Culture Resource is pleased to announce the grantees of the third round of Wijhat 2025, a program that supports artists and cultural actors through travel grants that enable them to participate in artistic and cultural activities in the Arab region and abroad.

The Wijhat team received 94 applications for this round. Of these, 59 were for international travel, 33 for regional travel, and 2 for both international and regional travel. The jury selected 12 projects based on the program’s evaluation criteria, taking into consideration geographical and travel destination diversity.

Grantees

Abdalsalam Alhaj, Sudan / Artist and multimedia producer
Destination: Sudan → Germany
Itinerary: Abdel Salam will take part in the Artist-Scholar Residency at the Collaborative Museum in Berlin, Germany, to develop his multimedia project “The Last Effendi.” The project explores memory, absence, and identity through a journey across African, Asian, and European ports, retracing the footsteps of his late father, a sailor in the Sudanese maritime lines, using his sea journal as a guide. The residency includes discussion sessions and cultural events focusing on transformation, memory, and displacement, culminating in an art presentation that showcases the project’s findings within a critical framework reflecting on collective memory and cultural heritage in post-conflict contexts.

Ahmed Ben Abid, Tunisia / Performer, independent artist, and art director
Destination: Tunisia → Austria
Itinerary: Ahmed will participate in the Red Sepata residency program to develop his project “Unknown Sea.” The artistic residency provides him with a creative space, a fully equipped studio, and the opportunity to present a performance that integrates the body with interdisciplinary perspectives, in addition to conducting a series of workshops.

Ahmed Hossam, Egypt / Visual artist and graphic designer
Destination: Egypt → Czech Republic
Itinerary: Ahmed will participate as a guest artist in the FRAME Comic Arts Festival in Prague, showcasing his comic artworks and participating in discussions and activities within the festival’s official program. His participation aims to foster artistic exchange, represent contemporary Egyptian art, and engage with artists and audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Bassel Al-Dakkak, Syria / Actor and dancer
Destination: Tunisia → Egypt
Itinerary: Bassel will participate in the Bab El Bahr Festival, an annual arts and culture festival held in Alexandria and organized by the Agora Center for Arts and Culture in collaboration with the French Institute in Egypt. He will present an experimental theatre performance co-written and performed with Tunisian actress Hajar Zaydi. This participation marks Bassel’s first experience in presenting his own theatre project from script to performance, offering him the opportunity to test his ideas before an audience and practice managing all stages of production, from writing and directing to performing.

Dominique Tegho, Lebanon / Choreographer
Destination: Germany → Lebanon
Itinerary: Dominique will take part in a one-month artistic residency at Beirut Physical Lab to conduct intensive research for her new dance project “The Intimacy of Collision,” which explores Lebanese folk practices. In addition, she will receive dabke training with Bassam Abou Diab, the co-director of Beirut Physical Lab. She will also visit Baalbek to meet with the Hayakel Baalbek Dance Troupe to expand the scope of her research and the historical background of dabke. At the end of the residency, she will organize a studio performance to present the research outcomes.

Karima Al-Aidaoui (Performer and choreographer) & Omar Chakor (Sound artist), Morocco
Destination: Morocco → Belgium
Itinerary: Karima will join a one-month residency at Ici Vaisseau Mère in Brussels to complete her contemporary dance piece “Maktoub,” in collaboration with sound artist Omar Chakor. The residency will include choreography and music development, preparation for public performances before professionals and local audiences, and networking sessions with institutions and artists to explore future collaborations and touring opportunities across Europe and beyond.

Mazar Attia Mahmoud Suliman, Sudan / Photographer, multimedia artist, and cultural activist
Destination: Egypt → Austria
Itinerary: Mazar will participate in an artistic residency at Soon Studio in Vienna, developing his project “Urban Echoes IV.” He will conduct fieldwork on foot to document murals, urban graffiti, and political writings, later selecting ten images for large-format printing with a local graffiti artist. This collaboration creates a dialogue between the camera, the spray can, and the city itself, dissolving notions of artistic ownership and highlighting the transient nature of street art. The final exhibition will show both the original and altered images, revealing how photography and graffiti can engage in dialogue and reflect the changing, dynamic spirit of urban art. In addition, Mazar will present an independent talk within the Studio’s program to raise awareness about the war in Sudan.

Mohamed Aziz Aissaoui, Tunisia / Artist and designer
Destination: Tunisia → Mauritania
Itinerary: Mohamed will take part in an artistic residency at the Caravane Ouadane residency in the historic city of Ouadane, Mauritania, which brings together artists and researchers from diverse backgrounds to explore the relationship between art, the desert environment, and local cultural heritage. He will research oasis-based production techniques and the concept of transitory spaces in desert cities, leading workshops for children and youth to create artistic interventions in the city.

Nourhan Haggag, Egypt / Singer and sound artist
Destination: Egypt → Mauritania
Itinerary: Nourhan will join the Caravan Ouadane residency in Ouadane, which brings together artists and researchers from diverse backgrounds to explore the relationship between art, the desert environment, and local cultural heritage. Through this experience, Nourhan aims to explore how the Mauritanian desert influences Qur’anic recitation and madih (religious praise), specifically how the environment shapes rhythm and melody in these sacred traditions. She will also document the outcomes of the field experience, conduct workshops for children to help preserve these practices, and ensure their transmission to future generations. Ultimately, Nourhan seeks to deepen the collective understanding of how geography, sound, and spirituality interact to form music that transcends cultural boundaries.

Rasayel Theatre Group, Palestine / Theatre Group
Destination: Palestine → France
Itinerary: The group will participate in an educational, cultural, and artistic exchange program with the Theatre Department of the Regional Conservatory of Music, Dance, and Drama in Lille. The exchange aims to foster artistic dialogue and strengthen collaboration between Palestinian and French artists. The program includes workshops, meetings with local artists, experimental performances, and in-depth discussions on theatrical practices. It provides a platform to present Palestinian theatre in an international context and discuss related cultural and political issues while enhancing participants’ artistic and professional skills through engagement with the European theatre scene.

Rust, Lebanon / Music band
Destination: Czech Republic → Tunisia
Itinerary: The band Rust will participate in an Art residency at the facility of Danseurs Citoyens Sud in Gabes, Tunisia, an open space for experimentation and creativity, bringing together Tunisian, Arab, and international artists in performing and visual arts. The residency promotes knowledge exchange and collective artistic production presented to the local audience. While there, the duo will work on reinterpreting traditional Tunisian songs in collaboration with a group of musicians and vocalists and will participate in rehearsals and brainstorming sessions. The duo will also take part in filming sessions around Gabes to create a traditional visual identity for their new album. In addition, they will conduct a workshop on electronic music production and Arabic music for music students at the University of Gabes.

Too Fuse & Kemet Sounds, Egypt / Music band
Destination: Egypt → Morocco
Itinerary: The group will perform at Visa for Music, the leading music market and festival in Africa and the Middle East. Their participation marks their first appearance on an international stage, providing an opportunity to engage with regional and global networks and establish partnerships for future collaborations.

Jury:

Bilel Abboudi, Tunisia / Specialist in cultural policies for development
Huda Abou Zeid, Libya / Film and TV Producer
Rasha Salah, Palestine / Programs and Exhibitions Manager, Cultural Consultant

Image of photographer and visual anthropologist Amira Karaoud (Tunisia) participating in an artistic residency in Brazil, supported by Wijhat program 2025.