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6:00 PM-9:00 PM
Filling in the Blanks: Abdalrahman Alqalaq
Reading Group|Free participation after registration
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ACUD Studio, Berlin
- Language English, German (language will be announced before each session)
- Price Free admission, registration is requested.
- Part of series: Filling in the Blanks
In this reading group we will gather once a month to discuss crucial texts that underlie the thing we call the current discourse. We will try a close reading of some of the fundamental texts of (post-)colonial, abolitionist, Queer and Feminist studies. Are we sure we mean the same thing when we use the same words, or does it help to come together and share our different readings and interpretations, filling in the blanks, the gaps in our understanding.
Each session will be accompanied by an artist, activist or researcher who will present a text, a poem, or a chapter in a book, set their own focus and give impulses to the discussion.Together, we shape tangible terms from our shared reading and discussion experiences—a New Glossary for the journey ahead.
In the fourth session, we are joined by the Palestinian-Syrian writer, poet, and performance artist Abdalrahman Alqalaq.
The texts will be part of a reader that will be accessible to everyone who signs up to the reading group - reading the text is not necessary for taking part in the group, though it is encouraged to do it, so we have a mutual basis on which we can discuss.
Free Registration
Please register via email at: im-exil@goethe.de with the subject line: "Registration Reading Group"
Registration deadline: the respective week before each Reading Group session.
Spots are allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Curated and moderated by: Ameena Quansah and Tanasgol Sabbagh
With contributions from: Bafta Sarbo, Josephine Apraku, Meret Weber, Temye Tesfu, and Abdalrahman Alqalaq and more.
Please note: Photos may be taken during the event for documentation purposes. If you do not wish to appear in any images, please let the organizers know in advance.
Authors
The reading group is curated and moderated by Ameena Quansah and Tanasgol Sabbagh.
Abdalrahman Alqalaq, born in 1997 in Alyarmouk near Damascus, lives in Berlin.
The Palestinian-Syrian writer, poet, and performance artist studied Cultural Studies and Aesthetic Practice with a focus on Theatre and Literature, as well as International Cultural Policy at the University of Hildesheim and Université MV in Rabat. In 2022, his debut poetry collection "Twenty-Four" was published in Arabic by Elles Publishing House in Cairo. His first book in German, "Übergangsritus" (Rite of Passage), followed in 2024 with Wallstein Verlag and earned him the Chamisso Publication Grant. In 2025, his second Arabic poetry collection The Thieves Beat Me to Haifa was published by Khan Aljanub in Berlin. Most recently, he brought his play "Absentee Law" to the stage at the Burgtheater in Hildesheim.
Tanasgol Sabbagh writes. She presents her literary works through performances, audio pieces, video installations, and musical collaborations. She is a co-founder of the artist collective parallelgesellschaft as well as the event series of the same name, which explores political art beyond the dominant German cultural discourse. Together with poet Josefine Berkholz, she founded and edits the auditory literary magazine Stoff aus Luft, which is published as a podcast—a format that foregrounds spoken and sound-based literature. Tanasgol lives in Berlin.
Ameena Quansah moves between skin and paper, and critical thought. She studies African Studies, tattoos at a FLINTA* studio, runs two book clubs in Berlin, and writes publicly—about books, identity, and everything in between—on @ubahnleserin and Substack. As the founder of the BIPOC Book Space, she creates spaces for gathering, resilience, and dialogue. Raised in Ghana, she moves between continents in the worlds of art and literature.
