Artmaking in Crisis

Co-organized by the and the .

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This special evening will explore the profound resilience and creativity of artists from many disciplines–including film, music, and literature–anchored by the theme "Artmaking in Crisis."

The event is organized in honor of Palestinian poet and educator Doha Kahlout, a 2024-2025 Displaced Artist resident at Reid Hall, who is currently in Deir el Balah, in the middle of the Gaza strip.

In addition to contributions from Doha, the evening will feature the work of writer Karim Kattan, filmmaker Lina Soualem, and others.

Co-sponsored by the Columbia Global Paris Center and Institute for Ideas and Imagination, the Displaced Artists Initiative is designed to support artists who have had to leave their countries of origin due to extreme circumstances (war, natural disaster, political oppression).

More information coming soon.

Featured Artists

Doha Kahlout is a Palestinian poet and teacher of Arabic. She graduated from Al-Azhar University with a BA in Arabic Language and Media Studies. In 2018, Kahlout published her first collection of poetry, Ashbah ("Similarities"), with Dar Tarik Publishing House. She has also contributed to publications of the Qattan Foundation and Dar Tibaq Publishing House. “I am passionate about writing and about experimenting with writing; about reading all forms of literature; and about both participating in special workshops on writing and teaching young people, so that, together, we can reach the secret power of the word and what it does to us.”

Karim Kattan is a writer. He holds a doctoral degree in comparative literature from Paris Nanterre University. In French, his books include a collection of short stories, Préliminaires pour un verger futur (2017), and a novel, Le Palais des deux collines (2021), which were both published by the Tunis-based Éditions Elyzad. Le Palais des deux collines was awarded the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie in 2021 and was shortlisted for many other literary awards. In English, his work has appeared in The Paris Review, Strange Horizons, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Maine Review, +972 Magazine, Translunar Travelers Lounge, The Funambulist, Words Without Borders, The Baffler, and more. His writing was featured in various art spaces, exhibitions, and biennales, including the MMAG Foundation in Amman, Bétonsalon in Paris, B7L9 in Tunis, Arquetopia in Puebla, Art Kulte in Rabat, the Berlinale Forum in Berlin, Frac des Pays de la Loire in Carquefou, and the 58th Venice Biennale.

Lina Soualem is a French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker and actress, born and based in Paris. After studying History and Political Science at La Sorbonne University, Lina worked as a programmer for the International Human Rights Film Festival in Buenos Aires. Lina’s debut feature documentary Their Algeria premiered in Visions du Réel International Film Festival 2020. Their Algeria received more than a dozen awards, such as the First Film award in CINEMED, the Best Arab Documentary award in El Gouna Film Festival, and the Best Documentary Award at Cinemania Film Festival 2021. Her second feature length documentary, Bye Bye Tiberias premiered in 2023 at The 80th Venice International Film Festival, then got selected at TIFF, BFI London Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, IDFA, DOC NYC, RIDM, Palm Springs & more. The film received several awards such as the Best Documentary Award at the BFI and the Jury Prize at the Marrakech International Film Festival. Bye Bye Tiberias was chosen to represent Palestine at the Oscars 2024 and was nominated as Best Documentary at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Additional artists to be announced.

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Organizers

The , established at Reid Hall in 2010, is one of Columbia University’s eleven global centers. It aims to promote research, teaching, and transnational collaboration. Through its scholarly and cultural programming, its Atelier podcast, and its civic engagement initiatives, the Paris Global Center strengthens Columbia University’s connections in France and internationally while providing a platform for intellectual exploration of social and environmental issues in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Each year the brings together a cohort of 14-15 Fellows, half of them Columbia faculty and post-docs, the other half artists and writers from around the world, to spend a year together in work and conversation. The Institute fosters intellectual and creative diversity unconstrained by medium and discipline through the interaction of the arts and academia.

brings together major global initiatives from across the university including the Columbia Global Centers, Columbia World Projects, the Committee on Global Thought, the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, and Undergraduate Global Engagement.

Venue

Nestled in the Montparnasse district, Reid Hall hosts several Columbia University initiatives: the Columbia Global Paris Center, the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, the Columbia Undergraduate Programs, the M.A. in History and Literature, and the GSAPP Shape of Two Cities Program. This unique combination of resources is enhanced by our global network whose mission is to expand the University's engagement with the world through educational programs, research initiatives, regional partnerships, and public events.

This event will take place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.

The views and opinions expressed by speakers and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the Columbia Global Paris Center or its affiliates.

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