Khajistan Recreates OWI Office at Pioneer Works to Expose War Propaganda
Khajistan, an archive and publishing platform founded by Saad Khan in 2021, will present the exhibition 'Office of War Information (O.W.I.)' at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn from May 8 to August 9, 2026. This immersive exhibit will replicate a fictional 1990s OWI office and showcase original leaflets from World War II alongside recent propaganda from contemporary conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Libya. Visitors will encounter interactive displays, as well as elements of American pop culture, including Arabic-subtitled 'Friends' episodes and audio from a 2007 airstrike in Baghdad, highlighting the evolution of propaganda techniques.
Key facts
- Khajistan's exhibition 'Office of War Information (O.W.I.)' ran from May 8 to August 9, 2026, at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn.
- The exhibition recreated a speculative OWI workspace from the 1990s, featuring replica leaflets and interactive database.
- Original OWI leaflets from World War II, including those dropped over Japan, were displayed.
- Modern propaganda from Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Libya was included, spanning from the 1990s to the present.
- Khajistan was founded by Saad Khan in 2021 and collects censored media from South Asia to North Africa.
- The exhibition included American pop culture items and sitcoms with Arabic subtitles as soft propaganda.
- A radio played audio from a 2007 US airstrike in Baghdad that killed two civilians and injured two children.
- Khajistan published 'American War Propaganda Leaflets (1990–2022)' in 2024.
Entities
Artists
- Saad Khan
- Joey Chriqui
- Khajistan
Institutions
- Khajistan
- Pioneer Works
- Office of War Information
- CIA
- Broadcast
- Kislak Center at the University of Pennsylvania
- Canvas
Locations
- New York
- Brooklyn
- Japan
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Libya
- Baghdad
- Omaha
- Washington DC
- United States
Sources
- Momus —
- Canvas Magazine —