Halaqat

Halaqat is a supraregional project connecting and supporting artists and cultural practitioners from European and Arab countries through residencies, public events, grants and exchanges focused on care and gender.

An abstract image with geometric shapes in blue, purple, and orange. In the center is the word "halaqat" in Arabic script, surrounded by circles and triangles. © Design Engy Aly

About Halaqat

Halaqat, which is the Arabic term for ‘multiple links and circles’, provides a space for cultural actors from Arab and European countries to artistically reflect on topics of care, exploring them through a gender lens.

Launched in 2021, the project fosters exchange between Europe and Arab countries and is, in its second phase from 2024 to 2027, supporting the cultural scenes especially in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco.

Exploring the Notion of Care

In this phase Halaqat explores the notion of ‘care’, a concept which is deeply related to gender topics in both regions and tackles the question of gender equity and sensitivity and the power dynamics in an inclusive and intersectional way.

Engaging Questions

The project raises questions to engage in a conversation with artists, cultural practitioners and the audience about care both on a structural and artistic level:

How can different notions of care be addressed and expressed?
How do dominant narratives influence which bodies are cared about (and which not) and how can these narratives be challenged?
How can we strengthen practices of care in the cultural scene and in the society at large?

What Halaqat Offers

Grants for artists and curators, residency hosting organizations, festivals and projects
Showcasing: public events and awareness campaigns
Capacity-building: workshops and mentorship program

Who is who?

Who are the people and platforms shaping Halaqat’s artistic journeys? This page introduces the network of artists, residency hosts, festivals, and projects selected through the Halaqat open calls. Together, they form a cross-regional community engaging with questions of care, gender, and collaboration through artistic practices.

Residecy Hosts - EG Goethe-Institut Goethe-Institut

Artists in Residency

As part of its residency program, Halaqat brings together artists from the Arab region and Europe to reflect on the themes of care and gender through their practices. Each residency offers time, space, and support for artistic research, production, and exchange. Here, we introduce the selected artists whose work contributes to building cultural bridges and reimagining care across disciplines and contexts.

Randa Mirza

Randa Mirza (Beirut, 1978) is a visual artist who lives and works in Marseille and Beirut. Her practice encompasses photography, video and live AV performances. Her work occupies the space between documentary, artistic writing and personal expression, providing space for reflection, reparation and resistance in the face of violence. She often questions hegemonic systems of thought and representations from a feminist and decolonial perspective. Mirza’s work received several awards, including the Photo Folio review prize at the Rencontres d'Arles in 2024, the Eyes wide Open first book prize, andLotfi the No Limit Award at the Rencontres d'Arles in 2006.
Lotfi Ghariani

Lotfi Ghariani (b. Sfax, Tunisia; lives in Tunis) is a photographer and visual artist whose work explores Black identity, memory and social marginalization in North Africa. Working across photography, video, sound, installation and archival materials, he challenges dominant narratives and recovers hidden histories. His long-term project Black Tunisians: The Unseen Citizens was a finalist in the Magnum Foundation’s Counter Histories (2022). Ghariani has exhibited both locally and internationally, including at the Bamako Encounters – Biennale of African Photography (2011, Mali), the Mediterranean Art Biennale of Tunis (2010, Tunis) and Artists in the City at the Atelier of Alexandria (2008, Egypt). In 2024, he expanded his research on race, migration and belonging through a residency in Germany supported by the EU.
Aya Chriki

Aya Chriki (1995, Gabès, Tunisia) is a visual artist and PhD candidate in Art History and Fine Arts. Through photography, video art, writing, and research, she explores exile, gender, displacement, and identity. She won the Photography Prize at Gabès Cinéma Fen (2022) and was recognized in the ICTJ’s Outre-mer writing competition (2024). In 2025, she was selected for the Mediterranean project Tae’thir – Resisting Resignation and became a finalist for Arab Artists Now. With KalamAflam, she led the Cairo workshop From the Image, We Build Walls, a Roof, and Windows, gathering migrant and exiled women artists around the notion of home. Since 2018, she has exhibited in Tunisia, France, Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE, and beyond.
Ali Asfour

Ali Asfour is a Palestinian analog film photographer and DJ whose work explores displacement, identity, and resistance through cinematic imagery and sound. His exhibitions have been shown internationally, including in New York and New Zealand, and his photography has appeared in publications such as GQ Middle East, Dazed Middle East, and The New Arab. He also hosts SADAA: Echoes of the MENA on Mutant Radio, spotlighting the region’s rich musical heritage.

Ali Asfour Ali Asfour

What Has Halaqat Achieved So Far?

The project started in 2021 and gathered over 100 artists, partners and experts from the Arab countries and Europe, first in Brussels and later in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

Halaqat I: Aftermovie

Over the last three years, more than 60,000 visitors have attended public discussions, film screenings, concerts, performances, and visual art installations at Bozar and various locations in Brussels, Madrid, Rabat, Cairo and Amman.

Know more about it and watch This was Halaqat – Aftermovie

Halaqat Publication – Lessons for the Future

The Halaqat publication has been published in November 2022 by the editing house Überknackig. Get to know more about the project and read the “Lessons for the Future” for improved cultural relationships between Europe and the Arab world.

Mobility, financing, crisis as a permanent state, fair cultural relations, and exchange of expertise — these five themes marked the culmination of the “Lessons for the Future” publication, developed collaboratively by Halaqat experts in Brussels in May 2022. Together, these lessons outline a path toward strengthening cultural relations between Europe and the Arab world.

Download the digital Halaqat publication to dive deeper into the Lessons:

English Version(PDF, 9 MB)

Arabic version(PDF, 9 MB)

Partnership and Funding

Halaqat, launched in 2021, fosters cultural exchange between Europe and the Arab region. Initially co-financed by the European Union (under the designation: EU-LAS CULTURE), Goethe-Institut and Bozar, it was implemented by the Goethe-Institut in collaboration with Bozar until 2023, continuing with its own funds thereafter.

The new iteration of Halaqat (2024-2027) is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Goethe-Institut. It will run for 32 months until spring 2027 with activities in Belgium, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco.

Contact

Halaqat@goethe.de