Ettijahat: Zad Programme for the Mobility of Artists from the Arab Region Residing in Europe 2026
Overview
Ettijahat, an independent cultural organization dedicated to strengthening the Arab cultural sector, administers the Zad Programme as a mobility initiative for artists from the Arab region who currently reside in Europe. The programme addresses a specific and often overlooked need: enabling practitioners in the diaspora to undertake travel that is integral to their artistic practice, whether for residencies, collaborations, research, or presentations. By focusing on mobility, Zad acknowledges that artistic development is frequently contingent on the ability to move across borders, to engage with peers and contexts elsewhere, and to sustain transnational dialogue. The programme is deliberately interdisciplinary, welcoming practitioners across translation, film, music, dance, and visual art. This breadth reflects Ettijahat's commitment to the diversity of the Arab artistic diaspora and its recognition that mobility concerns are shared across disciplines. While the available information does not specify the exact nature of the support—whether grants, logistical coordination, or a combination—the programme's framing positions mobility not as a luxury but as a structural condition for artistic work that is transnational in scope and ambition. For artists whose practices are rooted in the Arab region yet unfold from a European base, Zad offers a rare institutional acknowledgment of the particular pressures and possibilities of that position. It is not a residency, a prize, or a commission, but a mechanism for movement: a way to ensure that distance does not become isolation, and that the dialogue between the Arab world and Europe remains active, reciprocal, and artist-led.