Aissa Deebi is a Palestinian artist based in Geneva, Switzerland. His multidisciplinary work explores themes of exile, displacement, and the everyday realities of post-war Palestine. Engaging personal and political histories, Deebi reflects on diaspora as a generative space, particularly through his experience as a Palestinian immigrant in post-9/11 America. Notable works include Killing Time, The Trail, and Exile Is Hard Work. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 55th Venice Biennale, Queens Museum, and Kunsthalle Osnabrück. Deebi is also an academic with an international teaching and research practice focused on art, politics, and identity.
Shareef Sarhan, born in Gaza in 1976, is a visual artist and photographer. He is a founding member of Shababeek for Contemporary Art and a member of the Association of Palestinian Artists. Sarhan received his diploma in Art. He participated in the Darat Al Funun academy in Jordan. He received the Bronze award of the Festival of Arab Photographers in 2008 and the recognition award in 2007. Sarhan produced a Picture Book, "Gaza Live." His work was exhibited in Gaza, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Amman, the United States, France, Germany, and Italy.
Nadia Kaabi-Linke is a Tunisian-Ukrainian artist born in 1978 in Tunis, Tunisia. She studied at the University of Fine Arts in Tunis (1999) before receiving a PhD from the Sorbonne University in Paris (2008). Her works were recently displayed in solo exhibitions at National Gallery – Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2023), Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany (2018), Dallas Contemporary, Texas, USA (2015), The Mosaic Rooms, London, UK (2014), Centro de Arte Moderna José de Azevedo Perdigão, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon (2014). She participated in group exhibitions at Gropius Bau, Berlin, The Rubin Museum, New York (2019); the Langen Foundation, Düsseldorf, Germany; Lahore Biennial, (2018); Zachęta – Narodowa Galeria Sztuki, Warsaw (2016); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2016); Marta Herford, Museum für Kunst, Design und Architektur, Germany (2016); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark (2014); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2013); Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Zamek Ujazdowski, Zamek Ujazdowski, Warsaw (2013); Nam June Paik Art Center, Seoul (2013). She participated in the Sharjah Biennial, United Arab Emirates (2009); Alexandria Biennial for Mediterranean Countries (2009); Venice Biennale (2011); Liverpool Biennial (2012), and Kochi Muziris Biennial, Kerala, India (2012). Kaabi-Linke lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Timo Kaabi-Linke is a sociologist and photographer, and Nadia Kaabi-Linke’s closest collaborator in work and life. His research concentrates on historical studies of apparative hermeneutics and the exploration of sonic structures and forms of music in cross-cultural environments. He writes and publishes on topics related to art, history, culture, and humanities, and co-authored the feature Digging for Redemption (Inside Burger, Art Asia Pacific, 2014) and (co-)edited the books Matter Matters: Kaabi-Linke <2016 (Kerber Publishing, 2016) and Versiegelte Zeit / Sealed Time (Kerber Publishing, 2018 ). He engaged as curator in several exhibitions and lives and works with Nadia Kaabi-Linke in Berlin, Germany.
Timo Kaabi-Linke is a sociologist and photographer, and Nadia Kaabi-Linke’s closest collaborator in work and life. His research concentrates on historical studies of apparative hermeneutics and the exploration of sonic structures and forms of music in cross-cultural environments. He writes and publishes on topics related to art, history, culture, and humanities, and co-authored the feature Digging for Redemption (Inside Burger, Art Asia Pacific, 2014) and (co-)edited the books Matter Matters: Kaabi-Linke <2016 (Kerber Publishing, 2016) and Versiegelte Zeit / Sealed Time (Kerber Publishing, 2018 ). He engaged as curator in several exhibitions and lives and works with Nadia Kaabi-Linke in Berlin, Germany.
Salman Nawati is a visual artist and visual arts teacher based in Sweden. He has been a director of arts programs for over a decade. One of the founders of the “Sahab Museum” with the HAWAF collective. He is also one of the founders of the Dahaleez collective.
In his career, Salman has been a dynamic force in the cultural landscape, serving as artistic director of several festivals and sharing his experience as a teacher at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Al-Aqsa University. His multifaceted artistic practice spans multiple media, including painting, photography, film, theatre, and music. In addition to his projects, he has several solo exhibitions. Salman has made significant participation in group exhibitions at many prestigious venues, including the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Arab World Institute in Paris, the Mosaic Rooms in London, Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Aix-en-Provence, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial in Dubai, the A.M. Qattan Foundation in Ramallah, and the French Cultural Centers in Gaza, Ramallah, and Jerusalem, among others.
In his career, Salman has been a dynamic force in the cultural landscape, serving as artistic director of several festivals and sharing his experience as a teacher at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Al-Aqsa University. His multifaceted artistic practice spans multiple media, including painting, photography, film, theatre, and music. In addition to his projects, he has several solo exhibitions. Salman has made significant participation in group exhibitions at many prestigious venues, including the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Arab World Institute in Paris, the Mosaic Rooms in London, Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Aix-en-Provence, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial in Dubai, the A.M. Qattan Foundation in Ramallah, and the French Cultural Centers in Gaza, Ramallah, and Jerusalem, among others.
Majdal Nateel (b. 1987 in Saudi Arabia) is an artist from a Palestinian refugee family. Nateel grew up in Gaza and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art from al-Aqsa University in 2009.
The main inspiration for her early artworks was the lived experience, and she tried to translate the reflections of individual cases on society. After 2014, the artistic research process began to focus on searching for the value of humanity under political challenges, especially threats of repeated wars and the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In the project “Studying the Voids of Amputation” 2020-2021 and ongoing, she linked physical amputation and geographic amputation and produced a body of work on this theme. Majdal's work still focuses on the impact of colonialism, occupation, and siege on the physical structure of human beings under these conditions.
Majdal is one of the co-founders of the Dahaleez Collective. It began with the collaborative project “Geography of Divine Magic” at the Beit Al-Ghussein Cultural and Heritage House in Gaza, exploring Palestinians' temporal and spatial realities under siege. Dahaleez develops analytical and exploratory tools to examine the social and political forces shaping visions of liberation and the reconstruction of Palestine. The collective encourages collaboration with artists and cultural workers in Gaza through workshops, reflective meetings, and co-production exercises.
The main inspiration for her early artworks was the lived experience, and she tried to translate the reflections of individual cases on society. After 2014, the artistic research process began to focus on searching for the value of humanity under political challenges, especially threats of repeated wars and the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In the project “Studying the Voids of Amputation” 2020-2021 and ongoing, she linked physical amputation and geographic amputation and produced a body of work on this theme. Majdal's work still focuses on the impact of colonialism, occupation, and siege on the physical structure of human beings under these conditions.
Majdal is one of the co-founders of the Dahaleez Collective. It began with the collaborative project “Geography of Divine Magic” at the Beit Al-Ghussein Cultural and Heritage House in Gaza, exploring Palestinians' temporal and spatial realities under siege. Dahaleez develops analytical and exploratory tools to examine the social and political forces shaping visions of liberation and the reconstruction of Palestine. The collective encourages collaboration with artists and cultural workers in Gaza through workshops, reflective meetings, and co-production exercises.
Dr. Bahaa Abudaya is the Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at Qatar Museums and a lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. He previously taught courses on Arab modernity and political art at Georgetown University in Qatar and served as Visiting Professor of Middle Eastern Art History at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. He holds a Ph.D. in Aesthetics and Art History from Paris 8 University Saint-Denis and a Certificate in Museum Curatorial Studies from the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP), Paris.
An accomplished curator, Dr. Abudaya has organized numerous exhibitions both locally and internationally, presenting modern and contemporary art from the Arab world and beyond. He is also a prolific writer, with published essays, articles, and short stories, and has delivered public lectures, moderated panel discussions, and led masterclasses on curatorial practices.
He has previously served as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha and at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. His research primarily explores Palestinian art, politics, and the history of the Arab art movement.
An accomplished curator, Dr. Abudaya has organized numerous exhibitions both locally and internationally, presenting modern and contemporary art from the Arab world and beyond. He is also a prolific writer, with published essays, articles, and short stories, and has delivered public lectures, moderated panel discussions, and led masterclasses on curatorial practices.
He has previously served as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha and at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. His research primarily explores Palestinian art, politics, and the history of the Arab art movement.
Saleh Bakri is a Palestinian actor who began his career on stage before moving into film. He gained early recognition in The Band’s Visit (2007) and Annemarie Jacir’s Salt of This Sea (2008), the latter premiering at Cannes and becoming Palestine’s official Academy Award submission. He went on to collaborate with acclaimed filmmakers such as Elia Suleiman (The Time That Remains), Radu Mihaileanu (The Source), and Rashid Masharawi (Laila’s Birthday).
Bakri has also appeared in international projects, including Salvo (Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize, 2013), the Royal Court Theatre’s production of Fireworks (2015), and Valerio Rocco Orlando’s video installation Dialogue with the Unseen (2019). His work in Farah Nabulsi’s The Present (2021) earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. In 2022, he starred in Maryam Touzani’s acclaimed feature The Blue Caftan.
Bakri has also appeared in international projects, including Salvo (Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize, 2013), the Royal Court Theatre’s production of Fireworks (2015), and Valerio Rocco Orlando’s video installation Dialogue with the Unseen (2019). His work in Farah Nabulsi’s The Present (2021) earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. In 2022, he starred in Maryam Touzani’s acclaimed feature The Blue Caftan.
Farah Nabulsi is a British-Palestinian filmmaker and human rights advocate. Formerly a CFA-qualified stockbroker at JP Morgan, she shifted careers after a 2013 visit to Palestine inspired her to tell stories from the region. In 2016, she founded Native Liberty Productions to challenge the dehumanisation of Palestinians.
Her short film The Present (2020) won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film and was nominated for an Academy Award, collecting over 30 international prizes. Her debut feature, The Teacher (2023), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, won multiple international awards, and was longlisted for both the BAFTA and BIFA awards.
Her short film The Present (2020) won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film and was nominated for an Academy Award, collecting over 30 international prizes. Her debut feature, The Teacher (2023), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, won multiple international awards, and was longlisted for both the BAFTA and BIFA awards.
Habeeb M. Abu-Futtaim is an artist, educator, and specialist in Arab art, based in Doha. Born and raised in Qatar with a multi-cultural Hadhrami/Yemeni-South Asian background, he holds a BFA in Painting and Printmaking and a minor in Art History from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. He later pursued a Master's in Museum and Gallery Practice from University College London. Abu-Futtaim has been featured in several Biennials and group shows internationally, including those in Berlin, Dubai, Doha, Santa Cruz, and more. His work is part of several collections, including the Barjeel Art Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Cruz, and other private collections. Abu-Futtaim co-founded and led the Modern and Contemporary Arab Art Auctions at AlBahie Auction House in Doha for over seven years from 2017 to 2024 and helped with the presence and growth of the Arab art market in the region and internationally.
Abu-Futtaim is currently a Junior Faculty with the Department of Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, where he co-founded the ‘ArtWeek’ and ‘HS Fine Art Award’.
Abu-Futtaim is currently a Junior Faculty with the Department of Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, where he co-founded the ‘ArtWeek’ and ‘HS Fine Art Award’.