Hashem Al Tawil was born in 1952 Karbala, Iraq. In 1973, he obtained his BA from the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad. He studied graphic art and graduated with an MA from the University of Hartford in Connecticut, USA, 1978. Hashem participated many solo and group exhibitions in Iraq and around the world. He obtained his PhD in “Visual Culture before Islam” from the University of Iowa, USA in 1987. Al Tawil was also a lecturer and professor at a number of universities and obtained many awards around the world.