Fnon Al-Rafidayn Journal

Theatrical performance is a vivid reflection of the complex interactions between culture, environment, society, and the body. Theatrical actors express their identity and self through their psychological, physical, and vocal tools within environmental and social contexts that have influenced this body, reshaping and reshaping it to reflect their culture and social environment. In this context, the concept of biculturalism emerges as a vital intersection between biological dimensions (body, senses, emotions) and the social and cultural data they acquire from their environment. This is reflected in the performance of the Mosuli theatrical actor, who carries a cultural heritage reflected in their tone of voice and body movements. How can the Mosuli actor transform these biocultural characteristics into a creative asset that enriches theatrical performance and endows the character with credibility and local specificity, giving it a distinctive and artistic quality? According to the above, the researcher divided his research topic into four chapters. The first chapter represents (the methodological framework) which contains the research problem centered on the following question (how to employ the mechanisms of biocultural performance in Mosul theatre performances) and then the importance of the research which is evident in studying the mechanisms of biocultural performance in Mosul theatre performances and how it is embodied in the form of theatrical performance and the extent of the influence of the environment and biological factors on the theatre actor. The need for it emerges through the possibility of benefiting from it by artists and researchers in the field of theatre arts in directing and acting. The aim of the research is to identify the mechanisms of biocultural performance in Mosul theatre performances. The first chapter ends with the limits of the research and the definition of terms. In the second chapter, the researcher established his theoretical framework from two sections. The first was titled "Biculturalism: A Social Conceptual Approach," while the second was titled "Performance Mechanisms in Theatrical Methods." This was followed by the indicators resulting from the theoretical framework. The third chapter included the research procedures, including the research community, the research sample, the research tool, the research methodology, and the sample analysis. The fourth chapter included the results, conclusions, proposals, and recommendations presented by the researcher for use in scientific, cognitive, and applied research. The research concluded with a list of sources and references.

With the growing dominance of Western colonial systems in knowledge, culture, and the arts, alongside the expansion of elite grand narratives, and the continued political colonization through economic and cultural hegemony (media, globalization, and stereotypical representation), the emergence of modern critical philosophies (Derrida, Lyotard, Foucault, Deleuze) aimed at deconstructing centrism and advocating for pluralism and difference. This has highlighted the need for postcolonial studies, which took on the task of restoring the marginalized voices of colonized peoples and deconstructing the colonial discourse and the stereotypes formed about the colonized populations. Additionally, these studies have worked toward recovering identities and revitalizing suppressed cultures by understanding the impact of colonialism and its symbolic tools deeply embedded in the present (education, art, language, and religion), granting societies the tools to understand themselves in accordance with liberating knowledge from Western European centrality.
This prompted the researcher to raise the following question: How has postcolonial critical reading been represented in contemporary formation? Thus, the first chapter provided the methodological framework of the research, presenting the research problem and its importance, aiming to offer a critical (exposing) reading of the stereotypes drawn by the colonizer about the colonized peoples. The aim of the research focused on revealing the visual equations and conceptual foundations of postcolonialism in contemporary formation. The research was confined to the period (2018–2023) and geographically limited to the artistic outputs of postcolonialism in contemporary formation, including America, Africa, Britain, and Nigeria. The chapter also addressed the identification and clarification of key terms and their meanings.
The second chapter consisted of two sections: the first addressed the conceptual institutions of postcolonialism, while the second covered the artistic applications of postcolonialism in the field of visual arts. The third chapter presented the research methodology, where the descriptive approach was chosen to analyze three samples from the research population, which included thirty examples. Finally, the fourth chapter discussed the findings and conclusions.

The current research examines symbolism and icons and their impact on the visual arts, taking the Yazidi religion as a model. The current research consists of four chapters. The first chapter covers the research problem, the importance of the research, the research objectives, and the research limits.
The aim of the research is to study some rituals, symbols, and icons derived from ancient cultures and civilizations, which have cultural, religious, and artistic connections with the symbols present in the Yazidi religion.
The theoretical framework yielded a set of indicators related to religious rituals and their artistic reflections through the symbols and icons in the Yazidi religion.
The research concluded with several findings, the most prominent of which are: The continued use of symbols and icons in the Yazidi religion throughout the ages, both in the past and present, within religious customs and rituals, and their integration into contemporary artworks.

This research highlights the visual techniques and methods adopted by female artists to deconstruct stereotypes about women, whether through the use of bodily symbols, the invocation of self-narratives, or the employment of concepts such as gender, identity, and marginality. The study also discusses how some female artists have transcended the boundaries of the female body as merely an object for display, transforming the body itself into a tool of resistance and self-expression. The research relies on an analytical-descriptive approach to study a selected group of works by female artists from the Modernism and Postmodernism periods, aiming to uncover the intellectual and aesthetic dimensions through which female subjectivity was presented. The research concludes that these works were not merely aesthetic attempts, but rather conscious expressions seeking to dismantle traditional perceptions and open new spaces for understanding women as independent, diverse, and liberated beings, free from the constraints of a singular perspective. The research is structured into four chapters. The first chapter covers the research problem, objectives, importance, and need, as well as the temporal, spatial, and thematic boundaries. The second chapter consists of two sections: the first discusses philosophers\' and thinkers\' views on female subjectivity, while the second examines the methods employed by female artists in representing female subjectivity during the Modernism and Postmodernism periods, along with works by artists from these periods. The third chapter focuses on the research procedures and the analysis of a selection of works by female artists addressing female subjectivity. Finally, the fourth chapter presents the findings and conclusions.

This research explores the role of musical identity as a strategic tool in commercial advertising within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is based on the hypothesis that music functions as an auditory signature that enhances the communicative message and strengthens the audience’s connection to the brand. The study analyzes 25 commercial advertisements produced between 2005 and 2025, focusing on the fusion of folkloric and electronic music, as well as orchestral approaches, to assess their impact on memorability and emotional resonance with viewers. The first section of the study investigates the oral and musical roots of advertising, tracing the historical evolution of music from oral rituals to radio jingles and its development into a strategic component of modern advertising. It highlights the role of melody, rhythm, and sonic mood in shaping public sentiment and building unconscious brand recall, emphasizing the effectiveness of repetitive, simple tunes and distinctive sonic logos. The second section addresses the artistic characteristics of musical identity, presenting global, Arab, and Kurdish examples. These include the integration of folkloric and electronic elements in the “Korek Telecom” commercial and the orchestral style in the “Sadaf” furniture advertisement, in addition to official sonic logos used by media and commercial institutions. The analysis demonstrates how localized musical identity helps convey values such as authenticity, modernity, and comfort. Methodologically, the study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, analyzing selected advertising samples using tools such as Logic Pro, Sibelius, and MIDI keyboard. It also includes expert evaluations from three specialists in advertising music to assess the sonic signatures and their influence on brand identity and audience perception.

The research entitled: (Features of Psychological Rebellion in the Art of Installation in Space) contributes to defining the nature of the concept of features of psychological rebellion and the mechanisms of its operation in the art of installation in space. It carries within it a social, environmental, and psychological issue surrounding the artist. The problem of the current research was summarized in the following question: (Are the features of psychological rebellion embodied in installation art in space?) The research included four chapters: The first chapter came with the methodological framework of the research represented by the research problem, its importance, and the need for it, and defining the most important research terms, while the aim of the research was (to reveal the features of psychological rebellion in installation art in space). The second chapter represented the theoretical framework, and it contained two sections: The first section: Psychological rebellion - foundations and theories, while the second section: Features of rebellion and its reflection in the formation of postmodernism, while the third chapter included the research methodology and research procedures. The fourth chapter included the research results, conclusions, recommendations, and proposals. The research came out with a set of conclusions, including:
The art of Creating patterns of thought in the form of textile pendants is one of the areas that cultivates creative education within the connoisseur, opening up new horizons for innovative vision using diverse and varied materials to emphasize...
The artworks produced carry a message the artist wishes to convey to the recipient, bearing features of psychological rebellion, reflecting psychological or social content in the form of various formal and technical artistic formulations.

This study examines the sustainable productivity of moral development in Talal Hasan’s theatrical texts through a four-chapter structure. Chapter One presents the methodological framework, defines the research problem by answering the question “How has sustainable productivity of moral development been employed in Talal Hasan’s plays?”, and then outlines the study’s significance, necessity, objectives, spatiotemporal and topical boundaries, and key term definitions. Chapter Two develops the theoretical framework in two sections: the first defines the ethical thematic construction of dramatic texts—using selected international models—and the second investigates the ethical criteria generated within the dramatic text. It concludes with a review of previous studies and theoretical indicators, notably that children’s and youth-oriented plays sustain an ethical theme by embedding an ethical authority in the text, which explores societal values and the consequences of human actions. Chapter Three, the procedural chapter, analyzes Hasan’s play The Storm, demonstrating how sustainable outputs of moral development are realized in the text. Chapter Four presents the study’s findings and conclusions, including that Talal Hasan’s textual theme focuses on sustaining ethical development in youth through didactic guidance, which also influences their personal formation during adolescence. The researcher then offers one recommendation and one proposal for studying ideological thought in Hasan’s theatrical works. The study concludes with a list of references.

The current research includes the nature of irony and the mechanisms of its operation in postmodern arts, by presenting the research problem that resulted in answering the following question: (What are the representations of irony in postmodern drawings?). The research presents the importance of the study and the need for it, and then focused on the aim of revealing irony and its representations in postmodern arts "according to the time limits of (1962-2007). The researcher also presents the research community and sample in his research procedures using the content analysis tool method, the tool's stability and validity coefficient, and the use of statistical methods. Finally, the research reaches a number of results, including: Irony in postmodern art (pop art, body art, graffiti art) was closely related to the artist's psychology, which influenced the artist's ability to achieve his ironic forms. Irony in postmodern art has also been linked to provoking protest, marginalizing society, rejecting social reality, and opposing old methods. The research also reaches the following conclusions: Irony plays an important role in relieving human of all kinds of stress. Irony is a mirror that reflects society's concerns .

Through the researcher’s review of the literature, she found it necessary to conduct a study exploring the effects of the blending theory in children's theater. She articulated the problem with the following question: What are the applications of the blending theory in children's theater performances? The research objective was to (introduce the blending theory and reveal its applications in children's theater performances) .Its boundaries were defined by the aesthetic applications of the theory in theatrical performances aimed at children in Iraq between (2020-2025). As for the second chapter, it revolved around two axes: the first focused on the theory of conceptual blending, its manifestations, and its tools. The second focused on the aesthetic elements of children's theater performances, concluding with indicators of the theoretical framework. As for the third chapter, it included the methodology represented by descriptive analysis and its community represented by the Iraqi children's theater performances presented in Baghdad for the years 2020/2025. (Al-Sahil and Al-Misbah) were chosen randomly and constituted (10%) of the community. An instrument was designed to detect the applications of the theory in the performances, which showed the following results: The manifestations of conceptual blending in the performances were equal across all their axes with a total of (269) and a percentage of (4.80525%) .In terms of conceptual blending tools: the modeling of the conceptual blend that arises in the blending space with a dimensional structure achieved the highest frequency with a count of 275 and a percentage of 5.39025%. The researcher concluded with several notable findings: the features of conceptual blending emerged equally in all dialogues due to the theoretical requirements for the presence of these features represented in the spaces (the two inputs, the comprehensive, and the blended). The number of spaces among them requires agreement with the numbers of other spaces; none of the tools or manifestations of conceptual blending has faded from presence in the theatrical performance. This is due to the fact that the production of a theatrical work, from writing to directing, represents a creative process based on mental operations that borrow, delete, mix, and transform to reach the highest goals of creativity. It was recommended to hold specialized workshops that focus on introducing these cognitive theories and their reflection in aesthetic aspects. The research concluded with a list of sources and appendices.

The current research deals with studying the role of biophilic design in enhancing the efficiency of interior spaces. Biophilic design is the first teacher for the interior designer, which enhances his imagination through the use of systems and models inspired by nature to form a positive and compatible relationship with the environment in interior spaces. The research problem was embodied in the following question: ((What is the extent of the interconnected relationship between humans and nature with the possibility of integration and return to nature through biophilic design as one of the sustainability trends in interior design?)), so the aim of the research was: Uncovering the principles of biophilic design and its applications in administrative interior spaces, The first chapter included defining the research problem and the need for it, and defining its literary and scientific terms. The second chapter included a detailed explanation of the theoretical framework that the researcher relied on, consisting of two topics: the first is the biological design and its impact on the design subject, and the second is the vitality to enhance the efficiency of designing interior spaces Through these studies, the researcher reached a review of the results that summarized the theoretical material of the three studies, followed by the conclusions that the researcher reached from studying the internal spaces of administrative buildings, and then presenting recommendations and proposals for future research.

The interest in sustainable development has increased in all countries, regardless of their progress and levels. Efforts have been combined to achieve its three social, environmental and economic dimensions, and the proposed approaches have multiplied to increase its efficiency. We are here in the process of highlighting education and the teacher as a focus and a successful tool for activating it, as it is focused on the human being as the main focus in terms of providing him with skills and knowledge, training him, and raising The level of awareness in all areas, especially societal ones, and qualifying them to transform into a sustainable life
The aim of the research is to know the degree of awareness of teachers of the art education subject for the preparatory stage regarding the dimensions of sustainable development. The second goal is to know the differences between the sample members according to the variable of experience. To achieve the two objectives of the research, the researcher followed the descriptive approach using content analysis, and the sample (48) was chosen, constituting (30%) of the original population. A questionnaire was prepared to measure the degree of awareness of the dimensions of development
. The results were in favor of the social dimension with a high percentage (2.76), then the environmental dimension came with a moderate percentage (2.52), while the economic dimension received a weak percentage (1.96). As for the second objective, the results confirmed that there are no statistically significant differences between the average scores of a sample of the degree of awareness of teachers in art education in the dimensions of sustainable development according to the experience variable
The researcher recommended including the standards and dimensions of sustainable development in the curricula of the College of Fine Arts and how to link the dimensions to art lessons at all levels.

The aim of this research is to explore the current understanding of artistic passion and its relationship with creativity among students of art institutes. The research sample consisted of 200 final-year students from the Institute of Fine Arts in Mansour, including first- and second-stage students, for the academic year 2025–2026.The researcher constructed two scales: an Artistic Passion Scale and a Creativity Scale. The Artistic Passion Scale consisted of 40 items, while the Creativity Scale consisted of 30 items.
After collecting the data, the researcher calculated the following statistical measures: arithmetic mean, standard deviation, hypothetical mean, and t-test. The results showed that students at fine arts institutes have a high level of artistic passion and a high level of artistic creativity. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between artistic passion and artistic creativity.

Today, any craft requires, in addition to creativity, engagement with various aspects of human activity, since creative thinking, with its diverse paths, does not follow fixed patterns but rather flows according to knowledge and study of scientific systems that are specifically related to creativity. It is well established that the craft of theatre, in principle, is no different from other fields in the necessity of developing creative ideas in a way that suits theatrical performances—especially in terms of confronting problems and crises within the performance. The researcher started from the title of his study, which was structured into four chapters. The first chapter, the methodological framework, was devoted to addressing the research problem through the following question: Has the theatre director been able to employ creative thinking in times of crisis? In addition, it examined the research objective, significance, scope, and then defined the terms. The second chapter consisted of three sections: the first was entitled The Concept of Creative Thinking; the second, Elements of Performance Supporting Creative Thinking; and the third was dedicated to studying Creative Thinking in the Theories of Theatre Directors. After that, the researcher reviewed previous studies and the indicators of the theoretical framework. The third chapter addressed Research Procedures, including the population, sample, and research tools, as well as the methodology, its tools, and their validity, culminating in the analysis of the research sample. Finally, the fourth chapter included the results and conclusions, in addition to recommendations and suggestions, as well as the list of sources and references in English.

This research aims to reveal the aesthetics of the duality of sound and silence in Iraqi theatrical performance as an effective communicative system that contributes to constructing the dramatic rhythm of theatrical action through the reciprocal interaction between the actor and the audience. In this process, silence becomes a dramatic discourse charged with meaning, while sound is embodied as a dramatic image within an integrated artistic aesthetic structure, enabling the audience to perceive the dimensions of the word and its expressive functions within the theatrical performance.
The study adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology and is structured into four chapters. Chapter One addresses the research problem, its significance, objectives, and limitations. The research problem is formulated around the following question: What are the aesthetics of sound and silence in Iraqi theatrical performance? The scope of the study is limited to theatrical performances presented on the stage of the National Theatre, and the chapter concludes with the operational definition of key terms.
Chapter Two presents the theoretical framework and consists of two sections. The first examines sound and silence from an aesthetic perspective, while the second explores their employment within the theatrical director’s vision. The chapter concludes with a set of theoretical indicators adopted in the applied analysis.
Chapter Three is devoted to the research procedures, including the identification of the research population, sample, and the analytical tool employed in examining the selected sample. Chapter Four presents the findings, discusses the results, draws conclusions, and provides the list of references..

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of the formative assessment strategy in developing coloring skills among students of the Department of Art Education in the course Sketch and Colors. The research was motivated by the difficulties students face in mastering the principles of color blending and harmony, as well as their limited ability to employ colors in constructing balanced and aesthetically pleasing artworks. Such challenges can be attributed, in part, to the reliance on traditional teaching methods that lack interaction and continuous feedback. To achieve the research objective, the experimental method was adopted using a one-group pre-test/post-test design. A pre-test was administered to measure the level of coloring skills among a sample of (20) second-year students from the Department of Art Education, College of Fine Arts, University of Basrah. The students were then taught using the formative assessment strategy over a period of five weeks, followed by a post-test. The results were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods (paired-sample t-test), which revealed statistically significant differences at the (0.05) level between the pre-test and post-test mean scores in favor of the post-test. These findings indicate that the use of formative assessment contributed to improving students’ performance in coloring, enhancing their ability to achieve color blending, balance, and aesthetic harmony in their artworks. The study concluded that formative assessment represents an effective pedagogical framework for developing coloring skills, as it fosters classroom interaction, provides immediate feedback to correct errors during learning, and raises students’ motivation as well as the quality of their artistic outcomes. Accordingly, the study recommends adopting formative assessment in teaching practical art education courses and training instructors in employing its techniques. It also proposes conducting further studies to investigate the impact of this strategy on developing other artistic skills such as drawing, design, sculpture, and Arabic calligraphy.

The researcher’s study consisted of four chapters. The first chapter, the methodological framework, addressed the research problem, its significance, and the main objective, which was to explore the dramaturgy of directing in contemporary Iraqi abstract theatre. The researcher then defined the boundaries of the study—topical, spatial, and temporal—and provided operational definitions of the key terms. The second chapter, the theoretical framework, was divided into two sections based on theoretical foundations; The first section dealt with the dramaturgy of theatrical directing. While the second section focused on abstract theatre. The third chapter presented the research methodology, the research population, and the purposefully selected sample, which consisted of a single model for analysis—the play “Doubt” (Shakk) directed by the Iraqi artist Ahmed Mohammed Abdul Amir. After analyzing the sample in accordance with the indicators derived from the theoretical framework, the researcher reached a set of findings and conclusions, which were presented in the fourth chapter. The study concluded with a list of references and finally the title and abstract in English.