Alexandra Olgin KJZZ News

Paintings by artists are displayed on the wall of the Iraqi American Peace and Friendship Society in west Phoenix.

Alexandra Olgin KJZZ News

Qasim Ayyed paints Arabain horses in the desert in the studio at the Iraqi American Society for Peace and Friendship.

Alexandra Olgin KJZZ News

Nada Alrubaye holds up her painting at the door of the studio at the Iraqi American Peace and Friendship Society

There are more than 10,000 Iraqi refugees who have come to the Valley since the 1990s and it’s the second largest group of refugees in the area after Vietnamese.  

On a Tuesday in west Phoenix, the Iraqi American Society for Peace and Friendship is buzzing. There are a handful of people using computers in the lobby. Three artists are painting in a nearby studio and in another room about half a dozen people are talking in an English class.

Fatima Alzheri is the youth program coordinator at the center. She is a refugee who came to the U.S. with her family in 2003 and she is seeng the community grow a lot.

“We always meet together and talk and share a lot of stuff and ideas and we always talk Iraq is like always a subject," Alzheri said.

Since coming to a new country can be so daunting, Alzeheri said it helps to be able to talk about it with others.

“What makes it easier on refugees is connecting with the older refugees who have been here longer and they know the system," she said. "And they have their own experience and they guide the new refugees.”

Having a guide is especially useful because culture here is so different than in Iraq.

“The system is a huge barrier," Alzheri said. "For example, here you use Internet social media all the time. Back in the Middle East it’s not like that. It's word by mouth. Like, you go to places and that’s how you connect and talk.”

And since many newly settled Iraqis aren’t connecting online over Facebook or Twitter, coming to the Peace and Friendship Society creates new connections. 

Nada Alrubaye is painting a picture of a sailor paddling a boat on the ocean with only her fingers. She is mixing acrylic paints to make the perfect sky blue. She’s lived in Phoenix for a year and not only comes to the center to paint, but also to meet other Iraqi-American artists.

“It’s good because, if you work together, the work is nice. We have something fun together,” Alrubaye said.

The studio where the artists work is small. They built their own easels out of 2-by-4s and paint over used canvases. But fellow painter Qasim Ayyed said it reminds him of painting back home.

"When I was in Baghdad, we work in like the shops," Ayyed said. "The artists, the row of shops open on the street. And we visit each other and talk to each other."

“You know why I come here," he said. "I don’t come here to need the studio. It's hard work to come on bus and take more time. But I like to come here to see people. Yes to meet people, talk to people.”

It’s also a good way to find common ground with others in the community.

Fatima Alzheri said art allowed her to connect to American culture when she first moved to the states in the eighth grade.

“One of the classes that made me want to go to school every single day was the art class," she said. "I just loved the class. It made me alive. Because not speaking the language and not having too many friends and feeling being isolated because you’re different is really difficult, especially in the first couple of years.”

Looking back at Nada Alrubaye’s painting of the ocean, she said the art helped break the ice when she was meeting new people, and painting with others helps her creative process.

"Talking about the art, maybe I give him some new idea or he give me idea, or he tell me about my work. Something I don’t know,” Alrubaye said.

And you probably wouldn’t expect it, but some artists like Qasim Ayyed help supplement their income by selling their work. Many of the artists meet together monthly to strategize about how to sell their paintings. Fatima Alzheri helps organize those efforts.

“We decided to do some galleries, artwalks together and that’s how the word got around," Alzheri said. "And a few other artists also came into the office to our organization.”

That’s because Alzeheri decided to start displaying the artists' work, which led to a few sales.  

“I am as a bridge between the Iraqis and the Americans," she said. "That is a great feeling that I can give back to both communities at the same time."

The Iraqi community is diverse— Shia, Sunni, Christian, Chaldean— but they can all come together at this center.  

If you're part of a community that you feel connected to, tell us about it by emailing [email protected]. And keep listening in the coming weeks for other stories of your communities around town.