Jordanian visual artist Anwar Haddadin doesn't seem interested in having a painting remain just a space hung on a wall. In his work, color tells a story, material carries memory, and a piece of art has the ability to leave its place and reach people, institutions, occasions — even postage stamps.
اضافة اعلان
Perhaps that's why his career has stretched across art and design, between the gallery and public space, between the local and an openness to the world. Having chosen collage as his primary medium of expression, the artist has managed to showcase his work in Arab and international capitals and cities, earning awards and top rankings, while Jordan has remained present in the details of his work and in many of his pieces and designs.
Among the most notable milestones of his career was his participation in the International Fine Arts Festival in Dubai, an event that brought together artists representing 50 nationalities from around the world, with painting taking place simultaneously among this large number of participants. That participation was an exceptional milestone in his career, culminating in a Guinness World Record certificate for the largest art participation at the festival.
But Guinness wasn't the only honor in the artist's record. In Lebanon, Haddadin won first place at the International Symposium in Beirut in 2019, at the invitation of the Zouk Mikael Municipality, and he returned from Vienna, the Austrian capital, with first place for best artwork at the International Colors Festival.
In 2016, he had another notable achievement at the Philadelphia University Awards, winning first place and best artwork nationally — another milestone that strengthened his presence on the Jordanian art scene.
Collage: More Than a Technique
Collage holds a special place in Anwar Haddadin's work. He doesn't treat it merely as an artistic technique, but as an open space for experimentation and blending different elements, rearranging details in a way that gives them new visual meaning.
Because his work in this field drew attention, it moved beyond exhibition halls into academia, with Yarmouk University hosting the first master's thesis on his collage works — making his artistic practice a subject of study and research alongside its presence in exhibitions.
One of his collage pieces also reached a space entirely different from art galleries. A work of his titled "The Magi" was printed on Christmas cards distributed across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, while the original painting is housed in a church in Germany.
From the Canvas to the Nation's Memory
Alongside his work as a visual artist, Haddadin has built a significant presence in the world of design, particularly in logos and postage stamps. He has designed numerous logos for national institutions, universities, and national occasions and holidays.
Among the works associated with his name are the logos of the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization, the Jordan News Agency (Petra), the Mafraq Municipality, and the Federation of Arab Universities, alongside the logo of the Arab Peace Group and the Diamond Jubilee logo of the Jordanian Bar Association, in addition to a number of logos for national occasions and independence day celebrations.
He has also designed postage stamps, including the first postage stamp marking His Majesty King Abdullah II's assumption of his constitutional powers — works whose value goes beyond design, becoming part of the visual memory of place and time.
In Cairo, he won first place in the poster design competition for Arab Housing Day, organized by the Council of Arab Ministers of Housing and Reconstruction, an affiliate of the Arab League, with a design titled "Housing Is a Human Right."
A Jordanian Presence on the Global Stage
His international participations were not merely fleeting moments. He has taken his work to Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, the UAE, and Turkey, alongside his participation in Jordanian exhibitions and festivals.
In Jordan, he has been present at prominent artistic and cultural events, including the Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts and the Fuheis Festival for Culture and Arts, alongside his participation in the Madaba exhibition marking the city's selection as Arab Tourism Capital.
He also took part in an international exhibition held in Cairo at the Al-Ahram newspaper's arts hall, titled "Folklore and Peoples," an experience that opened up further space for interaction between art, identity, and cultures. At the German University in Cairo, he participated in a conference on culture and the arts at the Faculty of Design and Art, and received the university's shield in recognition of his participation.
His connection to the art scene extended beyond producing works, as he has served as a member of art juries for a number of institutions, schools, universities, and Lions Clubs International. He has received Arab, international, and local certificates of appreciation, as well as letters of thanks from various Jordanian institutions. He is a member of the Jordanian Plastic Artists Association and a number of local, Arab, and international art associations, and holds honorary membership in the Zervas World Art Organization clubs and the UNESCO Art Club, in addition to his membership in the World Union of Arab Plastic Artists and the Takween Arts Society in Lebanon.
His works are held in the collections of a number of Jordanian institutions and Jordanian embassies abroad, in addition to private collections — giving his work a reach that extends beyond exhibition time into the memory of people and places.
Twenty Works at Fuheis
At the 33rd edition of the Fuheis Festival for Culture and Arts, Anwar Haddadin returned to the local scene with a notable presence, presenting around 20 collage artworks using acrylic paints alongside a range of other materials.
His participation was an extension of a practice that has never stopped at a single form or material, but has continued to search for new possibilities within the canvas.
Perhaps this experience sums up Anwar Haddadin's entire story: an artist who began with the canvas, but never let it become his limit. He let the material lead him to collage, let design take him to logos and stamps, and let participation open the doors of the world to him — yet each time, he returned to the place where the story began: Jordan. For him, art is not simply an achievement to list on a résumé, but a trace a person leaves behind — in a painting, a stamp, a logo, or the memory of someone who once stood before a work of art and felt that something in it resembled them.
