Mawred is pleased to announce the grantees of the third round of Wijhat 2026, 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 151 applications for this round. Of these, 107 were for international travel, 40 for regional travel, and 4 for both international and regional travel. The jury selected 10 projects based on the program’s evaluation criteria, taking into consideration geographical and travel destination diversity.

Grantees

Amine Lajili, Tunisia / Writer and novelist
Destination: Tunisia → Turkey / Poetry and literature festival
Itinerary: Amine has been invited to attend the 6th International Poetry and Literature Days in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, as an international guest. The event is organized by the Metropolitan Municipality in collaboration with the Kahramanmaraş UNESCO City of Literature Office. While there, he will have the opportunity to engage with writers and poets from different countries, present his literary work and novels, explore diverse literary approaches, and exchange experiences with fellow participants. The event will also help Amine expand his professional and cultural network and bring greater international visibility to his work as a Tunisian writer.

Angela Aldebs, Lebanon / Choreographer and performer
Destination: Finland → Lebanon / Dance festival
Itinerary: Angela is participating in the 2026 Beirut Choreographic Encounters in Beirut, where she will present her solo performance A Frozen Street Changed My Walk, which combines movement-based theater, installation, and self-portraits. She will also perform in the dance performance Descend from Below, choreographed by Sara Almoneem. This event will bring Angela’s artistic collaboration with Almoneem, developed remotely between Beirut and Helsinki, into a live performance and give her the opportunity to present her work to audiences and artists from Lebanon and the Arab region. She will also reconnect with the local cultural scene, exchange ideas with other artists and contemporary dance practitioners, learn about emerging choreographic practices, and build professional networks that could lead to future collaborations between Europe and the SWANA region.

Dina Madkour, Egypt / Visual artist
Destination: Egypt → Vietnam / Residency
Itinerary: Dina will take part in Hanoi Art Connecting in Vietnam, where she will attend art workshops and activities at the University of Fine Arts and create two new artworks inspired by the field experience and cultural exchange, to be featured in the residency’s final group exhibition. During her stay, she will engage with artists from different countries, exchange artistic and cultural experiences, and explore contemporary approaches and practices to enrich her work in visual arts and composition. The experience will also support the development of her artistic and academic practice in Egypt and help her build an international professional network that may lead to future collaborations and knowledge exchange.

Eyas Almokdad, Syria / Theater director and choreographer
Destination: Belgium → Syria / Performance tour and workshops
Itinerary: Eyas has been invited by the General Directorate of Theatres and Music at Syria’s Ministry of Culture to travel to Syria with the cast and crew of the Queen of Troy performance to present the performance in several Syrian cities and lead professional workshops for Syrian theater practitioners in the fields of performing arts, sound, and music. The visit is part of a collaboration between the production team and the General Directorate of Theatres and Music, aimed at reviving the theatrical scene in Syria, renovating theaters and reactivating theatrical spaces affected by years of revolution and war, and fostering artistic exchange and training with Syrian theater practitioners.

Fairouz Hasan, Palestine / Filmmaker
Destination: Palestine → Egypt / Film festival
Itinerary: Fairouz will participate in the 47th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, taking place in November, where she will screen the Arab premiere of her film Lovely Butterfly. She will also attend the Cairo industry days meetings to introduce her new project and build production and distribution partnerships in the Arab region.

Hiba Elgizouli, Sudan / Singer, songwriter, and composer
Destination: Egypt → Ethiopia / Music festival
Itinerary: Hiba is heading to Addis Ababa to participate in the 6th edition of Addis Jazz Festival, where she will present a live performance featuring a selection of her original musical compositions, inspired by Sudanese rhythms and musical traditions. The festival will allow her to introduce contemporary Sudanese music to a new international audience and connect with the Ethiopian music scene, one of her key creative inspirations. She will also exchange experiences with musicians, artists, and producers from Ethiopia and other countries. This experience will help her grow as a live performer and strengthen musical dialogue between Sudan and Ethiopia.

Mazg for Culture and Arts, Egypt / Cultural organization
Destination: Egypt → Spain / Exhibition
Itinerary: Mazg for Culture and Arts team will participate in the Comic Fair at Feria Valencia in Spain, an annual event dedicated to comics and entertainment that brings together illustrators, writers, artists, and publishers from Spain and beyond. The team has been invited to select comic books by Arab artists from Mazg’s upcoming exhibition, Whenever We Cross, which will take place in Cairo in October, for display at the fair. They will also take part in two panel discussions on the Arab comics scene and meet with Spanish publishers and comic festival directors to build professional networks and foster collaboration and cultural exchange in the field.

Othman Sellami, Morocco / Theater director, choreographer, and performer
Destination: Morocco → Pakistan / Cultural festival
Itinerary: Othman will travel to Pakistan alongside actor Mostafa Benkerroum to participate in the World Culture Festival in Karachi, where they will present the performance of HITIST in its new two-person version. Combining contemporary dance and theatrical performance, the work will be presented as part of an international artistic program featuring artists from around the world. The play explores themes of migration, waiting, and shared identity on both shores of the Mediterranean. The festival will offer an opportunity to present the work to a diverse international audience and to exchange experiences with artists and cultural organizations from different backgrounds. It will also help build connections and open new possibilities for future artistic collaborations, performances, and co-production, while contributing to the project’s development and expanding its international reach.

Raji Ghareeb, Palestine / Musician, pianist, and keyboardist
Destination: Palestine → Italy / Training
Itinerary: Raji is set to participate in the Piano Maintenance and Tuning Internship at the Egidio Galvan Workshop in Italy, one of the most established workshops in this field, with over 200 years of experience. The program is divided into two training stages. The first focuses on the fundamentals of piano tuning and routine maintenance, while the second covers advanced techniques in tuning and maintaining grand pianos. Raji was nominated by maestro and pianist Dr. Alberto Nones to further develop his technical skills and bring this expertise back to Palestine, where specialized piano technicians are scarce.

Taimaa Salama, Palestine / Visual artist
Destination: Oman → Norway / Workshop
Itinerary: Taimaa will travel to Oslo, Norway, to lead a workshop titled Tactile Painting and Sensory Storytelling at Tenthaus. The workshop will offer participants an interactive artistic experience through tactile paintings, textured materials, and sculptural elements, inviting them to explore artworks through touch beyond the limits of visual perception. The workshop will include hands-on activities, allowing blind and visually impaired participants to engage with artistic materials and forms, alongside an exchange of experiences on developing tactile art and enhancing accessibility in the arts. This participation builds on Taimaa’s ongoing artistic practice and will help her further develop her approach to designing interactive workshops. It will also give her the opportunity to connect with Oslo’s artists and cultural organizations and establish new professional networks to support her future projects at the intersection of art, society, and cultural accessibility.

Jury

Elaf Alkanzy / Sudan, cultural manager specializing in cinema.
Mohamad Osman / Syria, composer, professor of oud and buzuq, and Head of the Arabic Music Department at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus.
Toubel / Tunisia, actress, playwright, director, and international trainer in acting and dramatic writing.