OUR STORY

A man with dark hair, a mustache, wearing a beige shirt and a wristwatch, sitting at a desk with a pen in his hand. Behind him are posters and photographs on a bulletin board, including images of cameras and a large poster of a landscape with water and mountains.

studio balay

Studio Balay was a small photography studio operated by the Balay brothers in Duhok in the late 1980s and into the late 1990s. At the time, Duhok was still developing from a village into a growing city. The photo studio was located in the heart of the main bazaar, which served as the center of daily life.

The Balay family, originally from the region of Berwari Bala (Kurdistan Region, Iraq), opened the studio as a way to support a large household during a time of economic hardship, when international sanctions on Iraq and regional instability placed significant pressure on everyday life. The brothers gathered whatever savings they had and purchased a few cameras. With humble equipment and a small space in the bazaar, Studio Balay became a place where people from villages near and far came to be photographed.

Families, workers, couples, and individuals visited the studio to mark important moments, like weddings, engagements, birthdays, or simply to have a portrait taken or a passport photo made. At a time when photography was not widely accessible and popular as it is today, the studio played an unintentionally meaningful role in documenting everyday life in Kurdistan.

The studio itself had a distinctive look and feel. Its walls were covered in printed wallpapers of waterfalls cascading over rocks, fields of tulips in bloom, and wide valleys opening into distant mountains. These scenes echoed the landscapes of Kurdistan. People stepped in front of these backdrops and positioned themselves carefully, standing, seated, sometimes with a hand resting on a prop or on one another.

The photographs created at Studio Balay, by Studio Balay staff and or family members, are the primary source of this archive. They capture both family and community life during a period of Kurdish political and economic oppression at the hands of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath regime.

This archive continues the work of Studio Balay. What began as a small studio in Duhok’s bazaar is now preserved as part of a larger effort to document, protect, and share Kurdish life and history.

All photographs in this collection were taken at Studio Balay.

A man sitting at a cluttered desk covered with photographs in an office. There are posters and pictures on the wall behind him, including a portrait of a man with a mustache, a landscape photo, and a butterfly. The man is holding a pen, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a star emblem on the sleeve, and has black curly hair.
A man in a military uniform holding a young child in an indoor setting decorated with photographs and posters on the wall.
A man dressed in traditional Kurdish attire standing behind backdrop of waterfall and forested landscape in the background. He is wearing a headscarf, a dark robe, a yellow shirt, and a wide belt, with a serious expression.
A young boy with dark hair and a red jacket sitting at a small red plastic table, holding a blue toy phone to his ear with a smile. The table has a colorful rainbow paper or fabric at the center and a small white vase with pink and white flowers. Behind him is a backdrop with a waterfall and stone wall, surrounded by large red and yellow tulips and green foliage, mimicking a garden scene.
A family portrait of a man with four children in front of a scenic backdrop of a waterfall and trees. The man is sitting with two children on his lap and two women standing behind him.
A family of four posing in traditional Kurdish attire, with a nature scene backdrop featuring mountains and a river.
A young boy with black hair and brown eyes standing in front of a waterfall backdrop, resting his arm on a wooden log, and touching his chin thoughtfully.
A young man with dark hair and a serious expression sitting on a bench with a floral bouquet in front of him. The background features a painted waterfall scene with flowers and greenery. The photo has a logo in the top left corner reading 'BALAY ARCHIVES' with a tagline below.
A woman with long, wavy, auburn hair wearing a beige uniform with a necktie, earrings, and a headscarf with a red and white pattern, standing outdoors with a rocky background.