MaMA 

Arsalan Ishaqzai (He/Him) is a curator, producer and program maker based in Rotterdam. He moves between contexts of exhibitions and club nights, with a focus on themes of diaspora and the creation of counter narratives. His work speaks to diasporic communities that formulate alternatives for dominant perspectives with courage and imagination. Arsalan believes in the power of collectives that question systems and make space for new stories. He aims to nurture budding ideas, and to contribute to a movement that challenges and transforms the status quo.

Sarjon (He/Him/She/Her/They/Them) is a showgirl, curator, online troll and audiovisual artist hailing from Aleppo, Syria and based in Arnhem, who works with vanity as a research space in identity politics. A novelist without novels, they create and perform an excessive amount of alter egos and characters with many different story arcs and urgencies, writing their own narratives to reflect different political realities. In various contexts of nightlife, online platforms, museums, and contemporary art spaces Sarjon uses their surroundings as a host to nurse and develop these characters.

Arjîn Elgersma (They/Them), generally known under the name DJ Shahmaran, is a Rotterdam-based Dutch/Kurdish DJ, producer, and sound artist. Over the years they have made a name for themselves as a DJ and organiser by weaving together different strands of percussive and bass-driven music; sonically straddling the line between tradition and experimentation. Recently they started to release music that immerses the listener in epic journeys. Inspired by storytelling, critical theory, and fantastical imagery, they strive to express and work through uncomfortable, unfinished, and transformative moments in life.

MAryam Touzani (She/Her) is a visual storyteller based in Rotterdam, whose work delves into themes of diaspora, identity, and existential rootlessness. Drawing from her personal experience of navigating Dutch and Moroccan heritage, her practice reveals the hidden narratives that emerge where these cultures overlap, conflict, and intersect. Through a distinctive visual language, she examines both the layers of identity and the disparities inherent in these experiences. Her work explores stories of resilience and survival amid the tensions and historical violence embedded in these narratives. Touzani’s work has been featured at the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation during Rencontres d’Arles 2024, and she has been selected for the FOAM Talent program for 2024-2025.

Shizhe Qian (He/Him) is a visual artist working with photography and artificial intelligence, based in The Hague. Born in Northeast China, his practice explores the shifting boundaries between autonomy and connection, self and others. With a background in physics, theater, philosophy, and photography, he approaches image-making as a way to challenge our rigid systems of categorization. Drawing from human-centered philosophies, he seeks to reveal alternative ways of seeing the world and the mind.