The "Official Bureau of Disempowerment" is in a white cube. 2 metres long, wide and high, it stands in the middle of a plain room in the glare of the neon lights. The two dozen or so observers cannot see what is going on inside. The only thing that reaches them is a loud, tinny-sounding voice that gives commands and tolerates no contradiction. Sometimes the audience has to line up in rows, then sort themselves according to nationality, gender, or eye colour, or finally step forward individually and place their palms on the cube. The longer it goes on and the more absurd it becomes, the more inevitably the question arises: how can a simple cube complicate a person's life so much?
In the cube, behind a thin white screen, Jordanian performance artist Ameer Masoud stands and plays the megalomaniac bureaucrat who takes out his fantasies of omnipotence on those who depend on him. "I wanted to create chaos and confusion and show how bureaucracy can turn into diabolical torture," Masoud explained later, pleased with the lively discussion among the participants that ensued after his performance.
The performance at the “Berlin Art Week” in September 2017 was his first appearance in Germany. Even today, he remembers many interesting encounters with artists and curators around the festival: "Immersing myself in Berlin's art scene was one of my most influential experiences."
Masoud was funded by the mobility project "Moving MENA" of the Goethe-Institut Cairo, which supported a total of 645 artists and cultural actors between 2012 and 2017. Cultural institutions in Germany could apply for funding to invite Arab artists to join them. Also, the project directly addressed predominantly younger cultural workers from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan, enabling them to participate in events in Germany or other Arab countries by giving them travel grants.
"The trip to Berlin was a great opportunity," Masoud recalls, "and it made me realize the great importance of exchange in art." A lively cooperation has developed from the collaboration with the German artist collective Zona Dynamic at the "Berlin Art Week". "In 2018 we presented a joint project in Amman, then in 2019 we presented the second part of the project in Berlin," Masoud looks back. "As Jordan-based artists, we have had the opportunity to be exposed to the art scene in Germany and implement projects there, and likewise, artists based in Germany have had the chance to work on meaningful collaborations with artists in Amman."
Masoud's experiences are reflected in a survey among former participants of "Moving MENA". 69% of them consider transnational mobility important, for 23% it is very important for their work. "To make art, you have to see art. Travelling is very important to meet people and share experiences," one participant describes the importance of international exchange through travel. Another says: "For art to fulfil its mission, it has to go beyond its logical boundaries of neighbourhood, city, country. It must see the world in order to exchange with it. Otherwise, no human development is possible." Overall, 82% of respondents feel that they have received valuable artistic input through their trip, which was sponsored by Moving MENA.
Art is also political - and so it is no coincidence that "Moving MENA" was launched shortly after the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. Because culture can contribute to democratisation processes, the project also aimed to strengthen the independent cultural sector in the travellers’ countries of origin - and thus civil society structures, which would ultimately support the democratisation processes in Egypt and Tunisia. The Egyptian photographer Sara Soliman wrote in her final report that the experiences she had in Germany strengthened her desire for personal freedom and independence. Similarly, Tunisian Bahiya Chaieb stated that her internship at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin and the conversations with experts and artists taught her the importance of freedom. It was all the more regrettable that scholarship holders also repeatedly reported that the general conditions for independent cultural professionals in their home countries were increasingly deteriorating.
The range of artists supported in the six years is wide: from Berlinale participants like the Egyptian filmmaker Mayye Zayed to traditional puppeteers, icon painters, or experimental performance artists like Ameer Masoud, to musicians and even circus artists. "The nice thing is," says Masoud, "that since then I keep meeting artists who tell me that they have already performed in Germany thanks to 'Moving MENA'."