Nouha Ben Yebdri at Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid
Nouha Ben Yebdri (Morocco/Algeria, b. 1989) is an independent curator based between Madrid and Tangier. She is a member of Madrassa Collective and the founder of Mahal, an interdisciplinary art space for research and contemporary practices in Tangier.
Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo opened in Madrid’s southern Mósteles district in May 2008 on the bicentenary of the uprising against Napoleon’s occupation of Spain. Madrid’s only museum dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, it has a collection of over 2000 works, a library and a cafeteria, and its program includes exhibitions, screenings, symposia, workshops, courses, and debates. It works to question the present and to articulate the narratives of contemporary Spanish art.
Ali Eyal at Ashkal Alwan, Beirut
Ali Eyal (Iraq, b. 1994) is a visual artist whose work explores relationships between community and politics. Using different media such as video, photography, and painting, Ali examines social attitudes, particularly in the context of Baghdad and Iraq at large. He holds an undergraduate degree from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad.
Since 1993, Ashkal Alwan has produced, facilitated, and circulated creative and intellectual endeavors across a range of disciplines and media. Its programs include the Home Works Forum on Cultural Practices, curated projects in Lebanon and abroad, the publication of literary works and artists’ books, artists-in-residency programs, and the video production and screening program Video Works. In 2011, Ashkal Alwan launched Home Workspace, a 2000-square-meter facility in Beirut dedicated to arts education and production.
Eyas Al Mokdad at Beurschouwburg, Brussels
Eyas Al Mokdad (Syria, b. 1981) is a filmmaker, producer, choreographer, and dancer. He holds a master’s degree in transmedia (audiovisual arts) from LUCA School of Arts in Brussels, and a bachelor’s degree in dramatic arts, ballet, and dance from the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts in Damascus.
Beursschouwburg is a “platform for between-the-arts” in the heart of Brussels. Its three-speed program includes theatrical productions, performances, films, concerts, exhibitions, debates, lectures, and parties and drinks in the BeursKafee. Founded in 2004, it is recognized as a polymorphic theater that provides a platform for young and innovative artists to reflect, show, scrap and start again in an ongoing dialogue with thinking and creative audiences.
Ichraf Nasri at WIELS | Contemporary art centre, Brussels
Ichraf Nasri (Tunisia, b. 1988) is a multidisciplinary artist working between photography, installation, video, and writing. She earned an MA at the Ecoles Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Sousse, Tunisia, before moving to Belgium and completing an MA at La Cambre arts visuels. Ichraf lives and works in Brussels, and is co-founder and member of GUSH collective.
A contemporary art institution without a collection, WIELS presents temporary exhibitions by national and international artists, both emerging and established. Through these and a host of complementary activities, it is a site of creation and for discussions of current events and issues starting with art and architecture. Housed in a 1930s brewery, WIELS opened in 2007 and has exhibition halls, a cinema, studios for artists-in-residence, a café, and bookshop.
Aly Talibab at Off Biennale, Budapest
Aly Talibab (Egypt, b. 1991) is a spoken word artist and musician using music as a common ground for conversation and social critique. He has released two EPs, and several singles and videos.
Launched in 2014, Off Biennale Budapest is Hungary’s largest civil independent arts initiative. Organized on a grassroots basis by a micro-association, it is a DIY biennale based on self-organization and collaboration amongst artists, curators, cultural and civil organizations, galleries, students, and more. Aiming to strengthen the local art scene and enhance the culture of democracy, Off Biennale does not apply for state funding and steers clear of state-run art institutions.
Ruba Totah at Münchner Kammerspiele, Munich
Ruba Totah (Palestine, b. 1985) is a PhD researcher with the group Transnational Social Support at JGU in Mainz, focusing on Syrian artists experiencing refuge in Europe. She holds a gender and development MA on Palestinian performing art and social change with a focus on religiosity, class, and sexuality from Birzeit University, Palestine, and has worked as cultural manager at NGOs such as the Tamer Institute for Community Education and the Edward Said Conservatory of Music.
Founded in 1906, the Münchner Kammerspiele is amongst the most important German-speaking stages. Shaped by an ensemble that seeks to dialogue with and confront the present, it is an aesthetically innovative, contemporary, and cosmopolitan municipal theater with a sociopolitical focus. Increasingly international in its collaborations, it probes diverse forms of and approaches to work, with production conditions custom-made for each director or collective.
Samar Ziadat at CCA: Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow
Samar Ziadat (Jordan/UK, b. 1988) is an art historian, activist, and co-founding editor at dardishi.com, which publishes artwork and writing produced by Arab women. Previously, she worked at Glasgow Women’s Library, the Scottish Queer International Film Festival, and the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Research Collections.
CCA presents cutting-edge exhibitions, film, music, literature, spoken word, festivals, Gaelic and performance. Aiming to commission new projects from artists and show them to the widest possible audience, CCA has played a key role in Glasgow’s cultural life since 1992. It curates six exhibitions of national and international contemporary artists a year, as well as exhibiting emerging artists and operating an open-source programming policy.