On the occasion of 20 years of the CrossCulture Programme by ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, "Connecting Roots: Collective Stories, Individual Identities" is an exhibition and a series of public activities, gathering 15 artists from diverse regions including North Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South Asia, and Europe to explore memory as a bridge between personal heritage and shared futures. In a world fractured by migration, displacement and cultural erasure, the exhibition offers a space for layers of memory to reflect on our individual identities, cultural roots and histories while discovering the possibility of unity through difference. It questions whether our roots separate or connect us, and how remembering today—across time, space and trauma—can become a collective gesture of becoming and transformation.
This exhibition also invites forward-looking reflections on what remembering should mean today in the global context we inhabit. Artists join this collective exploration, presenting works at the intersection of memory and identity, memory and healing, environmental memory, and forward-looking remembrance. We believe that, by coming together, we can reflect on our identities and lived experiences—across cultures, migrations and histories—and shape a collective space of belonging where we can process and transform our narratives into acts of connection and becoming: into one unified human root.
With works by Izz Aljabari (Palestinian Territories), Zahra Amber (Kashmir, Pakistan), Aneek Mustafa Anwar (Bangladesh/USA), Jorge Ernesto Barrón (Bolivia), Ashot Danielyan (Uzbekistan), Said Al Haddaji (Morocco), Yassine Alaoui Ismaili (Yoriyas) (Morocco), M’hammed Kilito (Morocco), Farah Khelil (Tunisia/France), Souad Mani (Tunisia), Yara Mekawei (Egypt/Germany), Monon Muntaka (Bangladesh), Qafar Rzayev (Azerbaijan), Sameh Al Tawil (Egypt/Germany), and Mohamed Thara (Morocco/France).
Curated by Elham Khattab (director of Out Of The Circle, Egypt) and co-curator Omar Chennafi (Morocco) in collaboration with ifa’s Cross Culture Programme and ifa Gallery Stuttgart.
Thursday, July 31, 2025, 19:00 -22:00, Exhibition opening in ifa Gallery Stuttgart.
Exhibition tour with the curators and participating artists.
Sound walk through Stuttgart with artist Yara Mekaweis. Registration required.
Live talk with guests Izz Aljabari and Monon Muntaka about identity, memory and the role of art in collective memory.
Artist and performer Said Al Haddaji shows a dance performance in the inner courtyard of ifa Stuttgart.
To the dance performance
Who owns the city’s sound? Discussion followed by a walk.
Sound walk through Stuttgart with artist Yara Mekaweis. Registration required.
The artist Monon Muntaka will prepare a traditional Bangladeshi dish and share personal and cultural stories connected to the food, origin and family.
Two-day workshop with Said Al Haddaji. Pre-booking required.
Exhibition tour with the curators and participating artists.
Wednesday – Sunday: 12.00 – 18.00
Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and holidays.
Free admission
The ifa Galleries in Stuttgart and Berlin present contemporary art from a global point of view. The work of the ifa Galleries is based on seeing the world from a diversity and plurality of perspectives, discovering new stories, and shaping emancipatory processes, interactions, and artistic spaces. Our focus is on long-term relationships with artists, partners, and visitors, and our exhibitions and education programmes are developed through practices of collaboration that trace global entanglements and piece them together in new forms of narrative.
ifa Gallery Berlin ifa Gallery Stuttgart Press images Access and Mobility
The CrossCulture Programme (CCP) enables professionals and committed volunteers to think outside of the cultural box! The fellowship recipients gain professional experience in host organizations in Germany or in one of the over 40 partner countries. The goal of the occupational stays abroad is to strengthen lasting civil society networks between Germany and countries across the globe.
Charlottenplatz 17
D-70173 Stuttgart
