9,660 Miles to Support Five Art Projects across European Cities in the First Round of ZAD: Miles for Communication
Ettijahat – Independent Culture is pleased to announce the winners of the first round of ZAD: Miles for Communication programme 2024. This initiative is a support framework designed to promote mobility and communication for artists from the Arab region residing in Europe, with the primary goal of enhancing their artistic and professional journeys. Additionally, ZAD aims to help artists reach and engage with diverse audiences and enhance their contributions to public life in their host cities and countries.
The 2024 programme jury has selected five artistic projects, involving visual arts, music and performing arts. The artists will travel 9,660 miles across various European destinations, presenting their artworks in new venues and connecting with audiences they have never met before.
ZAD welcomes applications from artists throughout the year. The next application review date is set on September 30, 2024. The names of the programme’s jury members shall be announced at the end of the 2024 rounds.
Projects Receiving Support:
Eisa Badour Art Group– Visual Arts Group| 3600 miles between Larnaca, Cyprus and Barcelona, Spain
The Group will present the WASTE project on Barcelona's beach. This visual installation performance tells the stories of those who embarked on journeys into the unknown, leaving profound love behind, those who attempted to cross the Mediterranean, only to be found near its shores. The performance uses wood waste collected from various Mediterranean beaches and cities, transforming these remnants into meaningful, vibrant elements during the show.
Collective Ma'louba - Theatre lab | 2380 Miles Across Several European Destinations.
The Collective Ma’louba will participate in an artistic residency at the Theater an der Ruhr in Mülheim, Germany to develop the play “Braveheart” and share the results with the local audience. The play explores the challenges of writing and theatre production in exile, where the concept of justice has become elusive. The play highlights the paradox where the distance between the artist and their material diminishes, yet the gap between the artist and their audience widens. The artist fails to determine their position in relation to their art and audience. The resulting shock permeates the play, transforming it into a vessel that conveys this very shock. Amidst cycles of panic attacks, antidepressants, drugs, therapy sessions, and poverty, there is a resilient heartbeat that "Braveheart" seeks to revive and turn into powerful words.
Diala Brisly – Visual Artist | 1340 miles across Valence, France and Linz, Austria
Diala will be exhibiting her project “You Are Not Alone” at Atelier Transpart in Linz, Austria. It is a participatory art project celebrating healing through trauma therapies, visual artworks, and Jamaican mourning dance traditions. The project fosters community engagement and collective healing through workshops, creating a shared installation reflecting the journey of exile and reconnection. The residency aims for playful artistic research and a collective exhibition, transforming audiences into active participants and enriching both personal and communal artistic practices.
Mohannad Nasser – Oud Player and Composer | 2000 Miles Across Paris, France and Frankfurt, Germany
Mohannad will join Jusoor Orchestra in Frankfurt to work on developing a series of orchestral works, which will be performed over several evenings in southwest Germany. Mohannad is also composing original music using the trio (oud, saxophone, double bass) in collaboration with the Jusoor Orchestra musicians as an exceptional combination that will be performed for the first time ever.
Mais Harb – Singer and Musician | 340 Miles Between Berlin and Hamburg, Germany
Mais will perform at the Liedstadt Festival in Hamburg, where she will sing accompanied by an oud player. Her concert will include songs she has released in recent years. Mais will also be a guest performer with the Ensemble Resonanz, alongside singers from Iran, Syria and Germany.
For more details about the ZAD Program, please click here. To read the FAQs and access the application form, please click here. You can also join the open questions session that will be held on September 10, 2024 at 3:00 PM Western European Time by clicking here, where we will answer questions about the nature of support and the application process for the programme.
This edition of “Zad: Miles for Connection” program is launched with the support of the Allianz Foundation.
