Halaqat - Exploring cultural links between Europe and the Arab world
The performance 'The Moroccan Sheikha Soukaina' will be followed by a talk about the cultural relations between Europe and the Arab world and the influences of migration on new cultural narratives and on both cultural expression and artists’ work. With Soukaina Joual, Oussama Tabti, Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi and Nadia Cherif, moderated by Safia Kessas.
Brussels, a hyper diverse city, is at the crossroads of migratory flows. This debate will zoom in on how these migration phenomena influence new cultural narratives by allowing an exchange between artists already present, and newcomers. How does it impact and nourish artistic creation? These exchanges are evocative of images: some speak of entanglement, others of (positive) contamination or cross-pollination. What changes does it bring about? And what are the limits to this phenomenon?
About the guests:
Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi is a member of the Brussels theatre company Dito'Dito and has been a programmer at the Halles de Schaerbeek, contributing to the visibility of contemporary artists from the Arab world. Since 2014, she has been a programmer for the international contemporary dance festival in Marrakech, On Marche. She provides dramaturgical support to performing arts projects, and continues to document and publish as a dramaturge and programmer of contemporary dance. Nedjma participates in Halaqat as curator and dramaturge of the Performing arts Residency and as expert. She wrote the introduction text of the Halaqat publication.
Soukaina Joual is a Moroccan multi-disciplinary artist. Her works showcase an interest in how one’s body can translate and reflect various tensions, dynamics and differences. She typically focuses on the body from different perspectives: how it changes, its interaction with personal identity, and how it can also become a site to engage in important ideological debates.
Oussama Tabti (Algeria, 1988) is a visual artist who lives and works in Brussels. His work questions hermetic geopolitics. In his own way he denounces the difficulty of moving in a world that is globalized but also suspicious, frightened by the 'stranger' and by difference.
Nadia Cherif is an international development expert, invested in helping funders, civil society organisations and social entrepreneurs advance their skills and resources and foster locally driven development. As a mindful professional, Nadia regularly shares analysis and insights on the funding environment of the international development sector through conferences or publications and designs ad-hoc granting schemes to provide funders with innovative ways to better support their beneficiaries.
Moderator
Safia Kessas is a journalist, writer and documentary filmmaker. Recently, her documentary "Le prix de la déraison" (on the issue of returnees from Syria) received sereval prices. "Henriette's Voice", a short film that tells the story of a single undocumented mother in Brussels, won the MAX Diversity Film Festival London (MAXDF) in 2021 and was selected for the short film corner of the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. In 2021, she directed "Casser les codes". In 2022, she released a documentary series with Binge Audio, "Au nom de Safia", which traces the journey of her Algerian family during the war of independence as well as her latest documentary film, "Cette nuit-là".
The European project Halaqat is implemented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts Brussels. Halaqat is co-funded by the European Commission (under the designation: EU-LAS CULTURE), the Goethe-Institut and Bozar.
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