2016
Arab Cities: Changing Places, Changing Societies organized by the Arab Center for Architecture (ACA) and Beyt el Kottab (International Writers’ House). ACA is a Beirut-based initiative working since 2008 to raise awareness about architecture and urbanism within civil society. Beyt el Kottab, founded in 2012, supports literary creation that explores critical social issues.
The De-colonizing Architecture project Not New Now by Sandi Hilal (Palestine) and Alessandro Petti (Italy/Palestine), architects and researchers in urbanism, presented at the 2016 Marrakech Biennale.
A Mada Encounters publication stemming from a series of public seminars focused on Egyptian cultural history and memory, developed by anthropologist Fouad Halbouni and writer and editor Ismail Fayed, with Mada Masr online news platform acting as partner and incubator.
The Intensive Dance Summer School organized by Sareyyet Ramallah in collaboration with Farah Saleh, dancer and choreographer and the artistic dance duo Siljeholm/Christophersen. Sareyyet Ramallah is a social development organization based in Ramallah, Siljeholm/Christophersen is a project-based non-profit dance company and organization based in Norway.
The selection committee comprised Rima Mokaiesh (former director of the Arab Image Foundation, Beirut), November Paynter (associate director of research and programs, SALT, Istanbul), and Emily Pethick (director, The Showroom, London).
2015
Amanda Abi Khalil and Nayla Geagea for research and a symposium on the legal framework of contemporary art practices in public space in Lebanon.
Sara Elmasry and Naglaa Qoura for their Comics Drawing Summer School in Cairo.
Alia Fattouh and Mayssa Fattouh for the Hammoud Badawi Project in Beirut.
Malak Helmy and Walid Musharraf for their research group in Cairo on Arab labor migration to the Gulf.
Toleen Touq and Noura Al-Khasawneh for Spring Sessions Open Days in Amman.
The selection committee of the above grantees included: Roger Christmann (freelance cultural manager, Berlin), Haytham El Wardany (writer, Berlin and Cairo), Vanessa Ohlraun (dean of the Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo), and Mai Abu ElDahab (director of YATF, Brussels).