In April’s episode of “Um Canapé mat der woxx” we speak English: Our guest is the artist Fadi Jaafar, a civic activist and member of the cultural association Douri. How does he experience cultural exchanges? What does it mean to start all over again as an established artist? How does all of this affect his work? Fadi shares his thoughts about these questions and much more.

COPYRIGHT: woxx/Isabel Spigarelli

What do we mean when we talk about cultural exchanges? How can art help people, who need to settle down in a new environment, after having experienced traumatic events? Is it easy to start a dialogue in between cultures if you don’t share a common language? Fadi, an artist for over 20 years, and a civic activist, talks about how it feels to be busy learning new vocabulary while also having the urge to discuss your artistic ambitions. On another note, he underlines the importance of breaking the existing stereotypes and focusing on the human behind any legal status or nationality. Since Fadi has worked and volunteered for several NGOs assisting – among others – victims of armed conflicts, he mentions the challenges when facing traumatized individuals, especially during art projects.

He is also the treasurer and coordinator of psycho-social support activities at the Luxembourg based cultural association Douri, “a platform to connect and interconnect artists, researchers, social workers and activists in the social variety of the European community.” Douri launched the project LEILaW, together with Ryse and Passerell: The project aims to focus on the legal framework protecting victims of violence, especially women and children with a migrant background in Luxembourg.

Are you curious to meet Fadi? We invite you to click “play” and visit douri.lu to get updates on upcoming events.

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