New Radicalisms is a biennial festival organized by (A)WAKE which takes place from Thursday 30th of June until Sunday the 3rd of July 2022. In its second edition, the festival takes the question “but… where are you really from?” as a prompt to explore more complex answers to where we come from; emotionally, culturally, politically and creatively. Throughout 4 days, New Radicalisms hosts performances, talks, workshops, and club nights by artists from West Asia and North Africa (WANA) and the diaspora.

For its second edition, New Radicalisms takes as a starting point the inquisitive question “but… where are you really from?”. This question may arise from genuine curiosity regarding differences or search for similarities, as much as it undeniably conceals a deep trench between people and pulls to the surface the tensions in questionable dichotomies of the local/foreigner, autochtoon/allochtoon, alien/native, عربي/ نصراني, us/them, expat/immigrant, بلدي/ رومي, or guest/host, lower/higher class. This question usually pops up in the middle of an encounter when the answer to “where are you from?” doesn’t seem to be enough. When your interlocutor detects an unsolved sign of foreignness in you, the “really” is added to drill deeper into the discomfort of being seen as a stranger and explaining your presence.

What would you rather be asked about through the question “but… where are you really from?” What answers can be imagined instead of the ones expected? What are the definitions of belonging that can be proposed? Throughout the festival, we explore pro-positive suggestions and insights for more elaborate readings and responses to this question and beyond. 

West Asia and North Africa (WANA) is a decolonized term for the region most commonly known as Middle East and North Africa (MENA). WANA countries include: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine and its Occupied Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara and Yemen, including Afghanistan and Iran.

(A)WAKE is a grassroots cultural organization built by diaspora artists from the WANA region. Through (A)WAKE, we are committed to providing a space for the in-between diasporic voices of similarly mixed cultural backgrounds. Our direction is driven by questioning the emancipatory potential of the digital world in favor of equal access and mutual cultural exchange between WANA and West Europe. Through the focus on these two regions which we personally find ourselves in, we aim towards propositive approaches which challenge the greater North-South power dynamics through art and digital culture.

Digital culture refers to all the digitally mediated technologies we are surrounded by and embedded in. These technologies, whether physical machines or invisible codes or even the Internet itself, are deeply intertwined in the everyday design process; from how things are made and distributed, to the overarching geopolitical and economic reality of the 21st century. Through these digital technologies, we are able to produce code-processed images, 3D-print a tiny screw or a real-size house, as well as fabricate alter-egos or deep-fakes in a simulated virtual reality space. In this sense, digital culture refers to the code, the machine that produced the code, the people who wrote and own it, and their undeniable influence on our daily life.

Based above the club/space MONO, (A)WAKE provides a space for the in-between voices with multiple cultural backgrounds. We develop cultural programs that do justice to the complexity of our current socio-political context and to the perspectives of minorities who have been overlooked and/or tokenized by mainstream institutions. In a world dominated by media and populism, we move freely between the domains of contemporary art and politics. We believe deeply in the captivating power of aesthetics and design, and connect this with voices of counterculture to reach a wide and diverse audience. The direction of (A)WAKE is driven by questioning the emancipatory potential of the digital world in favor of equal access and mutual cultural exchange between WANA (West Asia and North Africa) and West Europe. Through the focus on these two regions which we personally find ourselves in, we aim towards creative and critical approaches which challenge the greater North-South power dynamics through art and digital culture. (A)WAKE is the initiator of New Radicalisms festival

You can check out the festival’s timetable here and/or follow our Instagram page and Facebook event to get the latest updates. On this page you can find more detailed information about all the different programs, involved artists, performances, talks and workshops.

New Radicalisms takes place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in the creative ZOHO area – a rare unpolished diamond, in an authentic part of the city, at the edge of the center. The festival is spread over two locations and three areas. The talks, performances and workshops take place in the WijkCoop, while the music program takes place in the club/space MONO next door. 

The address is Vijverhofstraat 15 for the check in. This is a 15-minute walk from Rotterdam Central Station. We advise you to come by foot, bike, or public transport. There is limited parking space available in the neighborhood costing € 2,60 per hour until 23:00

You can buy tickets online here, or at the info point located in front of MONO during the festival. At this info point, you can exchange your bought ticket for a wristband to gain access to the locations.

We have different tickets: an All Access Festival Ticket, a Friday Day Ticket, a Friday Club Night Ticket, a Saturday Day Ticket, a Saturday Club Night Ticket, a Sunday Day Ticket, and a Sunday Club Night Ticket. The prices can be found on the ticket page here. If you can not afford to buy a ticket due to your financial situation, please send us an email at hello@a-wake.world.

We are sorry that we can not provide refunds. If the festival is canceled due to force majeure, ticket buyers will get their money back and will be informed of this automatically. If you can not come to the festival, you can try to sell your ticket through TicketSwap.

You can apply as a volunteer here. More information can be found here 

We have a documentation crew that will be taking photos and videos during the festival. These recordings are intended as documentation and can be used on social media at later stages. If you do not want to be in photos or videos, please report this at the info point at the fesitval to get a ‘take no photo/video’ sticker/wristband.

You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. To be directly informed by the latest updates on the New Radicalisms festival you can press “Going” on the Facebook event.

Feel free to reach out to us directly: hello@a-wake.world 

New Radicalisms is supported by Creative Industries Fund, VSB Fonds, Prins Bernard Funds, Gemeente Rotterdam, CBK, Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam, Het Nieuwe Instituut