moussem.eu

Between 2011 and 2014, Moussem exported its vision beyond Belgium’s borders with a project funded by Creative Europe, moussem.eu, in collaboration with Theatergroep De Nieuw Amsterdam, Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, Casa Arabe, Reorient and the Centre Chorégraphique National de Caen et de Normandie, among others. In the wake of the Arab Spring, the Arab-European cultural dialogue seems more important than ever. This transnational initiative focused both on the dissemination of European artists with an Arab background and on the presence of non-European artists on European stages.14 As always with Moussem, artistic autonomy remained a priority. Director Sabri Saad El Hamus was given the freedom to finally do something with his love for Greek tragedies and Beckett. During the preparations of Oedipus in Egypt, he witnessed the fall of the Egyptian president Mubarak live on Tahrir Square in Cairo. It turned his performance into a powerful political statement.

The output of Moussem.eu was considerable. There were four international co-productions with premieres at the Dutch Oerol Festival and the French Festival d’Avignon. There was the realization of the exhibition I Exist (In Some Way) by the British company Bluecoat and the tour of the Arab-European Literary Salon from Stockholm to Cordoba. The stage production Waiting by Mokhalled Rasem also went on an extensive tour, including showings at the Toneelhuis and at BITEF in Belgrade.

In 2013, building further on the insights gained from moussem.eu, Moussem, its European partners and De Buren set up the multilingual conference L’Arabe de service / Do your Arab thing. All too often, Arab writers, visual artists, and actors still only gained access to the bastion of authoritative artistic productions if they played their Arab ‘trump card’, if they fit the picture of what a Westerner considers stereotypically Arabic. Conversely, artistic work was only considered worthy if it received a quality label from a white curator or institution. How can we create a more dynamic and open arts landscape in which an artist is not judged on his or her identity, but on his or her artistic merits? This question remains a motor force driving Moussem today.