- 1939 Born in Al-Baroudia, from the old Baghdad neighborhoods, to a Baghdadi family.
- 1945-1958 Studied at Al-Tatbiquat Elementary School, then Al-Numaniya Middle School, then graduated from the Central High School in Baghdad (the oldest high school established in the nineteenth century in Baghdad by the governor Medhat Pasha, located next to Al-Qashla building, the center of the Ottoman governor). His first notices were when he saw the drawings of the painter Khalil al-Azzawi and the sculptures of Kalid al-Rahhal, who had a place near his family's residence.
- 1962 Graduated from Baghdad University with a BA in Archeology.
- 1964 Graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts, obtained a diploma, and joined the Impressionists Group. His works during this period were distinguished by his influence on the Baghdad environment and Iraqi folklore.
- 1965 Held a solo exhibition at the Wasiti Gallery, Baghdad. He participated in the exhibition of eight Iraqi artists in Gallery One, Beirut, Lebanon, and the itinerant Iraqi art exhibition in Eastern countries and Europe.
- 1966 Held a solo exhibition at Gallery One, Beirut.
- 1967 Participated in the 1st Biennial Exhibition, New Delhi, India.
- He was influenced in his artistic career by the Baghdadiyat of Jewad Selim, his use of folkloric signs derived from the popular environment. He also inspired and used the form of crescents and Mesopotamian shapes. He kept trying to mix and experiment between these combinations and the Arabic script, and through these attempts and experiments, he reached his style that combined all these elements with an experienced coloring ability to create the style that distinguished him in every era of his 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Dia al-Azzawi's style is characterized by latent energy and a dominating local spirit, and gives the viewer a distinct and perceptible aesthetic connection. He gathered all human emotions on the surfaces of his paintings and turned them into an aesthetic communication with the recipient.
- 1968 Worked as the Head of the Iraqi Antiquities Department in Baghdad for eight years, during which he supervised the preparation and display of archaeological finds in the Nasiriyah Museum, the Mosul Museum, and the Museum of Folk Costumes in Baghdad. He participated in the ‘Battle Exhibition’ at the Iraqi National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad.
- 1969 Along with other Iraqi artists, such as Rafa Nasiri, Ismail Fattah, Mohammad Muhraddin, Saleh Al-Jumaie, and Hashem Samarchi, he founded the ‘Toward a New Vision Group’. He wrote the founding statement, which was later joined by a number of other young artists, such as Ali Talib.
- 1970 Attended the 1st meeting at the home of artist Jamil Hammoudi with artist Ghazi Al-Kilani, artist Shakir Hassan Al-Said, and artist Rafa Nasiri to discuss the use of the Arabic letter in the painting, and it was agreed to organize an exhibition in this direction. He withdrew from the gathering with Rafa Nasiri due to a disagreement with Shaker Hassan Al-Said over how to set up the catalog and name the exhibition One Dimension. In the same year, he held a solo exhibition at the Sultan Gallery, Kuwait.
- 1971 Held a solo exhibition at the Iraqi National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad. He participated in the Exhibition of Modern Art, Nicosia, Cyprus, the joint exhibition of four Iraqi artists at the Iraqi National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, and the Iraqi Contemporary Art Gallery in cooperation with the Iraqi Artists Association, Kuwait.
- The artist is considered one of the pioneers and promoters of several techniques in contemporary Iraqi fine art, including the art of posters and book illustrations. In Posters/illustrations, he worked with a selected elite of Arab and Iraqi poets and writers and designed their poem collections, books, and novels, especially those that called for liberation and resistance to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands, as well as documenting the people's struggle and the Palestinian resistance. Through his works, he documented the tragedies, calamities, and battles of Arabs in Palestine and the occupation’s crimes against them. His murals and works became the loudest Arab cry for global conscience against war and injustice.
- 1972 A book entitled ‘A Witness from This Age - Diaries of a Martyr Who Was Killed in the Events of September 1970’ was issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Information and included the artist's drawings and diaries of seven critical days about these events.
- 1973 Held a solo exhibition at Raslan Gallery, Tripoli, Lebanon.
- 1975 Held a solo exhibition at the Iraqi National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, participated in the ‘Cagnes-Sur-Mer International Festival’, France, and the Summer Academy exhibition, Salzburg, and participated in the Iraqi Graphic Art exhibition at the Atelier Gallery, Rabat.
- 1976 Traveled to London and settled there, and worked as an artistic advisor for the Iraqi Cultural Center. He held a solo exhibition at Nadhar Gallery, Casablanca, Morocco. He participated in the 2nd Arab Exhibition, Rabat, the 2nd Arab Biennial Exhibition, Venice, and the 5th International Exhibition of Painting, Rijeka.
- 1977 Began to rediscover the art of the book with what was called the experiment of ‘book art’. He is considered one of the pioneers of this method, and many Iraqi and Arab artists followed him later. He held a solo exhibition at Sultan Gallery, Kuwait.
- 1978 Published the book ‘The Body Anthem’ about the massacre in the Tal Al-Zaatar camp in Beirut, with poems by three Arab poets. After that, a limited number of poetry books containing his drawings were published by some Iraqi and Arab poets. He held a solo exhibition at the Patrick Seale Gallery, London.
- 1979 Held a solo exhibition at Al-Riwaq Gallery in Baghdad and participated in the São Paulo Biennial, Brazil.
- 1980 Held a solo exhibition at the Faris Gallery, Paris, and the ‘Galerie Centrale’, Geneva. He participated in the exhibition Salon de Mat, Paris, FIAC, and the Salon d’Automne, Espace Cardin, Paris.
- 1981 Held a solo exhibition at the Faris Gallery at the Art Basel, Paris, and at the Faris Gallery at FIAC, Paris, and participated in the 7th International Graphic Triennial, Frechen.
- 1982 Worked as a design director at the Arab Art magazine until its closure. He held a solo exhibition at the Intercontinental Hall, Abu Dhabi. He participated in a group exhibition with Arab artists at the Graffiti Gallery, London, and another at the Faris Gallery, Paris. He also published the Maqamat Al-Hariri manuscript with al-Wasiti drawings in limited numbers. Within the replica technique, in 2008, he published the Antidote manuscript, a medical manuscript translated from Greek in limited numbers and within the replica technique.
- 1983 Held a solo exhibition, ‘Sabra and Shatila’, in the National Council for Art and Culture, Kuwait, and participated in a group exhibition with Arab artists at the Iraqi Cultural Center, London, and another in the Graffiti Gallery, London.
- 1984 Held a solo exhibition at the Alif Gallery, Washington, USA. He participated in the British International Biennial of Printing, Bradford, and the First Arab Contemporary Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Tunis.
- 1985 Held a solo exhibition at the Le Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi, and participated in an exhibition at the Musée Hubert d’Uckerman, Grenoble.
- 1986 Held a solo exhibition at the Royal Cultural Center, Amman. He participated in the exhibition Salon Comparisons - Grand Palais, Paris, an exhibition at the Semitic Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Contemporary Arab Art exhibition at The Mall Gallery, London.
- 1987 Participated in the 3rd International Biennial of Printing, Taiwan.
- 1988 Held a solo exhibition at the Claudine Planque Gallery in Lausanne. He participated in the Olympiad of Art at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul. He participated in an exhibition of three Iraqi artists, ‘Azzawi, Jumaie, and Nasiri’, in the Kufa Gallery, London.
- 1989 Participated in the exhibition of Contemporary Art from the Islamic World at the Barbican Center, London, and the exhibition of Arab Graphic Art at the NCCL, Kuwait.
- 1990 Held several solo exhibitions at the Alif Gallery in Washington, the Nakita Gallery, Stockholm, the Vanazff Gallery, Gothenburg, and the Galerie des Arts, Tunis.
- 1991 Held a solo exhibition in the 50 * 70 Gallery, Beirut, and participated in an exhibition of Contemporary Iraqi Art at the University of Nevada, United States.
- 1992 Held a solo exhibition at Flandria Gallery, Tangier.
- 1994 Held several solo exhibitions at Al-Manar Gallery, Casablanca, at Abaad Gallery, Amman, 50 * 70 Gallery, Beirut, and at Al-Sayed Gallery, Damascus.
- 1995 Held a solo exhibition at Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris.
- 1996 He held a solo exhibition at the Bahrain Arts Center, Bahrain.
- 1997 Participated in the Five Visual Interpretations exhibition at Green Art Gallery, Dubai.
- 1998 Participated in a joint exhibition with Rafa Nasiri entitled ‘Azzawi & Nasiri’ at Galerie La Teinturerie, Paris.
- 1999 Participated in the ‘Summer 99 - Fifty Years of Contemporary Iraqi Graphic Art’ festival at Darat Al Funun - Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, Amman.
- 2000 Participated in an exhibition, Journeys with Contemporary Arts in the Arab World - Contemporary Artists from Mesopotamia, at Darat al Funun - Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, Amman.
- 2001 Participated in the exhibition ‘East-West: Paintings and Books’ at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris.
- 2002 Held a retrospective exhibition entitled ‘Azzawi Retrospective’ at the Arab World Institute, Paris. He participated in the exhibition of masters of Tondo painting at the Claude Lemand gallery, Paris, and the Kinda Foundation Collection exhibition at the Arab World Institute, Paris.
- 2003 Held the ‘Palestine and Mahmoud Darwish: Large Poleptics, Drawings, Prints, and Books’ at the Cité du Livre, Aix-en-Provence, and participated in the exhibition of the ‘Colas Foundation’ at Boulogne-Billancourt and the ‘Exhibition of Broken Letter, Contemporary Art from Arab Countries’ in Kunsthalle, Darmstadt, Germany.
- 2004 Held a solo exhibition at the Claude Lemand Gallery entitled ‘Recent Paintings’, Paris, and at the ‘St’Art - Strasbourg Art Fair’, Strasbourg, and participated in an exhibition of ‘Art Books and Painting’ at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris.
- 2005 Held a solo exhibition at the Claude Lemand Gallery, entitled ‘New Prints’, Paris. He participated in the Exhibition ‘The Image of a Bird That Does Not Exist - Art Books and Paintings’ at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, and the ‘Homage to Shafic Abboud’ Exhibition at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris. As well as participated in ‘Dafatir: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art’ at the University of North Texas Art Gallery, Denton, Texas.
- 2006 Held a solo exhibition at Kalimat Gallery, Aleppo, as well as at Dar al Funun, Kuwait, and the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris. He participated in the exhibition of the Portraits of the Bird, Festival of Arts, Bastia, Corsica, and the ‘Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East’ at the British Museum, London.
- 2007 Participated in ‘Dafatir: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art’ at The Centre for Book Arts, New York, then at the Minneapolis Athenaeum, Minneapolis, Minnesota, then at the NIU Art Museum, DeKalb, Illinois, and finally at The Jaffe Centre for Book Arts, Boca Raton, Florida.
- 2008 Participated in the British Museum's Word in Art exhibition at DIFC and the ‘Recent Paintings’ exhibition at the Meem Gallery, Dubai, UAE. He participated in the exhibition ‘Iraq’s Past Speaks to the Present’ at the British Museum, London, and the exhibition of Iraqi Artists in Exile at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas.
- 2009 Held a retrospective exhibition, ADMAF, Sixth Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi. He participated in the ‘Modernism and Iraq’ exhibition at Columbia University, Wallach Art Gallery, New York.
- 2012 An exhibition of Lamentations for My Besieged City, the Exhibition of Modern Arab Art, and Letters in Art were held at the Meem Gallery, Dubai, and the Exhibition of Itinerary: Paintings and Gouache at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris.
- 2013 Held a solo exhibition, ‘Elegy to My Trapped City’, at Meem Gallery, Dubai, and ‘Dia al-Azzawi, Oriental Gardens, Recent Paintings’, at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris. He participated in ‘Meem Projects 2012 Part 1 and Letters in Art Part 2: Modern Arab Art’ at Meem Gallery, Abu Dhabi Art, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi. He curated the exhibition Tajreed - Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait, Modern Iraqi Art: A Collection at Gallery Meem, Dubai, ‘Arab Masterpieces, Painting and Poetry’ at Gallery Claude Lemand, Paris, ‘Modern and Contemporary Arab Art - How Do You Sleep at Night?’ at Gallery Meem in Dubai, and ‘Children of Gaza’ at Gallery Meem in Dubai.
- 2014 Held a solo exhibition entitled ‘Dia al-Azzawi: A Passion for Participation’ in the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, the Arab Modernism Exhibition was held at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, and ‘Frieze Masters’ at Meem Gallery, London. He participated in the ‘Post-Picasso: Contemporary Reactions’ at the Picasso Museum, Barcelona , and the Gallery of Modern Paintings. He also participated in ‘The Massacres and Joy of Living’ at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris, the ‘Non-Bird Picture Exhibition’ at the Hospice Saint Roch Museum, France, the exhibition of ‘Contemporary Arab Artists and Landscapes’ and ‘Landscapes between Reality and Fiction’ at the Claude Lemand Gallery, Paris. He also participated in the ‘Mathaf Collection - Al-Majles exhibition, Part 1’ in Qatar and the Dia al-Azzawi Exhibition: Selected Works from 1964-1973 at Meem Gallery, Dubai.
- 2015 An exhibition was held at Gallery 555, Qatar, and participated in the Art Dubai exhibition with Meem Gallery, Dubai, the exhibition ‘Picasso in Contemporary Art’, Germany, and the exhibition ‘Main Land: Contemporary Art’ from the Barjeel Art Foundation at the Aga Khan Museum, Canada. And held a solo exhibition entitled ‘Dia al-Azzawi Exhibition | Something Different | Sculpture and Weaving’ at Meem Gallery, Dubai, and the annual exhibition of the Iraqi Fine Artists Association.
- 2016-2017 An exhibition entitled I am the Scream, who will give a voice to me? Dia al-Azzawi: A Retrospective (from 1963 until tomorrow) was held at the Qatar Museum. He also participated in another exhibition called ‘My Broken Dream’ at Meem Gallery, Dubai.
- 2017 Participated in the Abu Dhabi Art Exhibition, Abu Dhabi, and held a solo exhibition entitled ‘Something Different from Another’ at the Karim Gallery, Amman.
- 2019-2020 Participated in an exhibition, ‘Objects of Imagination - Contemporary Arab Ceramics’, at the Jordan National Museum Gallery with the participation of forty Arab artists from different Arab countries, Amman.
- 2020 Participated in the exhibition ‘Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991-2011’ at the MOMA PS1 Museum, New York, and the exhibition ‘Figure: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950-1980’ at Green Art Gallery, New York.
- 2022 Held a solo exhibition entitled ‘Painting Poetry’ at the Ashmolean Museum, United Kingdom, which was dedicated to Azzawi’s art books from the 1980s to the 2020s, when the artist merged painting with poetry. He participated in the Art Dubai exhibition with Meem Gallery, Dubai.
- 2023 Held an exhibition of ceramic works entitled ‘Imagination Realized’ at Karim Gallery, Amman, in which he displayed 25 works. He participated in the Art Dubai exhibition with Meem Gallery, Dubai.
- 2024 Awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Coventry University during a graduation ceremony at the university's headquarters in Coventry, the West Midlands region, central England. He was also awarded the Great Arab Minds award in the field of literature and arts by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. He participated in the Art Dubai exhibition with Meem Gallery, Dubai.
- 2025 Held a solo exhibition at Saleh Barakat Gallery in Beirut, entitled ‘False Witnesses.’ He participated in the Art Dubai exhibition with Meem Gallery, Dubai.
- He currently resides in London, devoting his time to art in his studio.