Nick’s Art: a ‘hobby turned into a business’
Rebaz Rafiq with one of his paintings. Photo submitted to AUIS Voice
ERBIL (AUIS Voice) — For many, attending university is to make a living out of their degree in the future. But there are a few that do that through pursuing a hobby. And Nick’s Art is one of those.
Nick’s Art is a small business that sells tableaus and drawings to interior designers as well as regular buyers in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani city. The business was established by a hobbyist who tremendously took advantage of the Covid-19 lockdown to develop his artistic skills.
Rebaz Rafiq, also known as Nick Baban, is a graduate of construction engineering from the American University of Iraq Sulaimani (AUIS). Rafiq minored in business management as well.
Following his graduation in Fall 2019, Rafiq began looking for a job in his job-scarce city of Sulaimani. Luck was not on his side as coronavirus pandemic soon knocked on the Region’s doors in early March 2020.
In order to stem the spread of the virus, local authorities immediately put a number of measures into effect, including a complete lockdown, which had a tremendous effect on the economic activities and caused a significant job loss.
Rafiq’s reunion with his childhood hobby of drawing took place when the lockdown forced the region’s population to stay at home. It was a golden opportunity for the 26-year-old fresh graduate to sharpen his artistic skills.
“I started to dive into the world of art again,” Rafiq told the AUIS Voice on Thursday, after he halted drawing during his high school years in order to fully pay attention to his studies.
But his love for art “never diminished”, Rafiq told the Voice.
After garnering painting skills via “YouTube videos and documentaries,” in the quarantine, he started selling his paintings, motivated by his unemployment.
“Later on, I started Nick’s Art which is a small business in which I collaborate with interior designers, and I paint for normal customers as well,” Rafiq told the Voice.
Rafiq's work for an interior designer. Photo submitted to AUIS Voice.
“It was a hobby that turned into a business,” the engineering graduate added.
The lack of job opportunities in the Region has spiked unemployment figures, which the Region’s authorities blame it on the drop in oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prior to the war against the so-called Islamic State in 2014, the unemployment rate in the Region was 6.5 percent. Soon, the figure rose to 10.7 percent, per tally from Kurdistan Region Statistics Office (KRSO).
Rafiq is still looking for a style that “speaks to [him]”, currently using the different doctrines in drawing, including expressionism, abstract, surrealism, modernism, and minimalism.
“I sometimes try to mix more than one style in my paintings,” the young artist elaborated.
However, he is now self-employed, Aziz looks out for a job in his field, he told the Voice.
- Davar Mohammad