Activities

The Return of Osiris & AEN Waiting Room

© Essa Grayeb

Video-Art screening Hosted by: The German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG), Berlin, 2024

Video art is a dynamic medium that emphasizes momentum and serves as a vessel for diverse artistic expressions, including moving images, photography, drawings, performance, sound, and music. In the Video Art in the Arab World series, we invite artists to showcase and discuss their artistic visions. The series aims to provide the audience with a glimpse into the art scene in Arabic countries, highlighting the growing significance of video art in the Arab world to the German public.
The series features two Palestinian visual artists: Amal Al Nakhala and Essa Grayeb. Both artists utilize video in their work but approach the medium in distinct ways. Amal Al Nakhala’s creations are emotionally expressive and imaginative, with her video pieces stemming from her drawings. In contrast, Essa Grayeb focuses on photography and found materials, aiming to comprehend reality. Despite their differing methods, both artists reflect on existence with a political touch in an artistic manner.

© Amal Al Nakhala

Essa Grayeb is a Palestinian visual artist based in Jerusalem. His practice traverses a range of media, primarily photography, moving images, and installation. Often related to Arab nationalism and Pan-Arabism, his work originates from exploring elements connected to historical moments within the collective memories and their manifestations in popular culture.
Grayeb’s video works were screened in numerous film festivals, including the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, Toronto Arab Film Festival, Indie Memphis Film Festival, and the Arab Film Fest Collab.

Amal Al Nakhala’s work is a profound exploration of the Palestinian experience, characterized by multidisciplinary narratives that weave together history, memory, and identity. Through her art, she vividly expresses the complex circumstances of Palestinians, focusing on themes of resilience and resistance. Her works are a testament to the enduring spirit of her people, capturing their struggles, hopes, and aspirations in the face of ongoing challenges. Whether through visual art, storytelling, or other mediums, Al Nakhala’s creations are not just artistic expressions but also important cultural and political statements that bring attention to the Palestinian cause.
Al Nakhala’s’s works were shown in numerous exhibitions, including the Santa Libbirata la Carretteria, Roma, Myymälä2 Gallery, Helsinki, Kunstruimte Het Langhuis, Zwolle, and Casa Árabe, Madrid. 


Memories of the Future

© Amr Elkafrawy and Jean François Robin

Video-Art screening Hosted by: The German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG), Berlin, 2023
Directed by Amr Elkafrawy and Jean François Robin
In a series of screenings and talks, Zuker e.V. and the German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG) jointly showcase a collection of video art from the Arab world and introduce contemporary Arab artists to the German public. To kick off the series, visual artist Amr Elkafrawy presents his artwork “Memories of the Future”, talks about his artistic vision, and discusses the emergence and importance of video art in the Arab world.
„Memories of the Future“ unfolds a dreamlike and poetic environment, deploying itself throughout five chapters of computer-generated videos and a series of sculptures. By approaching the future as if it was already past, this artwork suggests a new take on the imagination of the future in the hope of taming our own faculty of temporal intervention.


The sidelines of the cement civilization

Solo Exhibition Hosted by: The German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG), Berlin, 2023
Artwork By: Amr Elkafrawy
The work Spotlights the concept of urbanization in the city of Cairo. Urbanization in Cairo constitutes huge agglomerations of random concrete buildings that have grown organically. The city has grown haphazardly to create a fabric with peculiarities that only exist in some other cities. The construction of concrete buildings does not have an aesthetic form but rather a functional need only: However, these giant cement buildings have their own magnificence and their own solitude.


Jabal Al Tair – Documentary photo project

The documentary photo project in Jabal Al Tair, Samallut, Minya includes photographs of people, village structures and antiquities, 2022.
In cooperation with: El sakhra Library in Minya and Torraha organization in Alexandria, Egypt.


What We See Is More Than We May Think

Art Workshop with children from cemeteries quarter in Cairo, Egypt, 2022
Organized by MASQ – Maq‘ad of Sultan Qaitbey,
Project funded by the European Union.


Memorandum of Understanding with MASQ

We were honored to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with MASQ – Maq‘ad of Sultan Qaitbey, Cairo, 2022


The Classroom – La Salle de Classe

The Classroom – La Salle de Classe – Hicham Benohoud

Group Exhibition Hosted by: The German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG), Berlin, 2019

With works by:
Hicham Benohoud
Hicham Matini

Curated by:
Katharina Maria Raab

The exhibition “The Classroom – La Salle de Classe” presents works by two Moroccan artists of different generations who are concerned with the lives of children and adolescents in Morocco: Hicham Benohoud and Hicham Matini. In a poetic-surreal way, they take a critical look at the children’s
everyday lives in school and their role in society, their handling of media images, their dreams, fears and hopes.

Zuker e.V. in cooperation with:
The German-Arab Friendship Association (DAFG) and Katharina Maria Raab Gallery.


Power Struggle

Photo: Mojtaba Arabzadeh – Honaronline.ir – tehrantimes.com

Group Exhibition Hosted by: Mahe Mehr Gallery No. 7, Tehran, Iran, 2019

With works by:
Ali & Ramyar
Negar Alemzadeh Gorji
Mahi Binebine
Mostafa Choobtarash
Rima Eslammaslak
Ahmed Kamel
David Krippendorff
Elisabeth Masé
Andrea Salvino
Mina Talaee

Curated by:
Katharina Maria Raab
Asieh Salimian

“In today’s world, we observe a new stage of evolutions in the capitalism system, which seeks to harness and harmonize the world through the media influence, the collapse and displacement of economic and political boundaries, as well as the takeover and imposition of production. With the dominance of supercompanies on the world, changes occur throughout the societies, which have a huge impact on culture, private and social structures, including the family, the young generation, relations between women and men, and so on. It also creates the patterns which define and harmonize our relationships. In this system, by the engineering of human and cultural relations, the technical necessities and the “reform” of native traditions and structures, different procedures of deprivation, regulation, and discipline are used to facilitate the “governance” of individuals and groups. Finally, it leads to the formation of new powers which are distinct from the traditional methods of governance. In this way, we encounter different forms of social inhibition as well as exercise of power and internal suppression by the people.
On the other hand, our world today’s world, regardless of this influence, has found new frameworks and definitions of social structure. These new movements, which have arisen from human rights, women’s rights, besides social and environmental responsibilities, have played a major role even in contemporary art. Thus, scenes of power struggle between the volition and the role of the people of society, against the propaganda and the mechanism of power and domination have emerged. Comprehension of the cultural currents which guide the society requires knowledge about the new behaviors of the people in modern and postmodern societies; Therefore, knowledge about the various aspects of the human spirit is a major step for understanding cultures and intercultural relationships. This spirit may appear in the gender field, it may also be used as a tool or media, and on the other hand, it can become an arena of politics around the world.
This exhibition, titled Power Struggle, with the subject of “Self, Power, Politics” is an attempt to demonstrate the viewpoints of contemporary artists about the necessity of changes in society, as well as their interpretation with the aim of clarifying and creating a better world. “Power Struggle” exhibition is an international event, bringing together the artists from Iran, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Morocco and Egypt, to explore their points of view on this issue. This exhibition is in line with the activities of “Factory TT” and “Katharina Maria Raab” gallery in Berlin. “Factory TT” aims to provide context of historical needs and development of art on the basis of communicating and conversation with the society for the independent community of artists. “Factory TT” intends to raise and review the issues such as critique, inquiry and analysis of the social, economic, and political topics of today’s Iran. “Factory TT” is a platform for thoughtful artists and audiences.
“Katharina Maria Raab” gallery also tries in the same way to give a wider look to Europe’s neighbors, outside of the defined economic frameworks in Europe, in cooperation with the artists especially from the Middle East and North Africa.

Text By Asieh Salimian

Zuker e.V. in cooperation with:
Katharina Maria Raab Gallery, Berlin Factory TT Berlin / Tehran, Aria Residency


What We See Is More Than We May Think

Art Workshop in Sohag, Egypt for teachers and pupils as part of PASCH program „Schulen, Partner der Zukunft“
Organized by Goethe-Institut Kairo and Robert Bosch Stiftung, 2017


Memorandum of Understanding with Goethe-Institut

We were honored to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Goethe-Institut, 2017