MoMA PS1's 'Theater of Operations' explores Gulf Wars via art, media critique, and institutional controversy.

From November 3, 2019, to March 3, 2020, MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, showcased 'Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991–2011,' curated by Peter Eleey and Ruba Katrib. This exhibition highlighted the works of thirty-seven artists, such as Thomas Hirschhorn and Michel Auder, who explored the Gulf Wars and their consequences. Following the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 and an open letter from artists denouncing MoMA trustees' investments in for-profit prisons, the exhibition gained political significance. It addressed themes like media manipulation, PTSD, and economic sanctions, with Iraqi artists utilizing limited resources and Hanaa Malallah employing a destruction-based method, occupying various spaces within PS1, including the boiler room.