Zangana, Hozan

Hozan Zangana was born in 1983 in Kirkuk. In 1998, at age fifteen, Hozan Zangana fled his country and applied for asylum in The Netherlands. There he studied at the esteemed art and design universities Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and Design Academy Eindhoven.

After his graduation Hozan Zangana was awarded a grant for Talent Development Creative Industries. This allowed him to realise his first collection of abstract objects inspired by the original 7th century Kufic script titled ‘Shaping from Intuition’, which he went on to show in Dubai, Milan and New York.

Other highlights on Hozan Zangana’s resume include: the acquisition of his Haft Sin collection in Dark Earth by Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) in 2015; the Iraq Pavilion installation called ‘Excavations’ at Abwab during Dubai Design Week 2016, which Hozan Zangana co-curated and designed in collaboration with Rand Abdul Jabbar; and his nomination for the Wallpaper Next Generation Designer of the Year Award 2017.

Arbela collection 
Hozan Zangana is on a silent quest to capture the cultural heritage of Kurdistan and ancient Iraq in physical objects.

A heritage, material and immaterial, that sadly appears all but lost in the chaos of recent events, but is alive at its deepest core, like the root of a rare old grape vine, barren as it looks, holds all the elements to grow its future fruit.

The suggestion of utility of Hozan Zangana’s design objects, although precious as such, contributes to their humble restorative power.