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What I Do  

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I am a cultural thinker and practitioner working across the arts, freedom of expression, cultural policies, and questions of historical violence and displacement in Syria and the larger SWANA region. Based in Paris and born in Damascus, my work moves between research, strategic consulting, public dialogue, transnational cultural cooperation, and mentorship. I’m often invited when institutions need politically grounded insight, contextual reading, or a deeper understanding of regional dynamics.​

Since 2011, much of my practice has revolved around thinking with and through artistic diasporas — especially Syrian ones — and through extensive research on the life and work of Arab-American painter and writer, Etel Adnan.
My collaborations as a researcher and consultant include work with Ettijahat – Independent Culture, Flanders Arts Institute, Culture Action Europe, the Roberto Cimetta Fund for Artistic Mobility, Moussem: Nomadic Arts Centre, and various cultural organisations in the Arab region, Europe, and beyond. I conduct studies on freedom of artistic expression and contribute to cultural mappings and programme evaluations. I design and implement talks and labs programs, such as "Jiwar: A Program Beyond Theatre", launched in 2025 in partnership with the Syrian organization, Spaces for Cultural Intersection.​

Public speaking and facilitation are central to my work. I curate, moderate, and take part in conversations that bring together artists, researchers, and cultural workers from the region and beyond. These collaborations include the online conference "A Moment of Art: Beyond the Boundaries of Geography" (2021), three editions of D-CAF’s "Arab Art Focus" (Cairo 2014–2015, Edinburgh 2017), and the artists’ programme for "Dérive Casablancaise" (Casablanca, 2024). In 2025, I presented research work at the "Invisible Violence in the Syrian Context forum" (Berlin), the "2025 Safe Haven Meeting", and EHESS’s conference "Syria, Year 1."​

I also develop and contribute to podcasts and audio interviews. In 2020, Ettijahat – Independent Culture produced a series of conversations I conducted with artists and cultural practitioners, including Lebanese curator and researcher, Rasha Salti, Syrian theatre director, Omar Abu Saada, and the painter and sculpturer, Mohamad Omran. In 2023, I expanded these conversations to include voices from other Global South contexts: Golrokh Nafisi (Iran), Arundhati Ghosh (India), and Mohamed Abusal (Gaza)... ​

My consulting, mentorship, and evaluation work spans collaborations with institutions and programmes such as the Permanent Committee of Public Theatre Groups of the GCC (Riyadh, 2024), ONDA – Focus Danse / Biennale de la Danse & Institut Français (Lyon, 2023), Bounce Program with Artcena/Circostrada (Paris, 2022 & 2023), Cinema Without Border (The Hague, 2023), and the Med Culture mentorship initiative "Houna aShabab" (Casablanca, Marrakech, Tunis, Amman, 2015–2016).​

I have also served on selection committees and jurys for organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Culture Resource, Movies That Matter, and La Cité internationale des Arts, assessing independent projects, grant applications, residencies, and festival programmes.

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Key Positions  

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​​​​I served as Middle East & North Africa Manager at the Sundance Institute Theatre Program (2015–2020), co-leading labs, residencies, and collaborative programs across the Arab region, the United States, and Europe. Before that, I was Grants Program Manager at the Young Arab Theatre Fund (YATF) — now Mophradat — supporting emerging artists and independent cultural spaces during a formative moment for the region’s independent arts scene (2011–2014).

The turning poing of my career was when I joined the team of Damascus Arab Capital of Culture 2008 (2007–2009), where I curated and produced over 50 concerts and music activies, including Damascus’ first World Music Festival, with international artists such as Pink Martini (USA), Dhafer Youssef (Tunisia), Johnny Clegg (South Africa), and Angélique Kidjo (Benin). Other key moments in the DACC’s musical program included Meredith Monk’s first concert and workshop in an Arab country, Anouar Brahem’s concerts at the Damascus Opera House, and a special program aiming at supporting young talents and the local contemporary music scene.

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Editorial & Translation Practice 

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Alongside my research and public work, I maintain an ongoing practice as an editor, translator, and writer. I have translated theatre works such as Liwaa Yazji’s Terror (2025) and Goats (2017), Hassan Abdulrazzak and Ahmed Tobassi’s And Here I Am (2023), and Mohammad Al-Attar’s Could You Please Look at the Camera? (2014). I’ve edited and translated publications and curatorial texts for Centre Pompidou, Grand Palais, MUcEM, Sharjah Art Foundation, Meeting Points, and individual artists across the region. I also regularly publish essays and interviews in regional and international cultural platforms.​

My research and public work are also shaped by my parallel role as a certified interpreter at OFPRA (the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) and the CNDA (Cour Nationale du Droit d’Asile). Since 2021, sitting in rooms where people reconstruct their lives in words has deeply influenced the way I understand testimony, memory, trauma, and artistic expression in exile.

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Background ​

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​I hold a BA in Theatre Studies from the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts in Damascus, an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Paris 8, and pursued doctoral studies at Paris 7 – Denis Diderot in the History and Semiotics of Texts and Images. My expertise has also been shaped by fellowships and training programmes with AFAC, the Lab for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University, the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, and La Maison des Cultures du Monde & Université Paris-Dauphine.

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