Culture Resource is pleased to announce the grantees of the February 2019 round of Wijhat. The jury selected 8 grantees out of 89 applications, including 4 travels within the Arab region and 4 travels abroad.
Grantees:
Anna Akkash, Syria/ playwright and theater director
The grant enables her to travel from Syria to Egypt to attend the sixth edition of the Theater is a Must festival and present a recitation of her documentary play, The Tree of Life, in which the narrator recounts her personal life experiences during the Syrian war. Akkash will also supervise a cinematography training workshop.
Ahmed Abdelrasol Dahy, Egypt/ musician (Almena Band)
Almena was awarded the grant in order to travel from Egypt to South Korea to present two concerts in Seoul Music Week 2019 and to take part in the international musical bands marketing event. This is Almena’s first opportunity to present its music to non-Arab audiences.
Ibi Ibrahim, Yemen/ multimedia artist and Director of Romooz Foundation
The grant enables him to travel to Mexico for an artistic residency at the Agrado Guest House to finalize the editing of his art video, “Awda” (Return). He will also deliver lectures and conduct artistic meetings on the evolution of a new concept of Yemeni contemporary art, as well as to promote the work of Yemeni artists who have continually worked to raise awareness of the plight of war-torn Yemen through their artistic creations.
Ahmed El Attar, Egypt/ playwright and theater director (Temple Independent Theater Company)
The theater company obtained this grant to travel from Egypt to Lebanon to stage its most recent three productions – “Revolution”, The Last Supper” and “Mama” – at Al Madina theater in Beirut. This will be the first time these works will be presented to an Arab audience.
Eliane Raheb, Lebanon/ film director and producer
The grant enables Eliane and the animation director Fadi El Samra to travel from Lebanon to Germany and Spain to complete the post-production of her film, Miguel’s War. They will develop the animation scenes and storyboard with the German animation artist Andy Kaiser, compose the film music in collaboration with the musician Mazen Kerbaj and then produce the animation scenes at the Citoplasmas studio in Barcelona.
Rania Atef Abdelwahab, Egypt/ visual artist
She obtained the grant to travel from Egypt to Jordan and take part in Qayyem, a research program on art curation and exhibition organization. She will participate as an artist-reporter who will document the activities and record the discussions of the other participants about artistic curation, alternative approaches to it and how it can contribute to creating a new and specific type of knowledge and answer questions related to the artistic process.
Soukaina Joual, Morocco/ playwright and theater director
The grant enables her to travel from Egypt to Jordan to take part in Qayyem, a research program on art curation and exhibition organization. The program aims to create a discussion space for cultural curators in the Arab region, giving Soukaina the opportunity to meet people involved in the arts with diverse backgrounds and expertises.
Myvel Seddik, Egypt/ cultural manager
She obtained the grant to travel from Egypt to Malta and participate in organizing the Atelier for Young Festival’s cultural activities. Through this experience she will increase her practical expertise in culture, develop her skills in the management of cultural and artistic events, and have an opportunity to network and exchange expertise.
The jury members for this round were:
Marina Barham, Palestine/ cultural manager and trainer;
Mourad El Kadiri, Morocco/ poet, research and cultural activist;
Talal Afifi, Sudan/ film curator and producer.
The Wijhat program, launched in July 2018, aims to promote the arts and culture from the Arab region, both regionally and internationally, by supporting the regional or international travels of artists and cultural actors from the region. The program offers artists the opportunity to take part in cultural events and activities and present their work to diverse audiences in wider regional and/or international contexts, to exchange knowledge and expertise with peers, and/or to build their professional capacities.
