Mudar Al-Khufash is an interdisciplinary cultural studies and art practitioner. He is the founder and publisher awāhm an annual print journal on critical discourse, based in Berlin
Mudar frames his artistic practice as an academic discipline, adopting the pedagogical format in artistic output, such as the lecture performance as an aesthetic form. As a politically invested artist, he utilizes it as a potent platform for activism and critical pedagogy.
Mudar’s performances are multimedial, including participatory elements. He currently spends his time between Berlin and London.
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
Humboldt University of Berlin Expected June 2025
MA Cultural Studies
University of the Arts Berlin February 2025
MA Art in Context
Art Academy Berlin Weissensee July 2022
BA Visual Communication
Al-Ittihad High Schools for Boys, Amman, Jordan June 1999
AWARDS & GRANTS
Unity Theatre Trust London January 2025
Awarded for the production costs of a lecture performance
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Study Stipend Berlin
April 2020 – March 2025
Awarded for academic excellence and research potential
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation International Research Grant October 2024 – March 2025
Support for innovative research initiatives
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Guest Lecturer
University of Cincinnati
“Palestine from a Palestinian Perspective” October 2024
- Moderated a session with the Palestinian director of two early 1980s documentary films from the DEFA Film Library
- Explored archival practices
Guest Lecturer
Art Academy Berlin Weissensee
“Art as Resistance” May 2024
- Engaged students in discussions on how art is inherently political because politics decide the art
- Led discussions on art pedagogy and political agency
Facilitator April 2024
Bard College at Spore Berlin
“The News We Want: Speculative Writing Workshop”
- Facilitated workshops focused on speculative writing and publishing as tools for reimagining marginalized narratives
Workshop Facilitator
Various Organizations
- “Homonationalism Workshop” October 2020
- Conducted a youth workshop on Homonationalism in collaboration with Queer History Matter e.V. and Critical Queer Solidarity e.V.
- Conducted a youth workshop on Homonationalism in collaboration with Queer History Matter e.V. and Critical Queer Solidarity e.V.
- “Hit the City Talk” December 2020
- Participated in a panel talk on publishing practices at Deutsches Architektur Zentrum e.V.
- Participated in a panel talk on publishing practices at Deutsches Architektur Zentrum e.V.
- “Was Geht?” July 2019
- Facilitated a youth workshop introducing video as an art form with Kulturnetzwerk Neukölln e.V.
- Facilitated a youth workshop introducing video as an art form with Kulturnetzwerk Neukölln e.V.
- “Against the Odds: Exploring the Potentiality of Zines” June 2019
- Introduced participants to zine-making as a self-publishing medium for distributing ideas effectively and affordably
- Highlighted how individuals and collectives used zines to tell their stories and amplify their voices in new environments
Tutor
Art Academy Berlin Weissensee
- Foundation Class October 2019 – March 2020
- Facilitated workshops and portfolio reviews for students applying to German art/design academies or film schools
- Contributed to the collective exploration of artistic and design practices while fostering a safe and inclusive learning environment
- Worked on initiatives to uncover and address systemic discrimination in art institutions
- Computer Studio March 2017– October 2019
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Researcher Assistant June 2023–ongoing
Humboldt University’s Cluster of Excellence: Matters of Activity
- Worked with anthropologist Maxime Le Calvé on multimodal methods, including digital drawing and virtual reality curation.
- Applied these methods in ethnographic research
PROJECTS
Gruppe Wissenslücke October 2024–ongoing
Weekly Symposium on Palestine-Related Topics at the University of Arts Berlin
- Co-led workshops, such as those at Bard College Berlin, critiquing German media bias and envisioning solidarity futures
- Organized thematic sessions and coordinated speakers for weekly symposium discussions
The Whole Life Academy: Life Stories and Archives October 2021–March 2022
Participant, Hau der Kulturen der Welt
- Conducted archival research within a collaborative, interdisciplinary team
Engaged with innovative nomadic educational methods to explore archival practices
awhãm Magazine October 2017–ongoing
Publisher and Creative Director
- Founded an annual print publication focused on migrant, queer, and feminist sensibilities
- Directed editorial processes, conceptual development, and community events like performances and readings
LECTURE PERFORMANCES
Dialectics of Erasure Expected in 2025
Site-Specific Lecture Performance
Developed during a residency at Béznă Theatre, integrating Forum Theatre methods and urban landscapes
Space Evocations March 2024
Quiz Performance at Emergent Spaces Festival
- Explored narratives of resistance in the Palestinian diaspora and beyond through interactive, conceptual tasting experiences
Crossing to the Realm of Manifestation February 2024
Site-Specific Walking Performance and Video
- Explored different ways of knowing through an intimate examination of lived experiences, concluding with an ablution ceremony
- Juxtaposed various spatialities and temporalities, connecting locations such as Amman, the East Bank of the Jordan River and Spree River, and the Kindertransport monument in Berlin
- Wove ancient narratives, biblical lore, mid-20th-century events, and speculative futures
Vegetal Mythologies July 2023
Lecture over a Dinner and Video Installation with Febrayer e.V.
- Developed as part of a master’s thesis project, this multimodal performance combined storytelling, video, and food to explore memory and identity through the lens of Palestinian resistance to settler-colonial environmental policies
PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA FEATURES
Contributor
Takseer w/ Moraya, Hong Kong Community Radio November 29, 2023
- Featured speaker presenting excerpts from a self-organized university symposium
- Discussed historical and theoretical frameworks surrounding the Nakba and settler-colonialism
Featured Publisher and Interviewee
“Exil et universalité” by Elsie Cohen, Minor Universality, De Gruyter 2023
- Highlighted contributions through awhãm Magazine, discussing its mission to challenge orientalist narratives and promote marginalized perspectives
RESIDENCIES
Béznă Theatre, London October 2023–March 2025
- Explored settler-colonialism and Indigenous resistance through intermedial performance techniques
Ausland, Berlin June 2024
- Resident Artist with Gruppe Wissenslücke as part of “All the Rivers” residency series
- Developed archives and speculative media resistance projects
- Compiled terminologies for publication in readers/glossaries
- Culminated the residency with a public performance and screening
EXHIBITIONS
Common Grounds May 2023
Group Exhibition at University of the Arts Berlin
- Exhibited “When Stating the Obvious Becomes Radical,” a work exploring themes of visibility, resistance, and the radical act of highlighting suppressed narratives