
The Mahmoud Darwish Chair was founded in 2016 by the Federation Wallonia-Brussels on the initiative of Minister-President Rudy Demotte. It was originally created through a consortium with ULB, UCL and BOZAR. Since 2018, the latter is the sole implementer of the project.
With this chair, the Federation Wallonia-Brussels aims to strengthen its cooperation with Palestine and underline the importance of universal values. Its objective is to highlight the work and ideas of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, one of the most important contemporary writers. His poetry, with recurring themes such as exile, memory and love, is a reflection on human vulnerability.
The chair aims to show contemporary artistic productions from the Middle East and the Maghreb and pay tribute to the work of directors, playwrights, choreographers and writers from the region. With the focus on Palestine as a metaphor for exile, it zooms in on displacement. This is essential in the current context of large-scale displacement of population groups, geographical shifts and 'lost geography'.
Educational Activities
More information about our educational programme →Practical information
More information is available on the website of the Mahmoud Darwish Chair: http://www.mahmouddarwishchair.org/.
Related events

Walk With Amal
6 + 7
Oct.'21
With the Kids and Teens

ARABFUTURISM: MARIAM MEKIWI
13 Mar.'21
- 09:00

ARABFUTURISM: BASSEM YOUSRI
27 Feb. →
3 Mar.'21

ARABFUTURISM 2020-2021
2020-2021

ARABFUTURISM: Selected Artworks: Monira Al Qadiri
19 → 24
Dec.'20

ARABFUTURISM: Larissa Sansour - In Vitro, Nation Estate & A Space Exodus
18 → 23
Dec.'20

Kubra Khademi - I will Greet the Sun Again
22 Oct.'20
- 19:00

Ben Fury & Hamdi Dridi
8 + 9
Oct.'20

Sortir du noir- WILL NOT TAKE PLACE
12 + 13
Mar.'20

PREMIÈRE : TLAMESS - Ala Eddine Slim
5 Mar.'20
- 20:00

Godefroid: The Bastard Son of Antar Bin-Shaddad (2019)
4 + 5
Dec.'19

Écrire la vie sexuelle des autres
16 Oct.'19
- 20:00
Literature

Feminist writers from Morocco
9 Oct.'19
- 20:00
Literature

May He Rise And Smell The Fragrance
1 Oct.'19
- 20:30
Dance

Lagrange Points
16 June →
15 Sept.'19

PALESTINE WITH LOVE
1 → 7
June'19

Forgotten Geography
10 May'19
- 18:30

What is Saudi Arabia’s role in the Middle East?
2 May'19
- 19:30

The Israel-Palestine Peace Process Is [really, truly] Dead. Now What?
3 Apr.'19
- 19:30

The Trifecta of Misogyny: State, Street, Home
12 Mar.'19
- 19:30

The Next War in the Middle East
28 Feb.'19
- 19:30

Arabs Without God: Atheism and Freedom of Belief in the Middle East
14 Feb.'19
- 19:30

Conservative Families, Progressive Intellectuals: Damascene Modernity and Its Discontents
3 Feb.'19
- 15:00

Maya Youssef - SOLD OUT
2 Feb.'19
- 20:00
World

Dima Wannous
2 Feb.'19
- 17:00
Literature
ALEXANDRIA, WHY ? - Youssef Chahine
26 Jan.'19
- 21:00

AL MUMMIA - Shadi Abdel Salam
26 Jan.'19
- 19:00

AMAL - Mohamed Siam
25 Jan.'19
- 20:00

What’s left of the Egyptian revolution?
25 Jan.'19
- 21:30

LOOKING FOR OUM KULTHUM - Shirin Neshat & Shoja Azari
24 Jan.'19
- 20:00

Zaher II - Premiere
16 → 22
Dec.'18

After the last sky: poetry and circus performance
21 Nov.'18
- 19:30

"I'm the stranger"
19 Sept.'18
- 20:00
Literature

PALESTINE WITH LOVE
3 → 10
June'18
Literature

Victims of the map – 3 Palestinian writers
6 June'18
- 20:00
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L'école de la poésie
13 May'18
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Literature
Education
Secondary Education

Khaled Khalifa
18 Apr.'18
- 20:00
Literature

Hassan Blasim
14 Feb.'18
- 20:00
Literature

Love etc.
27 Oct.'17
- 20:00
Literature

Writing as a way of resistance
26 + 27
Oct.'17
Literature