RAWABET: Participation | Connectivity | Diversity - Production Grants
Ettijahat – Independent Culture announces the grantees of the first cycle’s production grants within the Rawabet (Arabic for “links”) programme. The jury has chosen to support eight performing arts and musical projects to be produced and presented in six European countries.
The Rawabet programme targets emerging artists of different ethnicities hailing from the Arab region, who have moved to Europe since 2015 and are active in the performing arts, including theatre, dance, circus, performances and music. It offers them production grants each valued at €12,000. Some of the supported projects will also have the opportunity to participate in one of Rawabet’s festivals in 2025 and 2026.
Supported Projects
Performing Arts Category
The Double Absence
Rabii Brahim: Tunisian Performance Artist – Italy
A musical performance that serves as both an individual meditation and an invitation to collective reflection on departure as an idea, and arrival as a continuous, incomplete act. It explores what lies between the “here” which we strive to build, and the “there” rooted in individual and collective memory. This performance is a research journey for the diaspora generation, and non-native citizens in Europe. The word “Barrani”, the title of the performance in the Tunisian dialect, refers to the stranger or the outsider, a concept central to this performance. By combining dance, poetry, music, body, word, voice and rhythm, it crafts a new narrative the self, positioned between the past, present and future. It occupies a third space, a place that only exists during the performance: the space of narration.
Galactic Crush: Part two
Stephanie Kayal: Lebanese Choreographer and Performer in Collaboration with Abed Kobeissy, Lebanese Musician and Performer – Belgium
In their upcoming performance Stephanie Kayal and Abed Kobeissy revisit their failed crime-fighting duo from their recent work “Galactic Crush”. Having completely botched their Don-Quixotic mission, they now face total despair as the world crumbles around them. With nothing left to lose, they decide to flee, building a DIY intergalactic spaceship to search for life in another galaxy.
As former antiheroes and lovers, they confront an absurd reality with dark humor. In the cold of space, they reflect on their fractured city and distant loved ones, hoping to understand and forgive global failures. They dance as a reminder of home.
Naourat El-Melh (The Salt Wheel)
Fadi Al-Hamwi: Syrian Visual Artist - Germany
An interactive performing art project and installation in space, that explores the theme of identity and the impact of natural resources on human transformations. The project is based on a waterwheel that raises salt instead of water as a central element, inspired by the historical irrigation machinery along the Orontes River in Hama, Syria. The performer and audience interact with the salt wheel through a live performance, creating a dialogue between an ancient machine that used to generate energy from renewable resources, and salt as a symbol that carries deep political connotations as a vital element for life, but that also represents deprivation when it refers to a barren land. The project links heritage and experimentation, and explores the role of humans facing ongoing transformations, including resource consumption and control, and the cost of progress on humanity.
Crossings
Mara Ingea: Lebanese Multidisciplinary Artist - Czech Republic
Crossings is a performative installation that combines video projections and movement. It reflects on the universal need to move in space, shared by all living species, and on different scales of migrations in everyday life. How do we move in space? Why do we move? How do motion and space affect one another? This multimedia installation is an invitation to meditate on the ideas of impermanence, transition, and ephemerality of moments.
A Quantum of Resistance
Mehdi Dehghan, Moroccan Choreographer – France
A kinetic performance inspired by the story of the origins of the Aita art and its development as a means of resistance against French colonialism in Morocco. In this performance presented by four artists, Mehdi proposes celebrations as a more comprehensive and effective means of resistance, by creating a performance that adopts the musical structure of the Aita art and uses its rhythmic sequence to formulate movement patterns that express a solidarity words cannot express. Mehdi chose breathing as a central axis that connects movement, sonic research, and the dramatic line of the performance. This work is the third and final chapter in a trilogy that explores unconventional forms of resistance in the Arab world over the past decade.
Music Category
Roseraie
Jules Chahine and Merly El Haddad: respectively, Syrian clarinettiste, and Lebanese pianiste - France
The musical album features pieces composed for clarinet and piano by contemporary Arab composers who have developed a unique musical language that blends classical themes with elements of traditional music. This fusion has created a unique musical style that defies stereotypical classification linked to the heritage that influenced it. It transforms this heritage into a source of artistic and intellectual richness. The selected compositions, rarely performed or recorded, aim to archive and document these works, making them more accessible and fostering connections with a broader, more diverse audience. Rooted in the musical identity of Jules and Merly, the project also seeks to represent a civilization whose people are now scattered across the world.
Zelzal Music Festival
Ali Taqi: Palestinian DJ and Programmer - Spain
The Zelzal Festival serves as a platform to bring together musicians from diverse artistic and cultural identities and approaches, as it focuses on transcending sonic boundaries and fostering a collective space to raise awareness about societal and humanitarian issues. In its upcoming edition, the festival will highlight causes such as Palestine. Held annually in the Spanish city of Barcelona, the festival features artists from various cities outside Spain.
Sanctuary
Lynn Adib: Syrian Singer and Composer – France
A musical album that explores the secret havens within each human being, symbolizing a musical reflection of our existence and the complexities of understanding the world. This project emerged as a natural progression following Lynn’s first solo album “Youmma” (2018), and her involvement in numerous musical projects since. This album tells Lynn’s personal story, one that resonates with many, through a rich blend of compositions and poetry. The project seeks to create a common language between Lynn’s homeland and France, building a bridge between different musical styles, while preserving traditional Syrian roots and incorporating contemporary and jazz influences.
The Jury committee of Rawabet Programme
The Rawabet Programme held its first round of jury committees in the performing arts and music genres categories during the last week of November 2024. The committees selected projects to receive support after thoroughly reviewing all eligible applications based on specific criteria, including quality, artistic vision, feasibility, and the project’s role in the artist’s career. The performing arts jury included Egyptian theater director Ahmed El Attar, Syrian actress Hala Omran, and Lebanese choreographer Nancy Naous. The music jury featured Moroccan programmer and cultural director Brahim El Mazned, Syrian composer and musician Basil Rajoub, and Palestinian singer and musician Kamilia Jubran. The jury provided valuable observations, reflections, and recommendations regarding the artistic projects, and formulated them in the following statement:
Performing Arts Jury Statement: “The Jury reviewed a significant number of performing arts projects by Arab artists residing in Europe, and faced considerable challenges in selecting the projects that would receive support, due to the high competitiveness and diversity of submissions. While many projects demonstrated seriousness and artistic merit, the jury noted discrepancies in some proposals—particularly in the effort and presentation of their artistic value. Some lacked sufficient attention to artistic development despite carrying great potential and ideas. In this context, the jury recommends that artists collaborate with specialists to refine and present their work effectively.
The artworks dealt with current topics that blend the general with the specific, such as migration, belonging, gender and cultural identity, as they attempted to question the social and cultural reality of Arab societies in Europe. In this context, the jury noted that a number of projects were deeply local, and targeted a limited audience which may not align with the cities and spaces where they could be presented. The jury emphasized the importance of transcending the specific and creating works with artistic originality that can appeal to wider audiences. The jury encourages artists to step outside of their repetitive circles of creativity and try to explore what’s beyond them. This may strengthen partnerships between Arab artists in Europe, both among themselves and with their European peers, for there are many partnerships and opportunities that can be invested in, which provide a greater possibility of linking artistic projects with the communities in which the artists are active.
A significant observation was the overlap between performing and visual arts, as many projects integrated theater, dance, and visual elements. The jury applied clear evaluation criteria based on innovation, artistic quality and feasibility. The jury also noted the distinction of contemporary dance projects and the greater attention they have had, reflecting a global phenomenon that is not limited to the projects received in the context of the Rawabet programme.
In conclusion, the jury commends the diversity and innovation in this year’s edition, and emphasizes the underscored the need for continued skill development, enhanced collaboration, and the creation of impactful artistic projects that resonate with their communities.”
Music Jury Statement: “The jury assessed the musical projects submitted to the Rawabet programme, and highlighted their remarkable diversity and the ambitious vision of the artists, which reflects a strong desire to produce high-quality works.
The influence of heritage was particularly striking, as artists sought to draw inspiration, reproduce, or blend it with modern and diverse cultural components. Despite the seriousness of these projects, the jury noted a lack of innovation and in-depth research when engaging with these themes.
Additionally, some artists appeared hesitant to take creative risks or explore new horizons, a hesitation likely driven by economic pressures that the new generation of artists faced after migrating to Europe in the past decade. Consequently, artists often prioritized economic sustainability over artistic renewal. The projects displayed a wide range of musical styles, though the jury observed a decline in oriental music works and individual album projects, which remain increasingly challenging under current music production conditions. The jury also noted recurring themes across the projects, particularly immigration, homeland, belonging and alienation, despite the artists' prolonged residence in Europe.
The jury encourages artists to diversify their sources of funding, not relying on just one source, while emphasizing the importance of fostering broader collaborations with musicians and cultural institutions in their countries of residence and work, and engaging producers and cultural managers in planning and programming, including economic aspects. In conclusion, the jury expresses its support for ambitious and serious projects, and urges artists to strive to expand their artistic and economic horizons, fostering greater diversity and innovation in the Arab music scene in the countries where they are active.”
The projects selected for support will be implemented in 2025 and 2026. Ettijahat had launched an open call for applications to grants for support performing arts projects, which ran for two months, and received 69 eligible submissions competing for support. Production grants are a key component of the Rawabet programme. To explore the programme’s other components and partners, click here.
The Rawabet programme is supported by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) within the framework of CREATIVE EUROPE. The views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
