ZAD: Special Edition for the Mobility of the Arts to Syria

Ettijahat – Independent Culture is proud to announce the projects selected for support through Zad Syria, a special edition of Zad: Miles for Connection. This support framework is aimed at Syrian artists based in Europe and Turkey who are interested in presenting or re-staging their artistic works and projects in Syria. The initiative contributes to the recovery of the cultural and arts sector in Syria, while offering audiences across the country the opportunity to engage with artistic productions developed abroad. It also opens up space for exchange and collaboration.

The selection committee chose 10 projects spanning visual arts, performing arts and music. The artists will travel a combined 41148 miles from ten European cities to present their work in several cities across Syria.

Supported Projects

Al Ehtifal Project – musical ensemble | 1,910 miles for four artists travelling from Bucharest, Romania, to Aleppo

The project centres on improvisation as a language of communication. Each performance creates a space for listening, interaction and encounter, transforming music into a collective act that takes shape in the moment. AL.Ehtifal Project will invite local musicians from the city of Aleppo to participate in the performance through a structured programme comprising a collaborative artistic residency, a specialised workshop and an open knowledge-exchange session with local musicians.

Elias Aboud – percussionist and composer | 3,480 miles between Berlin, Germany, and Damascus

Elias will present his project “Music for Percussion” at the Damascus Opera House. Featuring a selection of his contemporary compositions for percussion, the project explores the potential of percussion as a medium for composition and experimentation. It combines the marimba, vibraphone and electronics with elements drawn from Arab rhythmic traditions. During his time in Damascus, Elias will lead an intensive workshop for students and graduates of the Percussion Department at the Higher Institute of Music. The workshop will culminate in the creation of a collaborative musical piece to be performed at the closing concert.

Eyas Al Mokdad – filmmaker and choreographer | 4,046 miles for four artists travelling between Brussels, Belgium, and the cities of Aleppo and Damascus

Eyas will present his performance “The Trojan Women – Queen of Troy” in Damascus in partnership with the Directorate of Theatres and Music and Al-Jamr Theatre, and in Aleppo in collaboration with Karasi Collective. Inspired by the Greek mythological figure Hecuba and her memories of war, the performance explores the relationship between past and present. The project will involve local performers and specialists and include workshops on contemporary theatre performance and sound composition, as well as a chamber music masterclass at the Higher Institute of Music.

Inas Hakki – director, researcher and journalist | 5,986 miles for three artists travelling from Troyes, France, to Damascus

Inas will present her play “Cooking One’s Soul” (Cuisiner son âme) in the city of Damascus. Written by playwright Fares Alzahaby, this monodrama tells the story of a woman confronting oppression and injustice on a journey that culminates in an attempt at revenge that does not go as planned. Inas will re-stage the production with a Damascus-based actress.

Abdulmonam Eassa – photographer | 4,398 miles between Normandy, France, and Rural Damascus

Abdulmonam will present the group exhibition “An Archive Returns Home” in several towns across Rural Damascus, in collaboration with local partners in the towns of Hammouria, Kafr Batna and Douma. The exhibition brings together his photographs with those of Anas Alkharboutli and Sameer Al-Doumy, alongside work by a number of Syrian photographers who documented the war years. The project includes transporting photographic production and printing equipment from France to Syria to support local photography, as well as a discussion session with young photographers and artists.

Karam Al Zouhir – violist | 3,816 miles between Marseille, France, and several Syrian cities

Karam will present his project “Mashka Daym” in Damascus, Homs, Masyaf and Tartous. The project seeks to reimagine solo musical performance as an interactive space that brings together Syrian women instrumentalists and singers through performances and training workshops on free improvisation. It spotlights local women musicians and involves women’s ensembles and choirs. The programme will additionally include empowerment workshops for students at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus and the Faculty of Music Education in Homs.

Teater för alla – theatre association | 4,088 miles for three artists travelling between Stockholm, Sweden, and several Syrian cities

Theatre for All will present its production “What Lies Beyond the Mountain’s Smoke?” at the Directorate of Culture in Aleppo, in partnership with artist and puppeteer Reem Al-Maghout. This visually rich and imaginative puppet-theatre production raises questions about fear, rumours and courage, inviting dialogue between children and adults about confronting the unknown.

Mevan Younes – composer and buzuq player | 3,480 miles between Brandenburg, Germany, and several Syrian cities

Mevan will present his album “Ether” in Al-Hasakah, Qamishli, Derik and Amuda. The project features original compositions for the buzuq inspired by personal memory and the cultural landscape of Syria’s Jazira region. It combines local musical heritage with contemporary approaches to composition and improvisation, with the participation of six musicians from the cities where the album will be presented.

Nanda Mohammad – playwright and actress | 4,138 miles for four artists* travelling between Paris, France, and Damascus

Nanda will present her play “Gathering Memories with My Eyelashes” in Damascus. The play takes the form of a theatrical journey exploring memory, identity and family through the relationship between a mother and her daughter. The project also includes a training programme comprising four workshops for young theatre practitioners, delivered in collaboration with the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts.

*The project involves seven artists travelling from different locations. However, Zad provided travel support for only four of them, as they reside within the programme’s geographical scope, which covers Europe and Turkey.

Wael Kadour – playwright and theatre director | 4,686 miles for three artists travelling between multiple French cities and Damascus

Wael will present his theatre project “Chapter Four” (Chapitre quatre) at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus. The work revisits a theatrical experience he had in Damascus in 2008, examining how culture and the arts are produced within complex political and personal contexts. The production will be further developed in collaboration with a Damascus-based technical manager, enabling it to be adapted to the new performance space while fostering collaboration with local artists. Wael and his artistic team will also deliver three workshops on playwriting and scenography at the institute.

Project Evaluation

The programme’s selection committee met during the first week of August 2026 to choose the projects that would receive travel support to Syria. Ahead of the meeting, committee members reviewed all eligible applications against a set of criteria, including artistic approach, project quality, feasibility of presentation in Syria, and the proposed partnerships and collaborations. The committee comprised choreographer Hoor Malas, curator and cultural director Dunia Al Dahan, and musician Wael Alkak. Its review of the artistic projects gave rise to a number of observations, reflections and recommendations, the most significant of which are set out in the following statement:

Selection Committee Statement:

As part of this special edition of the Zad programme, the selection committee reviewed a number of artistic projects that reflected a genuine desire among Syrian artists residing in Europe and Turkey to reconnect their artistic practices with audiences in Syria and create new spaces for collaboration with artists based in the country. The projects spanned music, performing arts – including theatre, dance and puppetry – visual arts and photography.

The committee observed that many proposals viewed bringing artistic works to Syria as an opportunity to rebuild professional relationships and human connections, engage with audiences, exchange expertise and forge new partnerships with local cultural practitioners. Several artists also expressed a clear desire to present their projects in the cities where they grew up or where their artistic journeys began, as though their full meaning and purpose could only be realised there.

The committee welcomed the geographical diversity reflected in the applications. In terms of cities, the proposals were not limited to the capital, Damascus, but extended across a broad geographical area of Syria. This diversity was also evident in the proposed partnerships and performance venues. Although the Damascus Opera House emerged as a central venue in several proposals, partnerships were not limited to government and public-sector bodies, but also included independent cultural spaces and local initiatives. The selection committee encourages applicants to build on and further expand this approach, deepening partnerships with local communities and reaching wider audiences across Syria’s various regions.

The projects included compelling and substantive proposals for training workshops, partnerships with local artists and diverse opportunities to share knowledge and expertise. In this regard, the committee emphasises the importance of approaching such exchanges as a process of mutual learning that can enrich and add value for all parties, given the extensive and varied experience accumulated by Syrian artists across different contexts over the past decade. This process need not be confined to artists; it can also involve technicians and cultural practitioners, helping to build more sustainable professional relationships between arts and culture professionals based in Syria and abroad.

With regard to the budgets submitted as part of the artistic project applications, the committee considers that some estimates require greater precision and closer alignment with current realities. This is understandable given the ongoing economic changes. More broadly, the arts and culture sector needs to establish sector-specific standards and practices for fair remuneration and equitable working conditions for everyone working within it. Based on the programme’s criteria and available budget, the committee recommended that 10 projects receive support. At the same time, it values all applications that met the eligibility requirements and firmly believes in the importance of continuing this programme, which contributes to revitalising cultural life across Syria’s different regions.

This edition of ZAD is part of Ettijahat’s special programming marking its fifteenth anniversary and with the support of the Allianz Foundation.