The 7th

7 photographers, in 7 different Syrian political territories,

looked up to the sky and took a photograph at the same

moment.

The 7th aspires to break the silence surrounding the topic

of liberty in Syria and explores the relationship between

the structure of political divisions and the freedom of the

blue sky.

Blue skies are closely associated with freedom. The sky is

an ever present, subtle source of almost meditative safety.

It is the stability we are accustomed to in the cycle of night

and day. Since the outbreak of the armed conflict, our

understanding of the Syrian sky has shifted. It is no longer

a source of stability but rather a new unknown, a source of

possible danger. This work explores a conflicted relationship

with whats above. Despite the ground under our

feet having been divided up in the name of ideology and

politics, blue skies remain overhead, estranged yet still free.

• Künstlername | artist name: Khaled Barakeh
• Vorname | First Name: Khaled
• Nachname | Last Name: Barakeh
• Email address: studio@khaledbarakeh.com
• Mobile phone: +4917682493399
• Website URL: https://www.khaledbarakeh.com/
• Address Line 1: Stargarder Straße 10
• City: Berlin
• Zip Code: 10437
• Country: Germany
• State: berlin
• Portraitbild | Portrait picture:
• Künstler-CV | Artist Bio:

  Born in 1976 in Damascus Suburb, and currently based in Berlin, Khaled Barakeh is a conceptual artist and cultural activist. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, Syria in 2005, received his MFA at Funen Art Academy in Odense, Denmark in 2010 and in 2013, he completed a Meisterschuler study at the Städelschule Art Academy in Frankfurt a.M., Germany. The geographical shift in Khaled Barakeh’s life – moving from Syria to Europe – resulted in major changes in his approach toward
  his work; originally trained as a painter, he then developed a stronger focus on contemporary art practices. Today, his multilayered works still show influences of traditional methods and techniques while forming a modern collection built through the use of a variety of media.

  Education

  2017 ARTS RIGHTS JUSTICE Summer Academy; University of Hildesheim, Germany.
  2010 - 2013 Meisterschüler; Städelschule Art Academy, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2008 - 2010 Master’s degree in fine arts (MFA); Funen Art Academy, Odense, Denmark.
  2003 - 2005 High Studies Diploma in Fine Arts; Damascus University, Syria.
  2003
  1999 - 2003 DART AL FUNUN Summer Academy; Class of Marwan Kassab Bachi; Amman, Jordan.
  Diploma in Fine Arts; Painting and Drawing Department; Damascus University, Syria.

  Teaching & Jury Member

  2022
  2017 - 2021
  2018

  2015 - 2016 Artist Residence Jury Program – Jury; hosted by Academy in Exile, Germany
  Supervisor of series of workshops; UdK, Berlin Career College, Artist Training; Berlin, Germany.
  Lecturer and facilitator; Summer School on Cultural Diversity; Artist in the Community Scheme Residency; Dublin, Ireland.
  Art Class Teacher; Paul-Hindemith-Schule; Frankfurt, Germany.

  Residencies, Scholarships & Fellowship

  2022 Artist Residency: Maria Projektet and Fonden von Fabriken for Art and Design; Copenhagen, Denmark
  2021- Present Salzburg Global Seminar – Fellowship; Salzburg, Austria
  2019 AFAC Arab Fund for Arts and Culture “Visual Arts Program”; Beirut, Lebanon.
  2018 European Cultural Foundation “Courageous Citizens R&D Grant”; Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
  2018 ENPACT “Startup Mentoring East Africa + Europe”; Berlin, Germany.
  2017 Ford Foundation; New York, USA.
  2016 ZK/U – Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik; Berlin, Germany.
  2015 Roberto Cimetta Fund; Paris, France.
  2013 The Playhouse ICAN; Northern Ireland, UK.
  2012 Hessischen Filmförderung; Frankfurt, Germany.
  2011 The British Council; Beirut, Lebanon.

  Solo Exhibitions

  2022 Design of Necessity, Curated by the artist. Maria Kirkeplads, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2022 MUTE, Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark.
  2022 MUTE, Christiansborg Castle Square, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2019 Aufheben, Curated by the artist; Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2018 The Blue Hour, Curated by Tobias Mörike; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany.
  2015 iKB, Curated by Corinna Bimboese; Atelierfrankfurt, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2014 On The Ropes, Curated by the artist at his studio; Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2013 Transmigrations, Curated by Susanne Husse; District Kunst und Kulturförderung, Berlin, Germany.
  2010 Isomerization, Curated by Anna Krogh; Kunsthallen Brandts, Odense, Denmark.
  2006 Untitled, Curated by the artist; Le CCF, Amman, Jordan.
  2005 Ink on my Hands, Curated by Leccas Delphine; Le CCF, Damascus, Syria.

  Curated exhibitions

  2021 ABSENCE, Group exhibition, University of the Arts, Berlin, Germany.
  2021 Presence is Not the Opposite of Absence, Group exhibition, University of the Arts, Berlin, Germany.
  2020 Through Solidarity, We survive, Group exhibition, University of the Arts, Berlin, Germany.
  2020
  Existing Elsewhere: The Mobile Gaze and European Identities Under Construction, Curated by Khaled Barakeh, coculture e.V, Berlin, Germany.
  2019 Freedom Transmissions: Interventions on the Protection and Promotion of Artistic Freedom, Curated by Khaled Barakeh. Event; Haus Ungarn, Berlin, Germany.
  2018 In Between, Group exhibition; Curated by the artist, Galerie Postel, Hamburg, Germany.
  2018 Relentless Images, Group exhibition, in collaboration with Nabil Kanaan; Oslo World, Oslo, Norway.
  2018 En Mal D’Archive, Group exhibition; Station Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon.
  2018 Next Stop Damascus, Group exhibition curated by Khaled Barakeh and Nabil Kanaan. Oslo World, Oslo, Norway.
  2017 Same Same but Different, Group exhibition, University of the Arts, Berlin, Germany.
  2013 Tomorrow is Ours, Group exhibition, Institut Françis du Liban, Beirut, Lebanon.

  Selected Group Exhibitions

  2022 Edith Stein: “Loosing by Winning”, Curated by Hubert Salden. Museum Stift Stams, Stams, Austria.
  2021 Freistaat Barakia: Landscape of Liberation, Artistic direction: Nyabinghi Lab (Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Tmnit Zere, Saskia Köbschall). Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, Germany.
  2021 Stampede, Horse & Pony, Berlin, Germany.
  2021 State and Nature, Curated by Çağla İlk and Misal Adnan Yıldız with Hendrik Bündge and Benedikt Seerieder. Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany.
  2021 In this Moonless Black Nigh: Syrian Art After the Uprising. Middle East Institute Gallery, Washington D.C., USA
  2021 Legacy Trilogy: Past Edition, ArteEast, Artsy.
  2020 The Futureless Memory, Curated by Dilek Winchester and Katja Schroeder; Kunsthaus Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
  2020 Traces and Masks of Flight, Curated by Günther Oberhollenzer and Georg Traska; Landesgalerie Niederösterreich, Krems an der Donau, Austria.
  2020 STUDIO BERLIN, A collaboration with the Boros Collection; Berghain, Berlin, Germany.
  2020 After/Images, Curated by Charlotte Bank; Art-Lab Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
  2020 Trauern: Von Verlust und Veränderung, Curated by Brigitte Kölle; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany.
  2019 The Other is Oneself, Curated by Fiona Liewehr; FRANZ JOSEFS KAI 3 gallery, Vienna, Austria.
  2019 Arabcity/Ourouba, Curated by Rose Issa; Middle East Institute Art Gallery, Washington DC, USA.
  2019 Mutterzunge, A multi-venue project curated by Misal Adnan Yildiz; Kino-International, Berlin, Germany.
  2019 Où Est La Maison De Mon Ami?, Group exhibition curated by Paula Aisemberg, Dunia Al-Dahan and Véronique Bouruet Aubertot; Maison des Arts Centre d’Art Contemporain de Malakoff, Paris, France.
  2018 Inside Intel, Curated by Elliott Burns, India Murphy and Jake Charles Rees; "Conspiracy" CIJ Logan Symposium, St James Hatcham, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
  2018 Divided We Stand, Curated by Cristina Ricupero and Jörg Heiser; Busan Biennale, Busan, South Korea.
  2018 Shifting Horizons, Curated by Misal Adnan Yildiz; KRANK Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.
  2018 In-between: Rethinking Transcultural Identities, Curated by Charlotte Bank; Art-Lab, Berlin, Germany.
  2017 Does Europe Still Exist?, Curated by Achilleas Kentonis; ARTos Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus.
  2017 Kashash, Curated by Alma Salem; Korzo, Amsterdam and Utrecht, Netherlands.
  2017 Political Gestures, Curated by Adela Demetja; Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt, Germany.
  2017 Borderlines, Curated by Claudia Postel; Galerie Postel, Hamburg, Germany.
  2017 We Shout and Shout But No One Listens, Curated by Tone Olaf Nielsen & Frederikke Hansen; CAMP (Center for Art on Migration Politics), Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2016 Why Not Ask Again: Arguments, Counter-Arguments and Stories, The 11th Shanghai Biennale, China.
  2016 Sans Papiers, Curated by Simone Zaugg and Pfelder; Kurt-Kurt, Berlin, Germany.
  2016 The end of the world as we know it ist der Beginn einer Welt die wir nicht kennen, Curated by Anne König and Jan Wenzel; 7th f/stop Festival for Photography, Leipzig, Germany.
  2016 Beachhead’s Peace of Mind, Curated by Misal Adnan Yildiz; Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand.
  2016 If All Relationships Were to Reach Equilibrium, Then This Building Would Dissolve, Curated by Miguel Amado; Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, England.
  2015 Apricots from Damascus, Organized by Atıf Akın and Dilek Winchester; SALT Galata, Istanbul, Turkey.
  2015 Titled, Curated by Adela Demetja; Heike Strelow Gallery, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2015 Overshadowed, Curated by Tobias Mörike; Gallery Holger John, Dresden, Germany.
  2015 Mail Art, Curated Line Krom Jutta Heun; Goethe University, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2014 New Frankfurt Internationals – Solid Signs, Curated by Lilian Engelmann; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt a.M., Germany.
  2014 In Plain Sight, Curated by Sarah Lookofsky; Smack Mellon, New York, USA.
  2013 Say My Name Say My Name, Curated by Bernd Reiß; MMK Museum Für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2013 Welcome, Curated by Line Sandvad Mengers; LSM Project Space, Laven, Denmark.
  2013 Syria’s Art of Resistance, Curated by Zaher Omreen; Rich Mix Gallery, London, UK; The Round Tower, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2013 Locus, Curated by Didem Yazıcı; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Germany.
  2013 Home Stories, Curated by Nicola Muellerschoen; Villa 102, Frankfurt a. M., Germany.
  2013 Fragile States, Curated by Sidd Joag; Brian Morris Gallery, New York, USA.
  2012 Imagined Communities, Curated by Miguel Amado; Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
  2012 The Changing Room, Curated by Aida Eltorie; The Underground Gallery, London, UK.
  2011 We Are Nowhere and It Is Now, Curated by Patrick Keaveney & Didem Yazıcı; Occupy Space, Limerick, Ireland.
  2010 Untitled No.5, Curated by Lars Rahbek; Larm Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.

  Collaborative Projects & Exhibitions

  2019

  2013 Mutterzunge, Multi-venue project curated by Misal Adnan Yildiz; Kino-International, Berlin,
  Germany.
  Mobile Academy, Curated by Simon Starling, organized by Thuy-Han Nguyen Chi & Susanne Husse;
  Ha Noi, Hoi An, Sai Gon and Berlin.
  2011 When in Rome, Curated and organized by Simon Starling and Mark Mangion; Malta Contemporary Art Foundation, Valletta, Malta; Movement gallery, London, UK.
  2009 Building Democracy, Curated by the collective; Overgaden, Copenhagen; Rum46, Århus, Denmark.

  Selected Talks and Lectures

  2022 a/nordi/c’s Curated Conversations - Group conversations about ‘Artistic Freedom’ - Hanaholmen, Helsinki, Finland
  2022 Curation and creative facilitation as an artistic tool in social practices. Berlin Art Institute, Berlin, Germany.
  2022 Artist Talk – Maria Church, hosted by DFUNK. Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2022 Access to the Future Seminar, Syrian Arts and Culture Festival 2022, in collaboration with Shubbak and in association with the The British Library, London, England.
  2022 Currents of Change: Redefining Cultural Diplomacy for the Future We Need, Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria.
  2022 Arts Rights Justice Seminar, University Hildesheim, Germany.
  2022 All Good Things Must Begin – Roots and Routes Symposium, SALWA Gatherings, presented by the Goethe Institut Netherlands, Amsterdam
  2022 Artistic Freedom – What’s at Stake?, Kultur Mødet Mors. Organized by A/nordi/c. Nykobing Mors, Denmark.
  2022 Arabian Nights: Screening of “Little Palestine”, Presented by Folkekirken Vesterboro in Collaboration with Cinemateket. Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2022 Meeting with Khaled Barakeh, Finjan Kulturcafe. Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2021 Train Your Democratic Muscles - THE STREETS: A global wave of movements; Oslo World Festival, Oslo, Norway.
  2021 Creative Power of the Arts – Reimagining Human and Planetary Flourishing, Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria.
  2021 Home is a Site of Memory; Border Trouble, Migration, Research Creation, Art & Policy,
  Project finding Home.
  2021 RETHINK: The Importance of image creation in Political Movements – A Lawyer in Discussion with an Artist. An online workshop in collaboration with Mariana Karkoutly hosted by Allianz Kulturstiftung.
  2021

  AGENCY | URGENCY: Learning with the Global South; Artistic and Curatorial Response to the Refugee Crisis | Cultural Producers in Exile. Department of Art, UC Santa Barbara and the UC Multicampus Placemaking Initiative, California, United States.
  2020 Solidarity and possibilities of resistance in public spaces; Oslo World, Oslo, Norway.
  2020 Legacy of Conflict; Art in Place of Conflict Online Conference; The Playhouse Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
  2020 Diaspora as an opportunity: Rethinking cultural policies and formation of artistic communities; The Artistic Forum on Cultural Diplomacy: Building Cultural Bridges Through Art, Film and Music; Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Arabic Cultural House, Berlin, Germany.
  2020 Socially Engaged Art and Artistic Activism: Artists’ Responsibility in the Time of Catastrophe; The ArtsEverywhere Festival, Guelph, Canada.
  2019 The Presence of the Catastrophe and Absence of the Victim; The Other is Oneself Conference; FRANZ JOSEFS KAI 3, Vienna, Austria.
  2019 ArtsLink Assembly 2019: Global Warning - Artists and the Anthropocene; Baruch Performing Arts Center, New York, USA.
  2019 The Practice of Necessity: on Artistic Activism and Cultural Hacking; Residency Unlimited (RU), New York, USA.
  2019 Art, Activism, and Migration; MacDowell NYC, New York, USA.
  2019 Cultural Production in the Middle East; Middle East Institute, Washington, USA.
  2019 Art and Activism from the Syrian Diaspora; IA&A at Hillyer, Washington, USA.
  2019 Syria, Berlin and the Media; DW Akademie, Berlin, Germany.
  2019 Mapping Berlin/Damaskus: Eine Neue Literarische Kartographie; internationales literatur festival berlin, Collegium Hungaricum, Berlin, Germany.
  2019 Beyond Trauma?: A Transregional Perspective on Trauma and Aesthetics; TRAFO Forum Transregionale Studien, ICI Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Berlin, Germany.
  2019 Re-Directing East / Designing Futures; Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland.
  2019 Exile Country Germany: Challenges in Academia, Culture and Journalism; KörberForum, Hamburg, Germany.
  2019 Censorship and Propaganda: How to Show Contemporary Mediatic Wars and Archive Them?; Super-Décélération; La Colonie, Paris, France.
  2019 Digital Hierarchy: Who Controls, Who Accesses and Who Decides?; 8th World Summit on Arts and Culture, IFACCA International Federation of Art Councils and Culture Agencies; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  2019 Mutterzunge: Afterword, In conversation with Misal Adnan; CoCulture / Studio Khaled Barakeh, Berlin, Germany.
  2018 What Happens Post-Recolation?; Safe Havens 2018 Conference; Malmö, Sweden.
  2018 Contesting Images; Fotogalleriet, Oslo, Norway.
  2018 We Are (All) Migrants: #Freedom to Move; Oslo World Seminars in collaboration with Norsk Folkehjelp and Transcultural Arts Production - TRAP; Kulturhuset,Oslo, Norway.
  2018 Freedom to Remember/Create; NextStopDamascus, Oslo World Seminars in collaboration with Station Beirut and Syrian Peace Action Centre - SPACE; Kulturhuset, Oslo, Norway.
  2018 The Practice of Necessity; Hochschule für Bildende Künste Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
  2018 Identity Crisis and Exiled Art: New Roles of Syrian Creatives; Facetten des Islams; Club der polnischen Versager, Berlin, Germay.
  2018 Echoes of the South Atlantic: On the Future of the Southern Transatlantic Relations; Goethe-Institut Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.
  2018 Syria: Renewal, Creativity and Resilience; Goethe-Institut Brussels, Belgium.
  2018 Between the Borders; Berlin Art Institute, Berlin, Germany.
  2018 Mutterzunge; Babylon Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
  2018 Artivism: Creativity as a Medium of Change; Denmark Syrian Cultural Citizenship; Syrian Cultural Institute in Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
  2017 Art Matters: Practices and Agency in Contemporary Arts in Post-Migrant Societies; workshop moderation and panel discussion; Robert Bosch Cultural Managers Network, International Alumni Center, Berlin, Germany.
  2017 Global Roundtable: Artist Safety/Safe Haven; Artists and Movements - Safe Havens 2017 Conference; Residency Unlimited - ArtsEverywhere, Malmö, Sweden.
  2017 Strictly Prohibited; Survival Of The Artist; The Mosaic Rooms - Shubbak Festival, British Museum, London, UK.
  2017 Does Europe Still Exist?; ARTos Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus.
  2017 Intercultural Dialogue: Engaging Potential, Embracing Diversity, Cultural Diplomacy; Fostering International Cultural Dialogue, Diversity and Sustainability; Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Mellieħa, Malta.
  2016 As Free As it Gets; Landschaften der Hoffnung; Radialsystem V, Berlin, Germany.
  2016 On Foreign Ground; Ettijahat Independent Culture - Goethe-Institut Brussels, SMAK Gent,
  Belgium.
  2016 Artivism (Art & Activism) in the Context of Migration; Digital Spring; Salzburg, Austria.
  2016 Apricots from Damascus; SALT, Istanbul, Turkey.
  2013 Challenging Place; ICAN, The Playhouse, Derry / Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK.

  Selected Publications

  2022 Kölle, Brigitte. “Trauern - Von persönlichem Verlust und politischer Veränderung” edited by Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, 100-103.
  2020 Barakeh, Khaled. “The Reality Through Lens.” Global Photography: A Critical History, edited by Erina Duganne, Heather Diack, and Terri Weissmann. Bloomsbury, 2020.
  2020 Al Dahan, Dunia, Rondeau, Corinne, “Artistes syriens en exil, oeuvres et récits: Syrian Artists in Exile”, edited by Mediapop, 2020
  2020 Dell, April. One Hour Is Sixty Minutes And Vice Versa in “Morgen Ist Die Frage”, Studio Berlin Berghain, Edited by DISTANZ
  Barakeh, Khaled. 'COCULTURE: PRESERVING CULTURAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINING CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL PRODUCTION IN THE DIASPORA'an artist who happens to be from Syria, edited by Eva Blaute and Antonia Blau, Goethe Institut
  2019 Jurich, Joscelyn S.G. “Abounaddara and the global visual politics of the ‘right to the image’.” Journal of Visual Culture, vol. 18, no. 3, 2019, 378-411.
  2019 Grønstad, Asbjørn. “Invisibility and the Ethics of Erasure: Khaled Barekeh’s The Untitled Images.” Invisibility in Visual and Material Culture, edited by Asbjørn Grønstad and Øyvind Vågnes. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, 111-125.
  2019 Arabicity: Contemporary Arab Art, edited by Rose Issa and Juliet Cestar. Saqi Books, 2019.
  2019 Barakeh, Khaled. “Reconnecting the Cultural Fabric of Syria.” Vanity Fair London, 28 March 2019.
  2018 Joag, Sidd. “Re-creating communities of practice.” Fresh Perspectives 8: Safeguarding the Daring Voice: Arts & Freedom of Expression. IETM, 2018, 12-14.
  2018 Divided We Stand: 9th Busan Biennale 2018, edited by Jörg Heiser, Cristina Ricupero, and Gahee Park. Sternberg Press and Busan Biennale Organizing Committee, 2018, 38-41.
  2018 Barakeh, Khaled. “The Untitled Images (2014).” Cinema Journal, vol. 57, no. 4, summer 2018, University of Texas Press, 142-146.
  2017 Barakeh, Khaled. “Apricots from Damascus: Issue 13. ” Subjects and Objects in Exile, edited by L’Internationale Online, L’Internationale Books, 2017: 63-71.
  2016 König, Anne. “The Multicultural Graveyard: Conversation with Khaled Barakeh about one Facebook post.” The end of the world as we know it ist der Beginn einer Welt die wir nicht kennen: f/stop Festival für Fotografie Leipzig 2016, edited by Anne König and Jan Wenzel. Spector Books, 2016, 12-15.
  2015 Barakeh, Khaled. “Act of Excision.” ArteEast Quarterly, Fall 2015.
  2014 Barakeh, Khaled. “Regarding the Pain of Others and Damascus 15 Feb 2012 19:47:31: Artistic responses to the violence in Syria. Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline, edited by Malu Halasa, Zaher Omareen, and Nawara Mahfpud. Saqi Books, 2014, 156-164.
  2014
  2012 The Changing Room, edited by Aida Eltorie. Finding Projects Association, 2012, 48-51; 126-131.

  Public Collections

  Chartwell Collection, New Zealand; Artphilein Foundation, Lichtenstein; Oliver Puhl Collection, Germany. Khaled Barakeh’s work is also held in a number of private collections around the world.

• Ich bin durch eine Galerie vertreten | I am represented by a gallery : Nein | No
• Detail 1:
• Detail 2: