#painter #visualart #Niger
ZEINABOU HAMIDOU DIORI
Zeinabou Hamidou Diori is born on the 5th of August 1978 in Niger and moved to Brussels in 2009.
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Her nomadic way of living allowed her to explore diverse and alternative forms of expression. The contrast between Belgium and her native country has deeply impacted her work and development.
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As a bold and reckless artist, she appeals to a public eager to discover new art forms and is aware of the evolution of the arts.
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Zeinabou is an experimental, multidisciplinary artist working with various forms of expression from canvas to live performances, from sculpture to monumental installations, not to mention documentaries and videos allowing her to examine the effect of her voice on the audience. Jackson Pollock, Jean Michel Basquiat, Yayoi Kusama, Nan June Paik, Malik Sidibe and Marina Abramović are a few names she admires that influence her work.
#musician #oud #Irak
HUSSEIN RASSIM
Hussein is a young Iraqi musician, player of Oud (oriental lute), trained in the major music schools in Iraq. He created the band Solo Baghdad and then arrived in Belgium where he recorded in 2015, with MuziekPublique on the album Amerli, from Refugees for Refugees.
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He started the band Nawaris and recorded an album with the Homerecord Label. His music is influenced by both traditional Iraqi music and the various musical encounters he has had, notably in Brussels.
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On the other hand, he is producing the music for a play, "Les Inouïes", which toured in Belgium and France (Avignon 2018). In parallel with numerous concerts and performances in Belgium and Europe, Hussein Rassim is also the creator of a documentary "The way back", for which he wrote the music with his acolytes Juliette Lacroix and Ersoj Kasimov.
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He also performs in a film-concert "Egged On By Music " with Cinemaximiliaan.
#actor #dancer #Dagestan
TIMUR MAGOMEDGADZHIEV
‘I am Timur. I was born in the Caucasus, in Dagestan. My interest in dance was already awakened as a child. I danced with a folklore ensemble and acted in theatrical productions at secondary school. I dreamed of a future in acting, but my father would rather see me as a good soldier in the army. In 2000 I told my family I wanted to go to Moscow to enrol in the School of Drama. I passed the entrance examinations for GITIS-RATI, the prestigious School of Dramatic Art in Moscow, where I obtained my diploma. In those years, I was confronted with the discrimination of the Caucasian population in Russia. It was an unhappy time for me. I decided to leave Russia, to change my life and embark on an adventure, not knowing where it would take me. I spent five years trying to find my way in Europe – as a plaything in the hands of bureaucracy. Waiting for the necessary travel and identification documents and the inner struggle with myself ultimately made me a stronger person.
I became involved in les ballets C de la B, with Alain Platel, Frank Van Laecke and the people of Gardenia, which brought me back to life and gave me moments I shall never forget. I am convinced that by expressing our emotions through singing, music, movement and the simple glance that you project from the stage, we can be free from the constrained feeling that prevents us from leading a psychically stable, free and peaceful life.’
#artist #Surinam
ALIDA HEIKERK
Born in Suriname on the 11 November 1982 in Paramaribo, I come from a family of 5 children of which I am the eldest. My passions are decorative design, cooking, and baking. In December 2011, I became mother of a beautiful daughter.
On 10 December 2017, I left with my daughter to the Netherlands. After a few months of living and working in the Netherlands we decided to move to Belgium. I am already quite well settled, and I will use all the possibilities I have to achieve my goal.
#graffiti #architect #ElSalvador
LEANDRO RAMIREZ
My name is Leandro Ramírez, I was born in San Salvador, El Salvador; in August 1986.
I was born and raised in a home with many values and surrounded by my family. Since I was a child, I loved art through drawing and painting, however, I never went to a school for it, rather I learned by exploring drawing on my own.
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Since I was young, I understood that illustration has been very important from ancient cultures to express thoughts and also as an object of identity. That's why around 2004 I became interested in Graffiti as a means of expression, I became part of a group of friends who met to paint on the walls. It was part of my daily life to make "tags", I always liked the fact that I could leave a trace in my path.
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On the other hand, I was very involved with music, at the age of 14 I became interested in learning the guitar, at 20 I was part of a group with which we played in bars and restaurants on weekends. Later on, I made music on my own with audio programs and shared it with my friends.
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In 2005 I entered the University of El Salvador to study Architecture. I graduated in 2012, since then I have worked as an architect, which is another part that I consider very important for me, since it allows me to approach concepts related to art from another perspective.
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I left my country at the beginning of the year 2019, and I am currently in Belgium with my family in search of a safer horizon; and waiting to be able to continue with what I love to do, graphic design and architecture, until life allows me to do so.
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Arman Fayaznia & Céline Van Hoorebeeck
@UNamur
#sculptor #painter #Iran
ARMAN FAYAZNIA
Born on September 12, 1980 in Iran, Arman studied the Arts at the University of Art and Architecture of Sistan and Baluchistan. During and after his studies, he participated in numerous group exhibitions. He is influenced by the expressionist movement of the beginning of the 20th century. He continued his artistic training in sculpture with Mr. Hamidreza Avishi after the end of his studies.
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Upon arrival in Belgium in September 2018, he registered as a free student at the Academy of Fine Arts of Namur in the sculpture course of Anneke Lauwaert. He is interested in ancient pre-monotheistic philosophies (sophism, Buddhism, Kabbalah) and meditation, which he practices regularly. Every living being is a universe connected to other living beings. He sees in everything the reflection of the whole.
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He seeks, through his figurative and/or abstract works, to express the feelings and paradoxes inherent to mankind, society and the mysteries of the universe. He achieves this through sculptures, installations or paintings.
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After his arrival in Belgium, he wondered about the conditions necessary for collective and peaceful life on earth with limited resources, multiple cultures and major ecological issues. How to materialize the message “love your neighbour as yourself?”.
#painter #Azerbaidjan
CHINARA MIAMONA
Through painting, drawing and photography Mia works on her own perception of herself and of the world surrounding her.
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She is born in 1992 in Soumgait and she was forced to leave Azerbaijan in 2016. She settled in Belgium where she participated in many exhibitions and projects with Refugees got talent and Amnesty International, among others.
#sculptor #Irak
SHALAAN LAZIM
Shalaan Lazim comes from Mosul (Irak) where he studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts. He now lives in Belgium where he studies Dutch and where he has already exhibited his work twice. Shalaan also organized workshops for people of all ages.
#fashion #designer #Togo
TONY BLAND DEGLI
Tony Bland started with tailored-made clothes and then developed a ready-to-wear brand that also includes lingerie, perfume, and accessories.
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It is a priority for him to make collections accessible to all and especially larger sizes, too often ignored.
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To him, fashion is a living language, with many influences and contradictions.
#filmmaker #Palestine
ABDELSALAM ABUNADA
Adelsalam Abunada has a long experience in media development with other media as well as state and private journalists. He deeply cares about reinforcing dialogue, freedom, justice and human rights.
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“I consider myself as a world citizen interested in human interest stories and as an expert in media development”.
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Abdelsalam campaigned against a law that would give a stronger censorship right to the Palestinian National Authority. Under death threat, he sought asylum in Belgium in 2016.
#painter #Irak
ALI SABRI
As a self-taught painter, I discovered the pleasure of painting at a very young age. I do most of my work on canvas but I also paint on glass or directly on walls. My artistic journey began when I was 6 years old and I discovered drawing.
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I became familiar with technical oil painting very quickly and since then I keep improving myself every day.
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I arrived in Belgium in 2015 and I had the opportunity to present and exhibit my work in several renowned places such as the CC Strombeek, the Zandloper in Wemmel, the Boghossian Foundation, the SMAK in Ghent and the Z33 in Hasselt.
#dancer #Palestine
MOHAMMAD AUKAL
Mohammad is founder and instructor of the group Dabke (folk dance) uniting both traditional and modern dance, open to everyone.
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This talented artist offers a unique project here in Brussels. His goal is to express oneself through this art and he believes that dance is a privileged tool for co-creation and for the creation of new movements from other dances and cultural styles.
#photography #Syria
AHMAD AL SAADI
Ahmad Al Saadi is a young Syrian photographer born in Daraa, where sparked the beginning of the Syrian Uprising. During the revolution, he worked with the resistance as a journalist and a photographer under several nicknames.
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In 2013, his home was bombarded and destroyed, what forced him to leave his country and start a long journey to Europe; a journey that he captured through the lens of his camera.
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Two photography projects emerged from this experience: “La route de l’exile” and “Mon voyage vers la vie”. With these projects, Ahmad was awarded the second-best photographer prize in Brussels within the competition “Show Me Yourope”.
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Settled in Brussels for two years, he captures the daily life of this city.
#oud #Irak
HUSSEIN RASSIM
Hussein is a young Oud player from Irak, formed by great musical schools in his country. He founded the band Baghdad and when he arrived in Belgium in 2015 he participated in the album of Amerli, with Refugees for Refugees with MuziekPublique.
Hussein Rassim founded the band Nawaris and recorded an album with the music label Homerecord.