties and weddings. Over time, Sargon recorded more than 20 records, tapes, and CDs, with most of the songs and melodies being his original work.

Most popular albums of Sargon Rasho include his debut album Mashkhutawen (“Migrating”) released in 1982, which was the only album he released on Vinyl LP; Se Makha (“Get Out of Here”), released in 1983; and Libbi Libbi, released in 1986. On October 3, 2024, Sargon passed away after a prolonged illness, he is survived by his brothers Zarya, Rabi Sankhiro, and Ashour, as well as his sisters Helen, Evelyn, and many other relatives.

Sargon’s service was held in October at Saint Peter’s Church in Arizona. Sargon Rasho’s contributions to the Assyrian community through his music were both culturally impactful and adored, as his unique voice and lyrics captured the Assyrian experience with themes of love, humor, and Assyrianism. His song Mashkhutawen (“Migrating”), written by Emmanuel Solomon, for example, became an anthem for many Assyrians facing diaspora that reflected their pain and hope as they left their homeland and wandered into the West.

The Assyrian Cultural Foundation is devastated by the loss of Sargon Rasho whose music and legacy have touched the lives of many Assyrians around the world. His contributions to Assyrian culture will be remembered and cherished for generations to come.

Bibliography
Nirari, Ninos. “Qala Mhadyana.” Facebook, shared by Assyrian Cultural Foundation, 12 Oct. 2024, https://www.facebook.com/ninos.nirari/videos/1069517777547264/
Qeenatha [@qeenatha]. Photo of Sargon Rasho. Instagram. 5 Oct. 2024, https://www.instagram.com/qeenatha/p/DAu6uXrTUZv/
Zeitoune, Abboud. Music Pearls of Beth-Nahrin: An Assyrian / Syriac Discography. Assyrische Demokratische Organisation, 2007.

Evin Agassi

Date: October 4, 2024

Evin Agassi was born on September 25, 1945 in Kermanshah, Iran. Agassi found his passion for singing at a young age. As a teenager, he got involved with the Iranian National Radio where he trained in the music department and recorded several records in Assyrian and Persian.

Agassi attracted attention as he started collaborating with many well-known Iranian poets and composers and produced popular songs that aired on radio and television.  He sold over 300,000 albums in that time alone.

In 1976, Agassi was invited to perform in the United States and toured across Detroit, Illinois, California, New York, and Connecticut. It was at this time, his music began to shift to address social and political issues with themes of freedom and equality. It’s important to note that Iran was under Reza Shah’s authority who restricted the freedom of expression, press, and other basic human rights. As the Shah intensified censorship, Agassi’s music, inspired by his travels in the U.S., was banned in Iran. His songs were also blacklisted in Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s regime, as their political themes conflicted with Ba’athist Iraq. Assyrians in Iraq and Syria often obtained his recordings and duplicated and dispersed them to each other in secret.

The constant censorship pushed Agassi to leave Iran and the Middle East leading him to settle in the United States, where he continued writing songs about social and political freedom—something he felt he could finally experience.

In the 80s and onward, Agassi sang more than 200 songs with various messages of love, hope, and the Assyrian nation. Since 1982, Evin Agassi’s lyrics have been written by his brother and renowned Assyrian poet Giwargis Aghassi.

Evin Agassi’s passion for music is reflected in his accomplished discography of 35 albums and a total of 270 Assyrian songs, spanning from the 1970s to 2005.

Three of his most popular albums are “Khazadeh” (1983), translated as “The Harvesters” in English; “Dargushta d’ Marduta” (1982), translated as “Cradle of Civilization”; and “Mometa d’Ata” (1987), translated as “Oath to the Flag.”

Some of his most famous songs include “Awara” (1967), “Shamiram” (1980), “Habbania” (1984), “Soodra Preta” (1984), “Atrad Qodme” (1985), “Sniqa” (1985), “Jnaha d-Mani” (1987), “Oorzeh” (1990), “Khabur” (1991), and “Bot Diakh” (1995).

Assyrians all over the world looked forward to his concerts. He was welcomed by Assyrians from England, Germany, France, Austria, Australia, Holland, Russia, Syria, Iran, northern Iraq, and across the U.S. and Canada. Agassi’s concerts were not only popular for his powerful voice and moving lyrics but also for the cultural and historical significance they carried. Through his music, he preserved the Assyrian language and the spirit of the community, which continues to resonate with both older and younger generations.

In July 2024, the Agassi family shared that Evin Agassi was diagnosed with an inoperable malignant tumor in the left frontal lobe of his brain. On September 17th, Agassi peacefully passed away at the age of 78.

Evin Agassi’s contributions to Assyrian music and culture have left an indelible mark on the community. His vast body of work—42 albums and 270 songs—captured the essence of Assyrian identity and resilience. The Assyrian Cultural Foundation offers condolences to the Agassi family and honors the memory of a man whose musical passion kept the spirit of the Assyrian nation alive.

Bibliography

“Evin Agassi.” Qeenatha.Com, Qeenatha, www.qeenatha.com/artists/EvinAgassi/26/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.

Wilgenburg, Wladimir Van. “Renowned Assyrian Singer Evin Agassi Passes Away.” Kurdistanchronicle.Com, Kurdistan Chronicle, 18 Sept. 2024, kurdistanchronicle.com/babat/3360.

Zeitoune, Abboud. Modern Assyrian Music. Abboud Zeitoune, 2015.

Zeitoune, Abboud. Music Heritage of Mesopotamia. Assyrischer Jugendverband Mitteleuropa e.V, 2016.

Zeitoune, Abboud. Music Pearls of Beth-Nahrin: An Assyrian / Syriac Discography. Assyrische Demokratische Organisation, 2007

2024 Assyrian International Art Competition Rules

Date: January 19, 2024

At the Assyrian Cultural Foundation, we value the deep impact art can have on individuals across the world. A single painting can illustrate the richness of a culture, the resilience of a group of people, and the power of love. It is our mission as a Foundation to highlight the importance of art within our culture, as well as some of the brilliant Assyrian artists still practicing today.

From this, the Assyrian International Art Competition was born. Over the past few years, we have seen a range of gorgeous work produced by wildly talented Assyrian artists across the world, and we are excited to shine a light on even more of these individuals this year.

Love is the theme for the 2024 Assyrian International Art Competition. The final deadline for submission is Friday, November 1, 2024. You may submit to the competition at any point leading up to that date but are not permitted to submit after the deadline. Below are the submission requirements.

1. Submitted works must reflect the year’s theme. You cannot submit a previous work from your collection. It must be an original design that does not violate any U.S. copyright laws.
2. The submitted piece must be in a 2D medium. Acceptable mediums include painting, drawing, collage, or mixed media (a combination of the aforementioned mediums). Digital art will not be accepted. The use of AI will result in immediate disqualification.
3. The piece must be a minimum of 5ft² (or 4645.15cm² in metric).
4. You may not submit any work that has been published in any capacity, including submissions to previous art competitions, submissions to physical or virtual galleries, works sold as prints, or works that were posted on any social media platform (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, your personal website, etc). Doing so will result in disqualification.

Once you are satisfied with your piece, you may submit your artwork to us. Doing so is simple:

1. Fill out the application form provided on our Fine Arts Program page. This includes a space for a brief artist statement to elaborate on the work and its relation to the theme in no more than 200 words.
2. Once you have completed the application, you may submit the form along with three high-resolution pictures of your work to finearts@acf-us.org. The images must be at least 1080×1080 pixels in size in a JPG or PNG format. Do not include any filters or watermarks on the image.

You will be notified if your piece was selected as one of the Top 10 Finalists. These pieces will be shared across our social media in early November, followed by the top five later in the month. The top three will be unveiled in early December. The top three finalists will be asked to mail their works to the Foundation for final judging. Shipping costs of up to $500 will be reimbursed.

Please keep in mind that winning submissions become the exclusive property of the Assyrian Cultural Foundation in exchange for the prize money. ACF reserves the right to display, publish, and promote the item in any capacity upon the work’s acquisition. Finalists are subject to U.S. federal, state, and local taxes on their winnings, with international winners subject to a 30% tax deduction on winnings as per the U.S. federal tax code.

Good luck! We eagerly await the arrival of your inspirational pieces of artwork.

2024 Assyrian International Art Competition

Date: January 15, 2024

The Assyrian Cultural Foundation is thrilled to once again invite artists from around the world to participate in the prestigious Assyrian International Art Competition. This year’s theme is “Love.” We encourage artists who are at least 18 years old to submit their moving and thought-provoking works of two-dimensional art. The submission deadline is November 1st, 2024.

For rules and registration, please visit: https://www.auaf.us/programs/fine-arts/

If you have any questions, reach out to us at finearts@acf-us.org.

We can’t wait to see the beautiful and inspiring artwork that will be submitted. Join us in celebrating the richness and beauty of Assyrian art!

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

Date: November 9, 2023

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures 

Chicago, Illinois. United States 

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, formally known as The Oriental Institute, is a part of the University of Chicago’s department of Near Eastern Studies. The University itself has a long history with Ancient Near Eastern Studies since its founding in 1891. The first president of the University of Chicago was William Rainey Harper, a professor of semitic languages. In addition, his brother, Robert Francis, was also an Assyriologist. The pair both taught classes in their respective fields at the university. They moved the department of Near Eastern Studies into the Haskell Oriental Museum in 1896. The collection was initially quite small, until the Oriental Institute began to fund their own excavations in 1903. Alongside these excavations being conducted in Iraq, The Oriental Institute also began sending researchers and photographers to study ancient inscriptions in Nubia and Egypt.  

James Henry Breasted, an Egyptologist, was active in the research being conducted in Nubia and Egypt. He had great aspirations for the sharing of the ancient knowledge of the Near East, and hoped to build an institution that allowed him to share that knowledge with the public. This enthusiasm caught the attention of JD Rockefeller, who also contributed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Assyrian artworks. In 1919 Rockefeller made large donations to the Oriental Institute research laboratory, during which time the museum as an entity was formally established. In 1931, Rockefeller’s financial support provided the museum the opportunity to relocate to what is now their permanent location.  

One quality that makes The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures unique is that a vast majority of their collection was garnered during expeditions funded and conducted by the institution. These excavations began before the museum had formally been established and continue up to the modern day in locations such as Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Israel, and Turkey. The first excavation conducted in the near east was organized by Harper in 1903. Known as the “Oriental Exploration Fund (Babylonian Division) of The University of Chicago”, Harper and his team traveled out to Bismya, Iraq, and began their dig on Christmas Day of that same year. The excavation uncovered the ancient city of Adab, which was occupied from 3400 BCE to 1150 BCE.  Within the remains of the city the team discovered temples, palaces, a ziggurat, tablets, and a cemetery.  

In the Spring of 1920, Breasted visited Khorsabad for the first time. He knew of the treasures of King Sargon II’s palace that had been discovered by the French decades before, and believed there was still a great deal beneath the surface waiting to be unearthed.  In the years following Breasted’s visit, the University of Chicago also sent Edward Chiera, a newly employed professor at the university, to visit the site as well. During his visit, locals revealed to him a fragment of an Assyrian relief featuring two horseheads that was discovered emerging from the ground, confirming that there were still artifacts to be discovered at the site. The Oriental Institute then received permission to conduct excavations at Khorsabad between the years 1928 to 1935. In April 1929 the museum made one of its most significant discoveries, a full lamassu statue outside the throne room of Sargon II. The statue was hidden under a pile of debris from another building, which partially protected the statue from accruing further damage over time. Upon the discovery, Chiera sent a cable to Breasted describing the discovery and inquiring: “cost transportation about ten thousand dollars (stop) … shall we ask for bull (stop)”. Despite not having the money or resources in the budget to transport such an item, Breasted insisted it was a necessary addition to their collection. The Department of Antiquities of Iraq generously gifted the lamassu to the Oriental Institute, and Pierre Delougaz was put in charge of the challenging transportation back to the museum. The lamassu was reassembled and restored on site at the museum where it was built into the walls of the gallery and remains to this day.  

Of all of the museums we have talked about in our series, The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures  is the most easily accessible to Chicago residents. The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures continues to be a leader in research conducted in the Near East and works to expand both their own and the public’s understanding of the great societies that once inhabited the area. Given the high population of Assyrians in the city of Chicago, it is incredibly meaningful for such an institution to exist and provides a convenient opportunity for Assyrians to experience pieces of their history in person.  

 Written by: Melanie Perkins 

Bibliography 

Loud, Gordon. Khorsabad, Pt. 1: Excavations in the Palace and at a City Gate. 1936. Oriental Institute Publications v. 38. 

“Highlights from the Collections | the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.” Oi.uchicago.edu, oi.uchicago.edu/collections/highlights-collections. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023. 

“History of the Oriental Institute | the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.” Oi.uchicago.edu, oi.uchicago.edu/about/history-oriental-institute. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023. 

“In the Beginning | the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.” Oi.uchicago.edu, oi.uchicago.edu/research/beginning. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023. 

“The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.” Oi.uchicago.edu, oi.uchicago.edu/. 

“The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.” Oi.uchicago.edu, oi.uchicago.edu/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023 

Assyrian Dance Party

Date: October 21, 2023

The Assyrian Cultural Foundation is thrilled to announce our first Assyrian Dance Party on November 25th! For one night only, enjoy a wonderful performance featuring: Walter Aziz, Ogin Bet Samo, Emanouel Bet Younan, Robert Noghli, and a 15 piece band.

Important information:
Date: November 25th
($60) Party: 9:00PM – 1:00AM
($160) Dinner & Party: 6:30PM – 1:00AM
Location: The Westin O’Hare 6100 N River Rd, Rosemont, IL 60018
Dress Code: Formal
Students 50% Off

Ticket Purchase Information:

Party tickets can be purchased at:
• Assyrian Cultural Foundation
• Ashtar Food Market
• Arax Foods
• Shami Meat Market
• Someria Food Market

For Dinner & Party Tickets, please contact: 224-341-8026 or 312-720-5522

#Assyrian #AssyrianCulturalFoundation #ACFchicago #AssyrianDanceParty #AssyrianMusic #AssyrianHeritage

#CultureNight #WalterAziz #OginBetSamo #EmanouelBetYounan #RobertNoghli #westinohare

The Brooklyn Museum

Date: September 18, 2023

The Brooklyn Museum 

Brooklyn, New York. United States 

The next museum we are going to cover is one of the more recent acquisitions of Assyrian art to a museum collection. The Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York, was founded in 1898 as an offshoot of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. The goal of the institution is to be “a powerful place of personal transformation and social change”.  

The Brooklyn Museum is in possession of a series of twelve reliefs from Ashur-nasir-pal II’s palace at Kalhu from 879 BCE. Upon completion of the palace, the King hosted a gala during which citizens were able to walk through the palace to admire its beauty. It is believed there were nearly 70,000 guests in attendance at this celebration. These reliefs were unearthed during the 1840’s excavations of British archeologist Austen Henry Layard, which we discussed in earlier articles. As you may recall, the British and French excavation teams developed a rivalry over the course of their discoveries. The escalating competitive attitudes are part of what motivated the teams to rapidly gather and ship as many artifacts as they could back to their respective institutions. While we know that the majority of these artifacts still reside in the museums they were initially sent to, the fervor of the excavation teams resulted in the museums acquiring far more items than they had the space to store them. Left with few other choices, the museums put some of the artifacts up for sale on the private market.  

It was in 1855 when Henry Stevens, an American, purchased the reliefs in London. His initial intention was to send the reliefs to Boston where they would become property of the city. However, Boston municipal authorities were not able to raise the necessary funds to purchase the works from Stevens. As a result, Stevens began seeking buyers in New York City. James Lenox, of the New York Historical Society in Manhattan ended up purchasing the works. The reliefs were held by the New York Historical Society in Manhattan until 1937, when they lent the works to the Brooklyn Museum due to constraints in resources and storage space. Though the museum now held and displayed the works, they did not have the funds to purchase them outright. That was until 1955.  

Hagop Kevorkian was a collector and dealer of ancient near eastern art in New York. Kevorkian was from the city of Kayseri in Turkey, and graduated from the American Robert College in Istanbul. He came to New York as a young man in the 19th century. He made a name for himself through his contributions of antiquities for a number of noteworthy institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Louvre, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The University of Pennsylvania Museum, and The Brooklyn Museum. Hagop Kevorkian provided the funds to the Brooklyn Museum to purchase the twelve Ashur-nasir-pal II reliefs and install them in the space, which was aptly named the Hagop Kevorkian Gallery of Ancient Middle Eastern Art. 

This set of reliefs features depictions of Ashur-nasir-pal II communicating and consorting with divine entities. In addition to serving as a political leader, the Kings of ancient Assyria served as religious leaders as well. They were expected to demonstrate both an understanding and commitment to the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient Assyrian pantheon. Most of the reliefs feature apkallū -figures, also known as Genies. Genies are a divine winged being that served as the Kings protectors and consorts. Apkallū were seen as exceptionally intelligent, and were imagined to have assisted in the construction and protection of cities and their inhabitants. The relief show the King and genies celebrating religious rituals, such as tending to the sacred tree of life. The tree of life symbolism in particular was a motif used in Assyrian art to represent the divine power of the King to bestow life. The tree of life symbolism is so quincuncial to Assyrian art, that it is also used as the inspiration and subject of the logo for The Assyrian Cultural Foundation.  

Though many institutions have a larger variety of works from Assyrian, the Brooklyn Museum succeeds in providing guests an in depth look at the royal life of on Assyrian King and thus allows for a more personal and insular contemplation of the art at hand. By having the reliefs isolated from the wide variety of art that appears throughout the timeline of the empire, it allows for the details and nuances them to become more noticeable. Just as guests walked through the palace walls in 879 BCE, now visitors to the Brooklyn Museum can walk alongside these reliefs can contemplate the remarkable accomplishments of this ancient empire.  

Written by: Melanie Perkins

Published by: Brian Banyamin

Bibliography 

“Brooklyn Museum: About the Museum.” Www.brooklynmuseum.org, www.brooklynmuseum.org/about . 

“Brooklyn Museum.” Www.brooklynmuseum.org, www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/70571 . 

“Hagop Kevorkian.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagop_Kevorkian. 

“Selected Works of Ancient near Eastern Art, Including Assyrian Reliefs.” Brooklyn Museum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/3206. 

Remembering Obelit Yadgar

Date: September 8, 2023

The Assyrian Cultural Foundation deeply mourns the passing of Obielit Yadgar, a cherished voice in the Assyrian community and an honorary guest at our recent Assyrian Renaissance Concert. His dedication to the arts and his unparalleled passion for storytelling have left an indelible mark. As we reflect on his invaluable contributions, let his legacy inspire and guide future generations.

Obielit (Obie) Yadgar’s journey began in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was born. A year later, his family moved to Tehran, Iran, where he spent the majority of his younger years. Later on, Yadgar and his brother immigrated to the United States. Though he initially settled in New York, it was in Chicago where he completed his high school education and made the decision to become a writer, inspired by his great-uncle’s legacy.

The young Obie Yadgar often observed his great-uncle, renowned Assyrian writer and historian Rabi Benyamin Arsanis, hunched over his desk writing. That same passion drove Yadgar to pursue his own writing career, in which he published two novels and a book of humor: Will’s Music, Whistling to Cairo, and Obie’s Opus, all available on Amazon. In addition, he made significant contributions to the Zinda magazine in the form of essays and short stories. In Yadgar’s own words, “These essays and short stories are slice-of-life pieces on the Assyrian world.”

Following a tour of duty as a U.S. Army combat correspondent in Vietnam, Yadgar began a distinguished career as a classical music broadcaster. He worked for many years in Chicago, though it is Milwaukee where he established his home and a name for himself. His program “Obie’s Opus” played on Sundays from 8 to 9 A.M. on WMSE Milwaukee, 91.7 FM.

He also hosted Musing with My Samovar, presented by the Assyrian Podcast.

Though he is no longer with us, both broadcasts can be streamed via one’s smart device.

Written by: Sarah Gawo & Cassandra Ledger

Published by: Brian Banyamin 

Assyrian Instrument: Lyers of Ur

Date: August 29, 2023

Written by: Cassandra Ledger

Published by: Brian Banyamin