american. i became american in the beautiful city of san francisco three years ago, so i can relate a lot to what you said earlier. i am here today because we are presenting a collection, an important collection of original art from iraq, and i wanted to share a very brief story about how i came across this article and why we are sharing it today. it is back in 2003, there was just a ceasefire in baghdad, right after, you know the second world war,. and someone flew straight into jordan, hired two bodyguards, hired a four-wheel drive, and went straight into baghdad. why did she do that? because she knew that the baghdad art scene was one of the most vibrant in the arab world and actually in the world.

there was a lot of very good talent that had been under the operation of the former regime still building a fantastic collection of art. she went to the bag that school of art. she asked to meet with the top 10 young artists there. she got a few their paintings and smuggled them back to france. she had a show, and i fell in love with this art. tin years later, we sell art online. i wanted to find a way to expose people worldwide to this fantastic art. i call that lady about six months ago, and it turned out that she still has a fantastic art from the artists, and i bought everything over the phone. it was the goal to bring it to the u.s. and then expose it, you know, to the broader public in multiple ways. our mission is to make art accessible to all. what we're doing, we found a way to provide very, very high quality, a vibrant art, from

original art all the way to an edition that is open to reproduction so everybody can enjoy it. what really moved me with this art, as you'll see over there, is entering a very, very hard time for the iraqi people, those painters, some of them very famous, some of them very young and not famous whatsoever, through the power of art and self-expression and were able to get out of their misery and coming up or something beautiful. it is a great testament to the power of the human being. i personally own many of these, and every time i look at the painting, i season been different. it really makes me happy. i hope it will be the same for you. thank you for the opportunity. [applause] >> on behalf of my firm and

myself, i would like to thank you all for it to pay less for joining us. on behalf of the arab-american community -- [speaking foreign language] you're welcome to join us anytime in the middle east, your honor. thank you very much. [applause] >> can we have another round of applause for the mayor and a supervisor mirkarimi. thank you all. [applause] thank you also much. [applause] ♪ >> again, thank you all for coming, and the party is just

getting started. we will have -- we will be having a close a call musical session, and you'll see the beautiful modern art from iraq in the north court. and we have a dance by a sudanese group as well. again, i would like to thank all of our sponsors. including the law firm in san francisco. another one is in his third year of supporting us, and he has never had the chance to write a check. hopefully all you other business owners well. also, the best sandwich in town. i do not need to explain that. and the market which is a national phenomenon. they just did an amazing article about them in "food" magazine. and the excellent and test.

please support them, because they have supported us throughout the years. again, i would like to close with the musical selection. thank you. [applause] ♪ [instrumental musical selection]

[singing in foreign language] ♪

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♪ [in sturman told her musical selection lahood [instrumental musical selection] [singing in foreign language] ♪

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[applause] >> hello, thank you again.

before we send you a laugh, we would like to invite our special guest to come up and say a few words. thank you. >> thank you all. i want to thank the city of san francisco, but the mayor, the board of supervisors, and the committee that organized this event. [applause] and we cannot have survived the last 12 years -- next january, it can be 12 years since we've founded this. it would not have survived without your support. for those of you who come for the first time, please go to our website and keep following our

various performances. we have a big performance, a two-hour concert on november 20 in oakland. it is a fund-raising event. i hope to see many of you there. i could not have done it without my family here. [applause] this has truly become my family in the last 12 years, and in the last year, they have been all my children. i do not know how to thank them. they have done wonderful work. it is really their work. i just do work behind the scenes. but it is their work, their effort, and their love for arabic music and our heritage. i cannot have done it without the board, and i want to single out the person who established this group with me.

[applause] in 2000, and then we established the nonprofit to promote various aspects of the arab part -- art. and we have been under the leadership, and they always say that behind a great man, there is a woman with a greater behind. [laughs] [laughter] thank you. [applause] >> i would like to thank you all for coming and enjoying the performances and the musical ensemble. now if you would like to join us in the north white hall, just through the stores writer there, and we will continue the celebration. thank you. [applause]