Mini Masahat
2024-09-08 11:00 - 16:30 (Europe/Oslo) | Tøyen Torg, Hagegata 28, Oslo, 0653, Norway
نرحب بكم في مساحات للصغار يوم الأحد ٨ أيلول في توين تورغ! انضموا إلينا في ميني مساحات – يوم للصغار واليافعين والعائلات يحتفل بالثقافة واللغة العربية من خلال الموسيقى وورش العمل الفنية والرقص والمرح وفقرة الحكواتي والأفلام والطعام وغيرها الكثير من النشاطات! الدخول مجاني ومتاح للجميع! Velkommen til Mini Masahat på Tøyen Torg 8. september 2024! Bli med på Mini Masahat – en dag for alle barn, unge og familier der vi feirer arabisk kultur med dans, moro, musikk, lek, kunstverksteder, fortellingstund, film, mat og mye mer! Gratis inngang, og åpent for alle! Takk til Sparebankstiftelsen DNB som gjør dette mulig.
Program البرنامج
Tøyen Deichman Hovedscenen
11:00-16:30 Art & craft – تلوين وأعمال يدوية
11:45-12:30 Dabkeh verksted – ورشة دبكة
13:00-15:30 Tatreez & te – تطريز & شاي
15:30-16:00 Sultannens Son – عرض ابن السلطان
Tøyen Torg
13:45-16:30 Mosaic verksted – ورشة موزاييك
14:00-14:30 Flying Seagulls sirkus – سيرك النوارس الطائرة
Tøyen Deichman Amfi
12:30-13:00 Det er morsomt å lære arabisk! + fortellerstund – قراءة قصة «البطيخة» مع رانيا وفقرة نتعلم عربي ونمرح
Tøyen Biblo
13:00-14:30 Tårnet film Q&A med Mads Grorud (10-15 år) – فيلم البرج

Tatreez workshop

Mosaic workshop with Alice Davies

Flying Seagulls

Artbuild with Farah

Film

Sultanens Sønn

Om Mini Masahat
I år lanserer vi den første utgaven av Mini Masahat (8. september) som en oppvarming for Masahatfestivalen (18. – 22. september) med fokus på å være en arena for barn, unge og familier som ønsker å oppleve arabisk kunst og kultur.Siden temaet for Masahatfestivalen (18. – 22. sept) er “Protest”, har Mini Masahat som mål å fremme ungdomsaktivisme gjennom kunst. Dagen er bygget rundt en kunstparade som ledes av den syriske scenekunstneren Farah Azrak den 21. september. Kunstverkstedet som skjer 8. september vil sette fokus på å lage masker og materialer til kunstparaden.

For Palestine: Vernissasje + Boklansering
2024-09-18 17:00 - 18:00 | Kunsthall Oslo, Rostockgata 2-4, Oslo, 0191, Norway
Posters for Palestine
Posters for Palestine viderefører et italiensk initiativ der kunstnere, designere og illustratører lager plakater til støtte for Gaza. Plakatene lanseres med en salgsutstilling under Masahatfestivalen 18. september på Kunsthall Oslo. Alle inntekter går uavkortet til den palestinske kunst- og kulturorganisasjonen Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center. Prosjektet er en solidaritetsaksjon med det palestinske folket.
Deltagere: Adel Tawil, Vanessa Baird, Mari Kanstad Johnsen, Kim Hiorthøy, Christa Barlinn Korvald, Christopher Nielsen, Marie Payan, Espen Friberg, Martin Lundell og Anders Kvammen.

Boklansering
Boklansering av antologien «Tunga mi protesterer mot døden» med dikt skrevet av palestinske poeter bosatt i Palestina og diasporaen.

Masahat 2024 åpningskonsert: Nai Barghouti
2024-09-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Grønland kirke, Grønlandsleiret 34, Oslo, 0190, Norway
The renowned Palestinian artist Nai Barghouti will open Masahat festival 2024. Join us for an evening of grief, hope and joy at Grønland Kirke on the 18th of September.
Nai will perform a curated concert dedicated to Gaza.
Wednesday, 18 September at Grønland Kirke

18:00 doors open
19:00 concert starts

Unheard: An Evening of Grief and Hope
Nai states: “For those whose voices are unheard, whose faces are unseen, who are reduced to numbers, and whose very existence is erased from “the narrative”. They are not numbers. They have faces, names and voices. They had dreams that have now come to an end. They are loved and cherished by many who will forever miss them. For all of those, particularly for the children of Gaza, we dedicate this evening of grief, hope, and even joy. We grieve the beautiful souls of those we’ve lost, and we hope for justice, for freedom, for dignity, for real peace for those who are still surviving, still seeking safety, and still dreaming despite the overwhelming, unspeakable horror. My voice is but an echo of yours.”
Nai Barghouti is an award-winning Palestinian singer, composer and flutist. From her first concerts in Ramallah and Cairo at the age of 14 through her packed concerts at the London Jazz Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, the United Nations in New York and in renowned theaters in Paris, Washington, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London, Casablanca, Rabat, Kuwait and Beirut, the Jerusalem-born artist has been praised as a “classical diva”and an“exceptional virtuosa.”
Nai will perform with:

Tony Roe (Piano)
Khalil Khoury (Qanun)
Ruven Ruppik (Percussions)
Diego Alvaraz (Bass Guitar)

Åpningsfest med DJ Daeva
2024-09-18 21:30 - 23:00 | Nordic Black Theater, Hollendergata 8, Oslo, 0190, Norway
Etter åpningskonserten på Jakob kirke, skal vi sparke i gang årets festival med åpningsfest på Nordic Black Theatre.
Med den legendariske DJ Daeva inviterer vi publikum til et eventyr av lyd og bevegelse på tvers av alle syv kontinenter.
Nasim, også kjent som Daeva, er en Oslo-basert DJ og kunstner født og oppvokst i Teheran. Siden 2004 har Daeva vært en fremtredende figur på Oslos klubb- og festivalscene, med opptredener på steder som Cosmopolite, Nobel Peace Center, Blå, Oslo Pride, Nasjonalmuseet, Riksscenen, Munchmuseet. I tillegg har Daeva spilt på internasjonale klubbscener i land som som Sverige, Belgia og Frankrike.
Vi gleder oss, og det er gratis inngang!

Palestinian Hospitality
2024-09-19 - 2024-09-22
Norsk

English

Palestinian Hospitality er en kombinert aktivistisk intervention, delegert performance og audioguide som henter inspirasjon fra utstillinga Palestinske kunstnere arrangert av The Plastic Arts Section P.L.O og Kunstnernes Hus i 1981. Her ble 16 palestinske kunstnere stilt ut, blant andre Samia Halaby, Mona Saudi og Mustafa Al-Hallajt. I intervjuer trekker de palestinske kunstnere fram hvor viktig samholdet med norske kunstnere var i prosessen med utstillinga. Halaby ønsket etter endt opphold å donere arbeidene sine til den norske arbeiderklassen som takk, mens Saudi tok kontakt med FN for å forære en skulptur.*
Tittelen Palestinian Hospitality springer ut av et intervju med Halaby gjort i 2024 på vegne av Fiksdal og Siljeholm. Halaby, som bor og arbeider i USA, fikk nylig kansellert en soloutstilling ved Indiana University, en utstilling som skulle ha vært 87-åringens første retrospektiv i USA: “Clearly the intent is to suppress Palestinian voices at this very time.”** I kontekst av Masahat 2024 får publikum møte Samia Halaby i kunsten, politikkens og revolusjonens tjeneste.

*Kilde: Kunstnernes Hus arkiv på Nasjonalmuseet**Samia Halaby til Hyperallergic, 11.1.24
Palestinian Hospitality is a combined intervention, delegated performance and audio guide that draws inspiration from the exhibition Palestinian Artists organized by The Plastic Arts Section P.L.O and Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, in 1981. Here 16 Palestinian artists were exhibited, among others Samia Halaby, Mona Saudi and Mustafa Al -Hallaj. In interviews, they emphasize how important the collaboration with Norwegian artists was in the process of the exhibition. After her stay, Halaby wanted to donate her works to the Norwegian working class as a thank you, whilst Saudi contacted the UN to donate a sculpture.*
The title Palestinian Hospitality springs from an interview with Halaby conducted in 2024 on behalf of Fiksdal and Siljeholm. Halaby, who lives and works in the USA, recently had a solo exhibition canceled at Indiana University, an exhibition that would have been the 87-year-old’s first retrospective in the USA: “Clearly the intent is to suppress Palestinian voices at this very time.”** In the context of Masahat 2024, the public gets to meet Samia Halaby in the service of art, politics and revolution.
*Source: Kunstnernes Hus’ archive at the National Museum, Oslo.**Samia Halaby to Hyperallergic, 11.1.24
Palestinian Hospitality er en kombinert aktivistisk intervention, delegert performance og audioguide som henter inspirasjon fra utstillinga Palestinske kunstnere arrangert av The Plastic Arts Section P.L.O og Kunstnernes Hus i 1981. Her ble 16 palestinske kunstnere stilt ut, blant andre Samia Halaby, Mona Saudi og Mustafa Al-Hallajt. I intervjuer trekker de palestinske kunstnere fram hvor viktig samholdet med norske kunstnere var i prosessen med utstillinga. Halaby ønsket etter endt opphold å donere arbeidene sine til den norske arbeiderklassen som takk, mens Saudi tok kontakt med FN for å forære en skulptur.*
Tittelen Palestinian Hospitality springer ut av et intervju med Halaby gjort i 2024 på vegne av Fiksdal og Siljeholm. Halaby, som bor og arbeider i USA, fikk nylig kansellert en soloutstilling ved Indiana University, en utstilling som skulle ha vært 87-åringens første retrospektiv i USA: “Clearly the intent is to suppress Palestinian voices at this very time.”** I kontekst av Masahat 2024 får publikum møte Samia Halaby i kunsten, politikkens og revolusjonens tjeneste.

*Kilde: Kunstnernes Hus arkiv på Nasjonalmuseet**Samia Halaby til Hyperallergic, 11.1.24
Palestinian Hospitality is a combined intervention, delegated performance and audio guide that draws inspiration from the exhibition Palestinian Artists organized by The Plastic Arts Section P.L.O and Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, in 1981. Here 16 Palestinian artists were exhibited, among others Samia Halaby, Mona Saudi and Mustafa Al -Hallaj. In interviews, they emphasize how important the collaboration with Norwegian artists was in the process of the exhibition. After her stay, Halaby wanted to donate her works to the Norwegian working class as a thank you, whilst Saudi contacted the UN to donate a sculpture.*
The title Palestinian Hospitality springs from an interview with Halaby conducted in 2024 on behalf of Fiksdal and Siljeholm. Halaby, who lives and works in the USA, recently had a solo exhibition canceled at Indiana University, an exhibition that would have been the 87-year-old’s first retrospective in the USA: “Clearly the intent is to suppress Palestinian voices at this very time.”** In the context of Masahat 2024, the public gets to meet Samia Halaby in the service of art, politics and revolution.
*Source: Kunstnernes Hus’ archive at the National Museum, Oslo.**Samia Halaby to Hyperallergic, 11.1.24
Date and time:

19 Sept, 15:30 to 17:00 (full)
21 Sept 11:00 to 12:30 (full)
22 Sept 11:00 to 12:30 (full)
22 Sept 15:30 to 17:00 (full)

Venue: Secret location in the City Center (Location will be sent to participants upon registration for the event)
Sold out
Palestinian Hospitality er et bestillingsverk for Mashat festivalen 2024 og del av Fiksdal og Siljeholms arbeid mot en større performativ utstilling på Kunstnernes Hus høsten 2025.

Independent Media in Authoritarian Setting
2024-09-19 12:00 - 13:00 | PRIO, Hausmanns gate 3 , Oslo, 0186, Norway
Since the advent of the Arab Spring, mainstream media in Egypt and the Arab world has become an organ for state power to control public access to news, often spreading propaganda and misinformation but also functioning as a safety valve for public disgruntlement. Alternative media like Mada Masr and others have been at the forefront of challenging state propaganda and the increasing irrelevance of mainstream media as a trustworthy source of news. As a result, the state has cracked down on journalists through constant harassment and imprisonment of journalists to spread an atmosphere of fear around the work of a free press.
In this conversation with publisher of Mada Masr, Lina Atallah, and media expert and professor of Arabic Jacob Høigilt, we will learn more about the current conditions of the Egyptian press, the challenges that face journalists committed to the truth.

Investigating war crimes using digital evidence
2024-09-19 14:30 - 16:00 | Sentralen, Øvre Slottsgate 3, Oslo, 0157, Norway
This workshop will discuss the best practices for digital investigation and how they can be incorporated in investigating war crimes today. We will explore the topics such as verification o social media content, using satellite images and other investigative methods. Participants will be tasked with investigative cases they will attempt to solve.
The workshop will take place in English but Arabic and Norwegian will also be spoken.
Register | للتسجيل

Grief and Activism: How not to Burn Out
2024-09-19 14:30 - 16:00 | Sentralen, Øvre Slottsgate 3, Oslo, 0157, Norway
How do we support ourselves and each other in pain and loss, in ways that minimize our risk of drowning in it and taking it out on each other? I want to offer a 90-minute session for humble exploration of how we can live and work kindly and creatively with our grief, fear, anger and feelings of helplessness and guilt. The session is an experimental combination of workshop and ceremony structured around 5 of my songs, with suggestions for individual inquiries and mutual sharing in the spaces between them.
Let’s co-create a space with room to listen and reflect, feel and contain, flow and ground. Bring something to write with and on, your grieving, your wisdom and your questions and be welcome.

Harnessing SWANA Diaspora Power
2024-09-19 16:00 - 18:30 | Sentralen, Øvre Slottsgate 3, Oslo, 0157, Norway
In this pivotal discussion, we will dive deep into how our diaspora communities can strategically leverage their power, not only to advance the cause of Palestinian liberation but to lay the foundation for a stronger, freer region for all our peoples. Throughout history, diaspora communities have been at the forefront of transformative liberation movements. With the rise of a new generation of activists and voices, now is the time to hone our strategies, sharpen our tactics, and organize with purpose to build real, enduring power.
What is happening in Palestine puts us at the brink of igniting a wider movement that has the potential to reshape the future of the entire region. This isn’t just about solidarity; it’s about mobilizing our collective strength to dismantle the systems of oppression that hold us back and to chart a new course toward freedom and justice.
Join us for this essential conversation, where we will tap into the immense potential of the Arab and SWANA diaspora community in Norway. Together, we will share insights, engage in strategic thinking, and undergo training that will empower us to reclaim our power, break the chains of oppression, and build a brighter, liberated future for all our peoples.
What is happening in Palestine puts us at the brink of igniting a wider movement that has the potential to reshape the future of the entire region. This isn’t just about solidarity; it’s about mobilizing our collective strength to dismantle the systems of oppression that hold us back and to chart a new course toward freedom and justice.
Join us for this essential conversation, where we will tap into the immense potential of the Arab/MENA/SWANA diaspora community in Norway. Together, we will share insights, engage in strategic thinking, and undergo training that will empower us to reclaim our power, break the chains of oppression, and build a brighter, liberated future for all our peoples.

Artists and Liberation
2024-09-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Atelier Kunstnerforbundet Loft, Kjeld Stubs gate 3, Oslo, 0160, Norway
The genocide in Gaza has exposed the complicity of our cultural and academic institutions in zionism and related colonial ideologies of extermination, extraction and unlawful accumulation of wealth. Artists have contributed to a growing vanguard global movement in solidarity for Palestine and too many have paid the price for their principled stance against oppression. Nonetheless, artists and cultural producers continue to use their voices as well as their creative commitments to challenge cultural institutions and expose their complicity.
In this conversation with Farah Azrak and Hamed Sinno, moderated by Rana Issa, we will discuss the responsibility and necessity of art in a world descending towards authoritarianism, the difficulties of meaning making in times of genocide, and the problematics of yoking politics to art.

This event is in collaboration with Kunstnerforbundet.

Please note that Atelier Kunstnerforbundet Loft is on the 4th floor, and regrettably not accessible for people with limited mobility. A long-term rehabilitation of the building is in process. Please get in touch if you have questions about accessibility.

The BDS movement
2024-09-20 10:00 - 12:00 | Kunstnernes Hus, Wergelandsveien 17, Oslo, 0167, Norway
Strategies of resistance – the legacy and outlook of the BDS movement
How can we work together to push our institutions to take a solid stance against Israel’s occupation? Masahat invites to a talk and panel discussion of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) as a tool of resistance in arts and academia.
The BDS movement has lately gained momentum worldwide but has also faced harsh backlash. Cultural and academic institutions serve as a backbone of Israel’s strategy of normalizing occupation. By partnering with and maintaining relationships with these institutions, Western organizations and donors become complicit in the continuous injustices committed against the Palestinian people by the Israeli state.
PROGRAM

10:00-10:15 Serving of light breakfast
10:15-10:45 Talk by Layal Ftouni
10:45-11:30 Panel discussion and Q&A
11:30-12:00 Informal discussion and mingling

In her talk, Dr. Layal Ftouni (Assistant Professor of Gender Studies and Critical Theory, Utrecht University) will discuss the question of Palestine as the limit case of academic freedom and the struggle for justice that academic institutions claim to defend . Drawing on her extensive experience in BDS activism in the Netherlands and other academic contexts, Ftouni will address the significance of boycott and divestment as strategies of resistance, and in the context of debates on academic freedom, decolonization, and neoliberalism. Moreover, she will reflect on the legacies of the BDS movement drawing parallels to the South African boycott movement.
Following the talk, a panel of invited academics and cultural workers who have been actively involved in pushing their institutions to take a stance against Israel to reflect on their experiences and the way forward:
–Ayman Alazraq (filmmaker, photographer, and mixed-media artist)
–Jassem el Hindi (Artist and choreographer)
–Hege Hermansen (Professor of Education, Oslo Metropolitan University) Moderators:
–Nora Milch (PhD researcher, University of Oslo)
–Sarah Kazmi (Interdisciplinary artist and a writer)

From Nakba to Liberation
2024-09-20 17:00 - 18:30 | Melahuset, Mariboes gate 8, Oslo, 0183, Norway
As the world watches in horror at the unfolding genocide in Gaza—where over 40,000 lives have been brutally taken—the Palestinian people, along with millions of allies who champion freedom, justice, and dignity, are at a pivotal crossroads. The urgency to shift from despair to a focused, strategic movement for liberation has never been greater.
But how do we turn this urgency into reality? Can liberation be more than a distant dream? What shape could it take, and what tangible steps can we, as a global community, take to achieve it?
Join us for a keynote that delves deep into these questions, drawing from extensive studies of successful liberation movements throughout history. Through a powerful blend of historical insights and a keen analysis of the current ground realities in Palestine, this session will illuminate the path forward for the global movement striving to end the genocide and achieve true liberation.
Be part of this crucial conversation—one that has the potential to shape the future of a people and a movement.

Vigil for Palestine
2024-09-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Eidsvoll Plass, Eidsvoll Plass, Oslo, Norway
We are approaching one year of a perpetrated genocide in Gaza with no immediate ceasefire in sight and with mounting threats that a regional war would break out. We are angry and resentful of our impotent politicians and institutions who have so far not stopped the sale of arms to the Zionist entity or took any concrete measure to divest from the Israeli settler regime, which we view as complicity with genocide and with any escalations into a regional war taking place. We invite activists and Palestine supporters to join us in a nightly vigil to grieve our Palestinian martyrs, the incarceration and torture of Palestinian children, women and men, and the massive destruction and erasure of Palestinian lives, ecologies and culture. This protest vigil is for us to share our anger and grief in front of the Parliament. This vigil will showcase solidarity with Palestine through artistic commissioned works by Norwegian, Arab and Palestinian cultural practitioners.
Program

Opening address: Kari Veiteberg, Bishop of Oslo
Political address: Line Khateeb, Leder av Palestina Komitee
Moment of Silence
Screening on Stortingets wall of Videos for Palestine by Video Tract for Palestine
Collective, Mira Adoumie, Islam Shabana
Poetry Readings by Bendik Vada, Ninthu Paramalingam, Mahmud Beshtawy
Carnivalesque Performance “Songs of Anemone” by Farah Azrak.

This vigil is a collaboration between Palkom, Aksjonsgruppa for Palestina and Masahat. The artistic program is made possible through a generous grant from KORO.

Masahat Community Dinner: Bread, Dignity, and Social Justice
2024-09-20 20:30 - 22:00 | BLÅ, Brenneriveien 9c, Oslo, 0182, Norway
Bli med på Masahat community dinner der vi feirer fellesskapet med fire-retters middag, poesi, musikk og historiefortelling på Himmelsalen på BLÅ.
Matsikkerhet er ofte en av hovedårsakene til at folk tar til gatene i protest over hele verden. Historisk sett har mat ofte blitt brukt av kolonimakter som et verktøy for undertrykkelse ved å tvinge samfunn i kne gjennom sult og kalorikontroll. På den andre siden har aktivister over hele verden brukt mat til å reparere samfunnsbånd gjennom å organisere gatekjøkken og matdistribusjon til massene i revolusjonære perioder. I denne samfunnsbyggende handlingen, som setter fokus på matens rolle i massemobilisering, vil deltakerne få smake og lære om historien til visse retter og de kreative måtene mat har blitt brukt som en form for protest på.
Våre talentfulle og politisk motiverte kokker (Chef: Thuraya al-Kury, Sous Chef: Andreas Leibe Delsett) vil tilberede en fire-retters middagsmeny som feirer fellesskapets matlagings- og spisemåter ved å gjenskape retter som har blitt ikoniske og viktige for samfunn i opprør.
Middagen vil også inneholde et kulturprogram med musikk, poesi og fortellinger:

Det blir diktopplesning og boksignering av Tunga mi protesterer mot døden: Palestinsk dikt av Bendik Vada.
Vi får også musikkopptreden med U- 3 som skal spille sørafrikanske sjangerbrytende rytmer med dyp forpliktelse til samfunnsreparasjon.
MC og historieforteller Mona Abdel-Fadil

Det blir servert 4 retter av kokk Thuraya al-Kury og sous-kokk Andreas Leibe Delsett

Klubbkveld med Safira + DJ Refel & VATHAN / BLÅ
2024-09-20 22:30 - 23:59 | BLÅ, Brenneriveien 9c, Oslo, 0182, Norway
Masahatfestivalen 2024 inviterer til klubbkveld på BLÅ! 20. september har vi tre dyktige DJ-er som skal sørge for god stemning og liv på dansegulvet med musikk fra forskjellige hjørner i verden.
Headliner for kvelden er Safira, som har vært en drivkraft på den norske DJ-scenen og har gjort seg bemerket ved å samle folk gjennom musikk. Hennes musikalske stil varierer fra dype, mørke og atmosfæriske toner til leken og psykedelisk techno. Safiras visjon om samhold fortsetter med utviklingen av hennes egne kulturelle bevegelse og eventkonseptet Extra Delicious. Dette konseptet har de siste fem årene vært med på å skape en plattform hvor artister i Norge kan opptre, nettverke og utvikle talentene sine sammen. DJ Safira har dratt på flere turneer på forskjellige kontinenter, og tar alltid med seg driv og inspirasjon når hun kommer tilbake.

Under kvelden får vi også høre fra de talentfulle DJ-ene Refel og VATHAN.
DJ Refel er en lokal Oslo-DJ med røtter fra Irak. DJ Refel har siden 2019 spilt på de største klubbene i Oslo, der hun har hatt en rykende lidenskap for å spille eksperimentelle lyder og musikkstiler fra sør for ekvator, eller fra diasporaen som kommer fra det territoriet.
VATHAN er født og oppvokst i Oslo, og tar inspirasjon fra sine tamilske røtter sammen med en lidenskap for elektronisk musikk. Resultatet av det blir en unik blanding av sørasiatiske elementer, house og techno. Settene hans går fra lekne og lette begynnelser til mørke og svette finaler, som holder publikum energiske og rytmen groovy. Bli med på en uforglemmelig kveld, og kjøp billettene dine NÅ!

Solidarity and its undersides
2024-09-21 12:00 - 13:30 | Interkulturelt Museum, Tøyenbekken 5,, Oslo, 0188, Norway
Listening in to a history on the sidelines, tracing overlaps between personal history and public history, witnessing a genocide and morphing through the witnessing, daydreaming of the moment the war will be over, remaking a home by the sea in Gaza, imagining a politics that defaces the universal but that is not stuck in the particular. The aforementioned is a laundry list that tries to unpack solidarity; turning it from a moral act of sympathy and alignment to a mode of engagement where one’s own life from here on is in question. It is an engagement through the troublesome substance of time.
This event is in collaboration with Centre for Islamic and Middle East Studies.

Carnival of Grief: Songs of Anemone
2024-09-21 15:00 - 16:00 | Grønlands Torg, Grønlands Torg, Oslo, 0188, Norway
Songs of Anemone – cries of the land and its people, is a series of events occupying grief practice as a radical form of protest and an act of defiance of all oppressive colonial systems prevalent in our world. Standing on the foundation of grief as the very fabric that holds us together, we will dive into the subject through a two weeks residency to draw on a collective map of grief through voice and body, later, manifesting symbols and words into masks and puppet-making, subsequently offering various public iterations of ritual and performance, as acts to restore our humanity and capacity to acknowledge the mass collective loss that we are enduring.
We hope to amplify the echoes of our brutal times, to defy the silencing establishment, and reclaim our right to publicly mourn the vast expanse of our losses, and express our outrage against all injustices. From the on-going carnage of exterminating people and their culture, to the devastatingly disappointing paralysis of international human rights law, and the daily extinction of species on our earth, we come together to honor the death of every innocent life and living form, and stand in solidarity with all those who are are facing unimaginable systematic savagery and horror. It is our collective responsibility to weave our bodies together in communal practice, and begin to dismantle exercised systems of violence and what it means for genocide and ecocide to be our present reality, and how might we respond to such sustained atrocities.

Poems of Consumption / Hamed Sinno med live strykekvartett
2024-09-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Riksscenen, Trondheimsveien 2T, Oslo, Norway
Det er med stor glede at Masahatfestivalen 2024 og Ultima presenterer den ikoniske libanesisk-amerikanske Hamed Sinno med deres solodebut Poems of Consumption på Riksscenen den 21. september.
Hamed Sinno er tidligere vokalist i det legendariske indie-rock bandet, Mashrou’ Leila.
Det kritikerroste «Poems of Consumption» er en litterær sangsyklus og en multimediaforestilling som utforsker temaer som overforbruk, psykisk sykdom, kjærlighetssorg og klimaendringer. Stykket ble fremført på Londons Barbican Centre i juli 2023. Delvis inspirert av Mark Fishers “Capitalist Realism”, bruker Sinno poesi skrevet som produktanmeldelser på nettbutikken Amazon for å uttrykke følelser rundt den øyeblikkelige tilfredsstillelsen som følger med netthandel og overforbruk.
Hamed vil opptre sammen med en norsk strykekvartett:

Magnus Boye Hansen (fiolinist)
Jon Mehus (fiolinist)
Bendik Bjørnstad Foss (bratsjist)
Inga Byrkjeland (cellist)

Hamed Sinno er komponist, forfatter og kunstner. Deres research bruker fremføring for å utforske stemmen og digital vokalitet som sted for politisk forhandling. Sinno skriver og foreleser om populærkultur som engasjert praksis. De var tekstforfatter og vokalist for Mashrou’ Leila fra 2008-2022. Deres debut i fulllengde opera, Westerly Breath, var under utvikling ved The Industry Los Angeles, og åpnet på New York Met Museum januar 2024. Deres solodebut, Poems of Consumption, åpnet på Londons Barbican Centre i juli 2023.

Magnus Boye Hansen (fiolinist)
Den norske fiolinisten og bratsjisten Magnus Boye Hansen har sin bakgrunn fra Barratt Due musikkinstitutt i Oslo, Universität der Kunste i Berlin og Musikkhøgskolen i Oslo der han har studert med Morten Carlsen, Geir Inge Lotsberg, Axel Gerhardt og Lars Anders Tomter. Han bor i Oslo og er 2016 fiolinist i Kringkastingsorkesteret og Det Norske Kammerorkester, og fra 2018 medlem av Oslo strykekvartett. I sistnevnte ensemble spiller han på en Matteo Gofriller bratsj fra 1710, vennlig lånt fra Dextra Musica-stiftelsen. Han er også medlem i LightsOut ensemble, et ensemble som utelukkende spiller konserter i absolutt mørke for utøvere og publikum og medgrunnlegger av Boyes Musikkkompani, et produksjonsselskap for og med klassisk musikk med prosjekter som spenner fra flere konserter og kammeropera-produksjoner til podcasting. Hans nyeste album er 3 fiolinsonater av Christian Sinding sammen med Mathias Halvorsen.
Jon Mehus (fiolinist)
Jon Mehus er en frilansfiolinist med base i Oslo. Han har bred erfaring fra ulike orkestre og ensembler, både nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Jon har solid bakgrunn innen klassisk musikk, med utdannelse fra Barratt-Due Musikkinstitutt.
Bendik Bjørnstad Foss (bratsjist)
har i vel 20 år hatt en utstrakt frilansvirksomhet i ulike ensembler, orkestre og festivaler i inn-og utland. Han har samarbeidet med flere ledende komponister og utøvere i Norge og utlandet, både som solist, kammermusiker og som medlem av ensembler som Cikada og Oslo Sinfonietta. Som pedagog har han bl.a. vært tilknyttet stiftelsen Dextra Musica, Apprendiz(Brasil) og Transpositions (Vietnam). Han er en etterspurt kammermusikkpartner, og medvirker på et stort antall plateinnspillinger over et bredt spekter av genrer.
Inga Byrkjeland (cellist)
Inga Byrkjeland (f. 1982) er en norsk cellist fra Førde, bosatt i Oslo.Hun har studert ved Norges Musikkhøgskole hos bl.a. Truls Mørk og Aage Kvalbein. Hun er frilanser og har spilt i de fleste norske orkestre, i noen av dem også som gruppeleder. For tiden spiller hun mest i Oslofilharmonien. Hun har som orkestermusiker fått spille på mange scener og festivaler i inn- og utland, som Royal Albert Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Musikverein, Philharmonie de Paris og Elbphilharmonie for å nevne noen.Inga er en aktiv kammermusiker, og er med i flere ensembler: ensemble neoN, ensemble Temporum og nå også en ny cellotrio – Djup trio. Hun spiller jevnlig i Cikada ensemble og i Oslo Sinfonietta. Hun har gjennom sitt virke i ny musikk-feltet samarbeidet med mange komponister og også bestilt og fått skrevet stykker til seg og/eller sine ensembler.Hun har bred erfaring fra flere musikksjangre, også barokk og pop/jazz.Sammen med Ensemble neoN har Inga to ganger vunnet Spellemannsprisen, i 2013 (Åpen klasse) og i 2016 (Samtid). Hun vant også NMH’s kammermusikk-konkurranse i 2008. Inga spiller på en Justin Derazey, bygget i Paris i 1862.

Djadba Ensemble
2024-09-21 21:30 - 22:30 | Riksscenen, Trondheimsveien 2T, Oslo, Norway
Masahatfestivalen og Riksscenen presenterer Djadba Ensemble, frontet av Khalid Laaouam.

Djadba ensemble koker opp sin egne energiske fusion av Gnawa- og Isawamusikk, shaabi, ørkenblues og tilhørende uttrykk. Det Oslobaserte bandet er et nytt tilskudd til pulsen av suggerende beats fra den afrikanske og arabiske diaspora som trekker stadig flere lyttere til festivalscener og klubber – av åpenbare årsaker!

Bandet frontes av Khalid Laaouam på vokal og gembri. Født i Marokko startet han sin musikalske karriere med sufi-folkemusikk før han etablerte seg i Spania og Norge. Laaouam trakterer også saksofon, ghaitafløyte og diverse perkusjonsinstrumenter, og har blitt en ettertraktet musiker med prosjekter som Zawya og Baba Jalil.

Othman Hmimar (vokal, perkusjon) er kjent fra et av Marokkos største band Hoba Hoba Spirit som har stått på scener som Roskilde og Webster Hall i New York med sin egen trespråklige miks av indierock, gnawa, punk og sufimusikk. Den allsidige Raciel Torres (trommer) fra Cuba er en prisbelønt trommeslager og komponist som har spilt med jazzmusikere i verdensklasse, gitarist Jørgen Kasbo kjenner vi i senere tid fra Fieh, og Erlend A. Tredal(gitar/bass) spiller med bl.a. med Ruben og Sebastian Zalo og er låtskriver/produsent for prosjektene ¡BangBang Watergun! og Soundfocker.

Ultima x Masahat: Club night
2024-09-21 23:00 - 2024-09-22 01:00 | BLÅ, Brenneriveien 9c, Oslo, 0182, Norway
Ultima, Blå and Masahat invite you to a club night with DJ Plead and Deena Abdelwahed.
DJ Plead, a Melbourne/Naarm producer based in Berlin, takes the stage next, drawing on his Lebanese background, to create percussive club music that blends the rhythms, scales and timbres of Lebanese pop and traditional music with other contemporary dance styles. Plead’s contribution responds to Deathprod and sets the stage for the final act.
With her upbeat approach, Tunisian DJ/producer Deena Abdelwahed reclaims the diverse elements of Arabic music, drawing inspiration from electronic dance music influenced by club and avant-garde experimental scenes. Her dynamic performance, concluding in a b2b with long-time friend and collaborator Plead, urges the audience to the dancefloor. Her set is guaranteed to leave your ears tingling with curiosity about parallel musical worlds and the possibilities of connecting them.

Prayer Circle for Courage and Perseverance
2024-09-22 12:00 - 14:00 | Anarres Bokkafé, Urtegata 39, Oslo, 0187, Norway
Through poetry, ritual mantras and rosary work, Lina Atallah and Priya Bains will lead us through prayer work for our martyrs and prisoners, for our people in Palestine and for wretched peoples elsewhere, for our activists and our witnesses to continue to have the courage to persevere in fighting for a world less brutal. The prayer we invite you is not to God’s unknown but to each other, for it is through our commitment to the collective and to each other that we bring about change.

Masahat screens
2024-09-22 14:30 - 18:00 | Vega Scene, Hausmanns gate 30, Oslo, 0182, Norway
Masahat Screens 2024 will present films from the Arab world that explore themes of protest, life under occupation and the struggles of life in exile curated by Mira Adoumier, and a second part with films from Sudan curated by Khalid Albaih.
The program consists of three parts:

kl. 14:45 Mahdi Fleifel short films – Life in Exile | Tickets
kl. 16:45 Five Broken Cameras | Tickets
kl. 18:45 Masahat: Films from Sudan | Tickets

PART I
14:45 PART I (total 1hr 29 mins): is a selection of four short films by the award-winning Danish-Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel

20 Handshakes For Peace (2015, 5 min)
A Man Returned (2017, 30 min)
3 Logical Exists (2020, 14 min)
I Signed the Petition (2018, 10 min).

The short films will be followed by Some Strings, a selection of videos by filmmakers and artists from around the world, each contributing with a cinematic gesture in honor of the late poet and teacher Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I must Die”.
PART II

16:45 PART II (total 1 hr 30 mins)

The Palestinian farmer Emad buys his first camera in 2005, when his fourth son is born. The family lives in the village of Bil’in, where over the years Israeli settlements occupy larger and larger parts of the land. The camera captures the son’s upbringing, surrounded by bulldozers, soldiers and ever-higher walls.
5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal film about citizens questioning non-violent ideals in the struggle against an oppressive regime. Through Emad’s camera lens, we follow the family and the village’s demonstrations over five dramatic years.
This screening is presented by Masahat in collaboration with Oslo Dokumentarkino.
PART III

Curated by Khalid Albaih, the second part of the program presents a powerful collection of films that speak to resilience, defiance, and the enduring human spirit.
The program will feature a selection of four short documentaries: Journey to Kenya by Ibrahim Snoopy (2020, 29 min), Brick of Life by Razan Mohamed (2022, 12 min), Nas Shagala by Klozium Studios (2013, 16 min) and The Art of Sin by Ibrahim Mursal (2017, 45 min). These documentaries offer intimate, poignant glimpses into the lived experiences of Sudanese individuals, exploring themes of displacement, exile, and personal and collective struggles under oppressive regimes that led to the devastating two-year war in Sudan. The screenings will be followed by a Q&A between the filmmaker and curator Khalid Albaih and Ibrahim Mursal.

Den gamle nye Levanten: Film + samtale
2025-03-14 17:00 - 19:00 | Vega Scene, Hausmanns gate 30, Oslo, 0182, Norway
As part of HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival, this event presents a program of short films curated by Masahat, followed by a panel discussion with Nadim Khoury, Rana Issa, and Zeina Bali.
In recent months, the Levant has witnessed dramatic upheavals: an ongoing genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, Israel’s war on Lebanon and the assassination of the Hezbollah leadership, and the fall of Assad’s 54-year rule in Syria. At the same time, we keep hearing about Netanyahu and Trump’s plans to redraw the map of the Middle East.
But how has this map evolved over the past half century?
Through film screenings and conversation, we take a historical look at the spirals of violence, wars, and militarization that have shaped Levantine society for more than 50 years. With a post-nationalist perspective, we want to shed light on the regional lines that have characterized the small nations of the Levant.

Read more & buy tickets

Short film program

Swords Take Me
In one of his poems, poet Mohsen al Ha’eri, speaking in the voice of Imam Hussein (the son of Imam Ali and, after his father, the second of the twelve Shi’a Imams) prior to his martyrdom in the battle of Karbala, says: “If the religion of Mohamed shall not prevail but through my killing/ Then O swords take me”. This video attempts to look at the mythological and metaphysical aspects of Lebanon’s July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
2012, 30 minutes, arabic speech with english subtitles.
Director: Marwan Hamdan.

Step by Step
Step by Step is a reflection of the foundations of Syrian society under Assad rule. Ten years before filmmaker Ossama Mohammed received international recognition with Stars in Broad Daylight (1988) and 36 years before his award winning film Silvered Water – Syria Self Portrait 2014), he captured the dire state of Syria in this short documentary.Through the film’s experimental style, a harsh reality emerges closer to the surface. The apparently harmonious countryside turns out to be choking and violent. The effects of this are clearly demonstrated as a soldier talks about his childhood, in between the impressions of village life. Freedom and innocence have made way for a disturbing, fanatical loyalty to the state. Is this a reflection of the foundations of Syrian society under Assad’s rule?
1979, 24 minutes, arabic speech with english subtitles.
Director: Ossama Mohammad.

Detail 4
Inauguration of the Meir Kahana bible school in Tapu’ah, one of the most extreme Jewish settelements in the occupied territories.
2004, 5 minutes, hebrew speech with english subtitles.
Director: Avi Mograbi.

Interview with Ghassan Kanafani
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine spokesman Ghassan Kanafani interviewed by Richard Carleton, Beirut 1970.
1970, 7 minutes,
Director: Unknown.
About the directors
Marwan Hamdan is a Lebanese filmmaker and artist whose works explore Beirut’s political and social modern history, with a particular focus on religion, mythology, belief and systems of power. Filmography: “News from Rmeileh (2018), “Offside” (2015), “On Earth As It Is In Heaven” (2014), “Separation Anxiety” (2013), “O Swords Take Me” (2012).
Ossama Mohammad is a Syrian filmmaker, screenwriter and lecturer. His fiction and documentary films “Silvered Water” (2014), “Sunduq al Dunya” (2002) and “Nujoom Al Nahar” (1988) have all been selected for the Cannes Film Festival. His films have been banned in Syria, but have received critical acclaim and several awards internationally. In 2015, he received the Prince Claus Award. Ossama currently lives in exile in Paris.
Avi Mograbi is an Israeli filmmaker and video artist, born in 1956 in Tel Aviv, where he lives and works to this day. Mograbi is one of Israel’s most acclaimed filmmakers, and is best known for his unwavering commitment to social, cultural and political justice in the Middle East, as well as his experimental and innovative cinematic language. Mograbi’s documentaries have been programmed by festivals around the world, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Rome, New York, FID Marseille, Vision du Reel and San Francisco, among others.
The final filmmaker is unknown, but here is a little about the journalist who interviews in “Ghassan Kanafani”: Richard George Carleton (July 11, 1943 – May 7, 2006) was an Australian television journalist, who eventually produced films abroad, such as in Indonesia (he was the only journalist allowed to visit the newly “integrated” East Timor) and in the Middle East.

Masahat Festival 2025 Opening party at BABA BAR
2025-09-17 09:30 - 23:30 | Baba bar, Storgata 13, Oslo, 0155, Norway
Opening Night: Concert & Gathering

📍 Concert: Cosmopolite | Afterparty: Baba Bar📅 17 September 2025🕖 Concert: 19:00 | Opening Night Gathering: 21:30🌿 Free and open for all

Masahat Festival 2025 begins with a powerful opening concert by Emel at Cosmopolite on 17 September at 19:00.
After the concert, we invite you to continue the celebration at Baba Bar from 21:30. The opening night gathering is informal — no stage, no program — just a space to meet, mingle, and share the excitement of the week ahead.
This evening marks the start of a festival dedicated to art, thought, and exchange. Join us as we step into a week filled with concerts, performances, talks, and community.
Welcome!

Masahat 2025 åpningskonsert: Emel
2025-09-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Cosmopolite, Vogts gate 64, Oslo, Oslo, 0477, Norway
I anledning sitt 10-årsjubileum er Masahat stolte av å samarbeide med Cosmopolite for å presentere to ekstraordinære kvinnelige stemmer fra Nord-Afrika.
Festivalen åpner med Emel, en av Tunisias mest ikoniske artister, etterfulgt av en fredagskonsert med den sjelfulle marokkanske sangeren Oum.

18:00 Dørene åpner
19:00 Konsertstart

Siden gjennombruddet i 2011 med låten “Kelmti Horra” (“Mitt ord er fritt”) – en hymne for den arabiske våren – har Emel Mathlouthi vært en fryktløs stemme for frihet og kunstnerisk nytenkning.

Hennes fjerde album, “MRA” (som betyr kvinne på arabisk), er et dristig manifest for kvinnelig frigjøring. Derfor er alle som har bidratt til albumet – produsenter, musikere og gjesteartister – kvinner. Resultatet er en sjangeroverskridende miks der afrikansk trap, batucada, arabisk reggaeton, hiphop og drum’n’bass smelter sammen med sterke melodier og styrkende budskap.

Emel har etablert seg som en avantgarde kunstner på den internasjonale scenen, kjent for sin gripende stemme og sjangerbrytende musikk.

Et av hennes mest minneverdige øyeblikk var da hun opptrådte på Nobels fredspriskonsert i 2015. Hun har samarbeidet med Valgeir Sigurdsson (Björk, Sigur Rós), Tricky, Barbara Pravi, Bachar Mar-Khalifé, Vitalic, og senest Acid Arab på låten “Lose My Mind”.

Kjøp en kombinasjonsbillett til både Emels konsert (onsdag 17. sept) og Oums konsert (fredag 19. sept) til rabattert pris

Ordinær pris – enkelbillett: 350/300,-
Ordinær pris – kombobillett: 600/550,-

“Med sitt helkvinnelige album […] endrer Emel spillet.” — VOGUE

“Med sitt sensuelle uttrykk, flerspråklige tekster, pulserende elektronika og stilfulle kostymer, fremstår Emel som en arabisk slektning av Björk.” — The Times (WOMAD festival)

“Emels sjelfulle musikk traff akkurat det uttrykket jeg ønsket å formidle.” — Shirin Neshat via The New York Times

“WOMAD-anmeldelse: Den Björk-lignende glamouren til den tunisiske-amerikanske Emel […] . En av helgens mest kraftfulle øyeblikk da hennes utrolige multi-oktav-stemme fylte rommet.” — The Guardian

Marthe Valle opens Masahat Festival 2025
2025-09-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Cosmopolite, Vogts gate 64, Oslo, Oslo, 0477, Norway
We at Masahat are proud to present Marthe Valle as the opening artist of the festival at Cosmopolite on 17 September, ahead of the evening’s main concert with Emel.
Marthe is a singer and songwriter with an impressive career. Since her debut in 2004, she has released seven albums, won the Spellemann Award, and toured extensively across Norway. She is widely recognized for her powerful stage presence and music that resonates deeply with both heart and mind.
Beyond her work as a musician, Marthe is also a trained nurse with a strong social commitment. She works in psychiatry and addiction care in Bergen and has served as a health worker during the refugee crisis in Greece and in Palestine. She has also collaborated with organizations such as Norwegian People’s Aid and Kirkens Bymisjon. Her artistic practice and everyday work are driven by a passion for community and improving the lives of others.
Like Masahat, Marthe places humanity and justice at the center. With her unique blend of musicality, experience, and engagement, she will open the festival with words and music that unite, uplift, and inspire.
📅 17 September 2025📍 Cosmopolite, Oslo

Collaborating with Gazan Artists today
2025-09-18 10:00 - 12:00 | Kunstnernes Hus, Wergelandsveien 17, Oslo, 0167, Norway
Kunstnernes Hus — September 18, 10:00–12:00

The genocide in Gaza has devastated every aspect of Palestinian life. No one in Gaza is safe, and no one who has witnessed this crime will ever forget it. In the gap between those who witness and those who endure the violence directly, urgent questions arise: How do we speak about Gaza? How do we act in solidarity with its people?

In Norway, Palestinian artists have been especially attentive to these questions—reflecting on how our artistic and cultural expressions often fall short of conveying the Gazan experience of genocide. The panel we have invited consists entirely of artists who have redirected their practice and resources to stand with colleagues and friends in Gaza. Their goal is clear: to ensure that Gazan artists break through the siege and mass killing, and speak in their own voices despite ongoing attempts to silence them.

This conversation asks: What does it mean to collaborate with artists in Gaza today? What does it mean to make art during a genocide? And how does the extermination of Palestinians compel us to rethink our artistic tools, languages, and practices?

Panelists

Motaz Al Habbash
A Palestinian artist, producer, and curator residing in Norway. He primarily works with video and runs the mentoring program Here and There and the art and culture platform It is hard to be Arab. His current film project The Donkey of October 7th—in collaboration with Mustafa Nabieh—focuses on the situation of donkeys in Gaza. His work includes the installation Stolen Well (Qattan Foundation, Ramallah, 2024) and the seven-hour live program with Gazan artists Gaza (a)live (2016).

Carmel Alabbasi
A Palestinian visual artist whose practice spans video, sound, writing, sculpture, and installation. With a background in journalism and social anthropology, and an MFA from KHIO (Oslo), Carmel’s work explores absence and disappearance, confronting colonial and patriarchal erasures of people, spaces, and identities.

Dahaleez Collective
A research art collective founded in Gaza in 2021 by artists and researchers Khaled Jarada, Rahaf Batniji, Salman Nawati, Majdal Nateel, Carmel Al-Abbasi, Mahmoud Abu Wardeh, and Mahmoud Al-Shaer. Originating with the project Geography of Divine Magic at Beit Al-Ghussein Cultural and Heritage House, the collective examines Palestinians’ temporal and spatial realities under siege. Dahaleez develops collaborative and analytical tools to envision liberation and reconstruction of Palestine.

Ayman Azraq
A filmmaker, photographer, and mixed-media artist. His short film The Passport has screened at the National Museum of Cinema (Turin), Cologne International VideoArt Festival, and elsewhere. His work includes Oslo Syndrome (Autumn Exhibition, Oslo; Dubai International Film Festival; London Palestinian Film Festival), the collaborative installation WALL-1, and the documentary Into My Lungs (Kunstnernes Hus, 2022). His mixed-media installation The Lost Tapes of a People’s Tribunal 1982 was exhibited at Fotogalleriet (2023/24). In 2023, he launched the Artist to Artist Project, a digital residency supporting Gazan artists, culminating in the exhibition For You at Tenthaus and Podium. He has also exhibited at Nitja Center for Contemporary Art and Rogaland Kunstsenter.

Drew Snyder (Moderator)
An art historian and curator based in Oslo. He is Senior Curator at Public Art Norway – KORO, where his work includes major public art projects at the Government Quarter and Museum of the Viking Age. He is also engaged in discursive initiatives such as investigations of public art in the context of Truth and Reconciliation in Norway and Sápmi, and the Oslo-based Artist to Artist residency program facilitating dialogue with Gazan artists. Snyder holds a PhD in art history, theory, and criticism from the University of California, San Diego.
Photo credit: Svein Erik Tøien

Radical Pedagogy: Lessons from Palestine
2025-09-18 18:00 - 19:30 | Litteraturhuset, Wergelandsveien 29, Oslo, Oslo, 0167, Norway
We are proud to welcome Munir Fasheh as one of this year’s keynote guests.
Munir is a mathematician who chose to leave academia to explore new ways of understanding and practicing learning. Together with others, he founded an organization that rethinks education as a tool for liberation.
He summarizes his life with two words: occupation and return. Munir was among the first group of refugees in the modern Middle East, when in 1948—as a Palestinian—he and his family lost both their house and their land. Even the mathematics in his home was “occupied,” replaced by the logic of schools and universities, influenced by Western philosophers such as Bertrand Russell.
For Munir, knowledge became a form of “return”—not yet to land and home, but to himself. In the Arabic language, he discovered liberating perspectives, such as muthanna, the dual form that breaks down the binary between “I” and “You.” Another key concept for him is mujaawarah—“to be a neighbor”—a way of learning through stories, relationships, and community rather than through abstract theories.
In his keynote at Masahat Festival 2025, Munir will share his experiences as a teacher and thinker. He will inspire us to dismantle structures of knowledge that confine us and show how stories, words, and new ways of relating can open up paths toward liberation.
📅 18 September 2025 · 18:00📍 Litteraturhuset, Oslo💫 Free entrance – open to all

Community Dinner with Thurayya Alkury and Henrik Henriksen
2025-09-18 19:30 - 23:00 | Kunstnernes Hus, Wergelandsveien 17, Oslo, 0167, Norway
📍 Venue: Kunstnernes Hus📅 Date & Time: Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 19:30🎟️ Ticket price includes:

A five-course dinner

Live performance by Ghenwa Noiré — cross-disciplinary performer, illustrator, and workshop facilitator. In music, Ghenwa explores improvisation with their electro-bouzouqi setup and vocals.

A cultural program

🍷 Drinks complementing the menu will be available for purchase at the bar.⚠️ Some dishes contain milk and gluten; alternatives can be provided as a double portion.

Masahat’s beloved community dinner will be hosted this year at Kunstnernes Hus, featuring a five-course menu crafted by Palestinian chef and artist Thurayya Alkury (Hummus Sapiens, Ostara) in collaboration with chef and food writer Henrik Henriksen (MUNCH Museum Restaurants, Ben Reddik).
Gjestebud for gjestfriheten (Feast for Hospitality) brings together culinary traditions from the Arab world and Norway, inviting us to reflect on what hospitality means today—what it is to host, and to be hosted—in a world where borders, histories, and identities remain deeply entangled.
The dishes and the stories you will encounter are made to inspire hope, resilience, and belief in our shared capacity to carry one another through difficult times. The menu draws inspiration from the writings of Munir Fasheh, Masahat’s keynote guest, particularly his reflections on turab (soil) as a metaphor for connection and belonging.
Some dishes will be served on ceramic platters designed by Halvor Skiftun Digernes and food writer Andreas Liebe Delsett, originally created for a commemorative meal honoring a persecuted Afghan writer in Bodø. The evening will also feature a performance by Ghenwa Noiré.
As Masahat celebrates its 10-year anniversary, this edition of Gjestebud for gjestfriheten closes a decade with a gesture of care and continuity: a taste of Arab hospitality and Norwegian traditions, interwoven with flavors from diaspora cultures—shared in the company of artists, activists, and community builders who create spaces of solidarity in our city.

About the chefs
Playful and experimental in the kitchen, Thurayya Alkury never follows a written recipe but instead listens to what she calls the “whispers of the ancestors.” As a Palestinian in the diaspora, now based in Oslo, she often serves Levantine food at festivals and community gatherings. Her greatest joy comes from storytelling, creating spaces of healing and togetherness, and inviting people into unconventional sensory and embodied experiences.
Henrik Johannes Henriksen
Henrik is a chef, restaurateur, and writer with a background in film and the cultural field. He has been behind restaurants such as Taco Republika, Ben Reddik, and Mangelsgården, and is now responsible for all dining experiences at MUNCH. With over ten years of experience as a food writer, he has explored ingredients, traditions, and food culture with a particular eye for how human history is reflected in gastronomy.
Henrik views food as more than taste and technique—it is a language that tells us who we are, where we come from, and how we are connected. Through his work, he links historical perspectives with contemporary needs, developing concepts that carry meaning both culturally and culinarily. With his unique combination of creativity, expertise, and entrepreneurship, he has established himself as a strong voice in Norwegian gastronomy.

This event is presented in collaboration with Rawabet — a collective initiative led by Ettijahat – Independent Culture and implemented in partnership with GEZMATAZ, VOCE, coculture, Masahat, and Transversal Project.

Rawabet is supported by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) under the Creative Europe programme. The views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner
2025-09-19 17:00 - 18:20 | Nordic Black Theater, Hollendergata 8, Oslo, 0190, Norway
The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner interrogates the true story of one of the most wanted Nazi criminals to escape sentencing. Instrumental to the deportation of over 100,000 people to concentration camps and ghettos, Alois Brunner evaded numerous arrest attempts – fleeing to Damascus where he was instrumental in building Syria’s intelligence services. Arriving in 21st century Berlin as a refugee, Syrian playwright Mudar Alhaggi discovers Brunner’s story and begins to research obsessively before disappearing…
In this gripping play, we meet two actors piecing together the fragments of Alhaggi’s research as personal experience, world history, truth and fiction all collide. Weaving together Syrian and German history, The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner explores exile, accountability and political memory – and the complex thread that ties the past to the present. It raises searing questions about refuge, justice and hope.

Press
“…tense mystery of missing writer and Nazi fugitive… slippery, intriguing and full of nuance…” The Guardian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“A striking piece of theatre that will stay for me for a long time, probably forever” Theatre Reviews North ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Creative Team

Text: Mudar Alhaggi
Direction: Omar Elerian
Actors: Wael Kadour and Mohammad Al Rashi
Design: Jonas Vogt
Sound & Music: Vincent Commaret
Research and dramaturgical advice: Eric Altorfer
Producer International: Eckhard Thiemann

Credits
This presentation is part of Masahat festival 2025, in partnership with Nordic Black Theater and is supported by Perform Europe as part of the Collective Ma’louba tour project. The Perform Europe supported tour is a partnership between Collective Ma’louba and El Hamra Théatre Tunisia; Qendra Multimedia – Pristina, Kosovo; Mittelfest – Cividale de Friuli, Italy; 36Monkeys – Sofia, Bulgaria, Masahat – Oslo, Norway.
Practical Information
Length: 80min
Language: Arabic with English subtitles
Age: 14+
Content warning: The play contains references to trauma, torture, war and mental health.
About Perform Europe
Perform Europe, supported by the European Union, is a funding scheme for the European performing arts sector. It facilitates international networking and supports inclusive, diverse, and eco-friendly touring projects across the 40 Creative Europe countries. Perform Europe emphasises practices rooted in sustainability and inclusivity, aiming to transform the performing arts sector and ensure a balanced distribution across the continent.

Perform Europe is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and implemented by a consortium of six organisations: IETM – International network for contemporary performing arts, European Festivals Association (EFA), Circostrada, European Dance Development Network, Pearle * – Live Performance Europe and IDEA Consult.

Photo by: Tom Dachs
