Mentors and Guest Speakers

All our mentors and guest speakers at the Ateliers are renowned festival managers and directors, cross-sector experts, cultural activists, and artists. Our guest speakers are part of our programme for multiple days while mentors and facilitators are present for the whole period of the atelier. 

Members of the Alumni community of The Festival Academy are also invited to join the Atelier and take initiative leading sessions and involving professionals from their own networks (find out more about our Alumni-led sessions here).

During their participation, they not only act as lecturers but also as true mentors as they engage in one-on-one discussions with the participants.

You can have a look at the list of experts present during previous editions here.

Vigdís Jakobsdóttir is a cultural strategist and theatre director with extensive experience in festival leadership and artistic programming. From 2016 to 2024, she was Artistic Director and CEO of Reykjavík Arts Festival, Iceland’s leading multidisciplinary arts festival. Under her direction, the festival became a platform for bold artistic experimentation, international collaboration, and audience engagement across diverse communities.

With a deep commitment to the transformative power of the arts, Vigdís specialises in developing creative strategies, fostering cross-disciplinary projects, and expanding access to culture. She now works as a freelance cultural strategist, collaborating with artists, institutions, and festivals worldwide to shape innovative artistic programmes and strengthen audience connections.

Vigdís has been involved with The Festival Academy since 2019, contributing to its international knowledge-sharing network for festival leaders.

Previously, she was Head of Education and Outreach at the National Theatre of Iceland (2002–2011) and Programme Director for MA studies in Theatre Education at Iceland University of the Arts (2002–2016), where she played a key role in developing arts education in Iceland. She also directed productions at the National Theatre of Iceland and with independent theatre companies.

She is the founder of Þjóðleikur – The National Youth Theatre Festival in Iceland (2008–2017) and UNGI – an international performing arts festival for young audiences in Reykjavík (2013–2016),

Vigdís served on the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People) for six years (2011–2017), holding the role of Vice President during her second term (2014–2017). In recognition of her contributions to the field, she was named an Honorary Member of ASSITEJ in 2021. 

Alia is a cultural strategist, artist and facilitator working at the intersection of art and social & environmental justice. Her practice uses the arts to interrogate the fundamental causes of inequality and explore alternative modes of understanding the world and being in it. She has worked with national and international organisations as a curator and storyteller to create critical encounters in education and the arts towards collective liberation, from local corner shops to world-renowned museums. 

Alia is a Chevening Scholar, a Clore Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has just been announced as an ISPA Fellow 2026. She is Artistic Director & CEO of Shubbak, Europe’s largest festival of contemporary Arab arts. She is rehearsing moving through life with critical humility, joy & rest, foregrounding dignity for all beings and the Earth, our only home. She pays it forward by volunteering nationally and internationally as a coach and mentor with those experiencing systemic barriers in the cultural and creative worlds. 

Sally is a performance artist whose work exists at the intersection of body, voice, and inherited memory. Over the last two decades, she has carved a unique space for herself in the contemporary Arab performance landscape—one that bridges traditional oral storytelling with contemporary narrative forms and embodied research.

Working with the oral traditions of the Levant, Sally transforms folktales, epics, and personal testimonies into live performances that engage both the collective past and the present moment. Her artistic process begins with research—into history, language, memory, and voice—culminating in performances that allow the story to be sensed, embodied, and reclaimed.

Sally’s repertoire includes Arab folktales, global myths, personal narratives, and epics. Her work on Sirat Al-Dhahir Baybars positions her as the first woman to publicly reclaim and perform this male-dominated bio-epic in a contemporary context. Since 2017, she has been reworking the epic with a critical, feminist lens—reviving it while honoring its cultural weight.

Among her notable works is Khair Ya Tayer—a performance that tells the story of the Palestinian Nakba through oral testimonies and inherited memory. She is also the voice and creator behind several audio storytelling series including Shalabiyat (2015–2019), Hiyaket Al-Kalam (2020), Journey into Madness (2021), and Zaghareed (2022), an artistic research project that explores the power and politics of the Zaghrouta (ululation). In 2024/2025 she wrote, produced and performed “And I Saw…” a 5-part series based on oral histories collected in Palestine in 2023.

Additionally, Sally is a writer, translator, and cultural researcher. She has translated volumes of Syrian folktales, developed storytelling programs, and continues to build accessible platforms for the preservation and reinvention of Arab oral traditions through her digital channels.

Her performances invite audiences to listen with their ears, their histories, their bodies, and their imagination.

Niranjani Iyer is an interdisciplinary artist and educator. Her works shift through theatre, dance, music and puppetry; and are informed by the culture and current affairs of two continents, Europe and Asia. Guided by the Tibetan-Buddhist philosophy of how all sentient beings are dependent and connected to each other, her works (dis)entangle issues of plurality, diversity and displacement.

Through her arts projects and performances, Niranjani fosters dialogue and attempts to disassemble barriers of access and ownership of the arts and public spaces. She is the founder and director of d.r.i.f.t - a hyperlocal performing arts festival in the Himalayas. Through the festival, she opens spaces of the impossible for children from families of daily wage workers as well as women from the margins across class and caste who are often told they can’t. Her social art projects are transformative and structured to catalyse questioning and change. She creates inclusive spaces that welcome a variety of persons from vastly different backgrounds who would otherwise never interact in a shared creative space.  

Cristina Fuentes La Roche OBE is the International Director of Hay Festival, a position she has held since 2005. Born in Madrid, she studied Business and Administration at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid before completing a master’s in Cultural Management at Birkbeck, University of London. Early in her career she worked at Canning House in London, promoting cultural exchange between the UK and Latin America, and later as Director of National Events at Arts & Business.

At Hay Festival she has been central to the organisation’s international expansion, founding or co-founding festivals in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) and Segovia (Spain) in 2006, Querétaro (Mexico) in 2010, and Arequipa (Peru) in 2015, alongside earlier editions in Beirut (Lebanon) and elsewhere. She also oversees Hay’s education and outreach strands, Hay Joven, Hay Comunitario, Hay Festivalito, and digital platforms such as Imagina el Mundo and the Hay Festival podcast, which extend access to literature and ideas worldwide.

A passionate advocate for emerging voices, she has spearheaded landmark talent-spotting projects and anthologies including Bogotá39 (2007, 2017), Beirut39 (2010), Africa39 (2014), Aarhus39, Mexico20 (2015), and Europa28 (2020), all of which have helped to spotlight and launch new generations of writers across continents.

Today, Fuentes La Roche continues to expand Hay’s international footprint and partnerships—most recently spotlighting collaborations in Africa (e.g., NBO Litfest in Kenya) while curating festival programmes that foreground diverse voices and free exchange of ideas. 

Her contributions have been widely recognised. In 2019 she was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to literature and cultural exchange. She accepted on Hay Festival’s behalf the 2020 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, and in 2024 received the Medal of Culture from the city of Arequipa in celebration of a decade of Hay Festival Peru. She has also served as a judge for major literary prizes, including the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (2015) and the Alfaguara Prize (2021). 

Ibrahim Owais is a creative producer, digital product designer, sound artist, and curator. He is the founder of the Recordat music platform and a co-founder of Radio alHara. Based in Bethlehem, Palestine, he has been part of the Wonder Cabinet since its opening in May 2023, where he contributes to the curation, development, and production of artistic and cultural projects. His work focuses on designing and creating cross-media experiences that merge digital and physical spaces.

Owais has been involved in the organization and development of cultural and art programs across Europe and the Mediterranean region, including Documenta 15 in Kassel and the long-term residency project Sounds of Places in Palestine. He has curated and produced performances at international festivals such as Le Guess Who? (Utrecht), and has curated stages at Ortigia Sound System (Sicily) and Garbicz Festival (Poland). Alongside these, he has collaborated with regional and international artists while helping to create platforms that support and connect artists and creatives, expanding cultural infrastructures both locally and internationally. 

Omar Abi Azar is a theatre and festival director, dramaturge, trainer, and founding member of Zoukak Collective in Beirut (2006) and co-artistic director of Zoukak Theatre since 2008. He has directed performances presented across the Middle East, Europe, the United States,South America, South Asia, and Africa.

He has been commissioned to create original work by institutions including NYU Abu Dhabi's Arts Center, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at the University of Houston, Theaterfestival Schwindelfrei Mannheim, and Williams College in Massachusetts.

He has been artist inresidence at the Lift Festival in London, the Sundance Theatre Lab in Utah, and other international programs. In 2025, he joined the Programme Advisory Board of Wiener Festwochen in Vienna.

Since 2008, Abi Azar has led psychosocial theatre interventions with Zoukak in different regions of Lebanon and abroad, including in Serbia and in the Calais Migrant Camp in France. These projects have included drama therapy workshops and collective performances with groups such as former political detainees and displaced communities.

In 2013, heco-founded Zoukak Sidewalks, an international performance festival in Beirut,and Focus Liban, a platform presenting the work of artists living in Lebanon.

Abi Azar has received awards and recognitions, both personally and through Zoukak, including the Ibsen Scholarship Award, the Euromed Dialogue Award from the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Premium lmperiale Grant forYoung Artists from the Japan Art Association,the Chirac Foundation Award for Culture and Peace, andhis contribution to theatre have earned him the the title of Chevalier de l'Odre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture.

Born in Sarajevo on April 24, 1993, I am a film producer and visual artist dedicated to pushing creative boundaries. I graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo, specializing in production and management. Over the years, I have contributed to numerous Bosnian films, including Jasmila Žbanić's "Quo Vadis, Aida?" and produced the short film "Svjedok" by Alen Šimić. As a long-time collaborator of the Sarajevo Film Festival, I have been deeply involved in the region's cinematic landscape.

My artistic journey began at 13 with graffiti, later expanding into street and contemporary art. A collaboration with an American artist on a Sarajevo mural fueled my passion for large-scale works. I am the founder and director of FASADA Festival, an international street art festival, and Manifesto, a contemporary art gallery supporting innovative artistic practices.

Through my association Obojena Klapa, I have played a pivotal role in affirming street art in Sarajevo. My murals, often characterized by surrealism and abstraction, have gained recognition for their bold artistic expression.

Beyond film and visual arts, I have worked on major cultural projects in theater and music, including Jazz Fest Sarajevo, BAM-C (Bosnia's first electronic music conference), and large-scale public events like Solomun's performances and the 2024 New Year's Eve celebration in Sarajevo.

Currently, I am working on several international projects and exhibitions within Gallery Manifesto and it's 2025 programme while developing the 2025 edition of FASADA Festival, further expanding my vision for street art and cultural exchange.

Kenneth Uphopho is a multi-hyphenate whose influence spans arts administration,

artistic direction, writing, festival management and dedicated mentorship.

He is widely recognised as the pioneering Festival Director of the Lagos Theatre Festival (LTF) by the British Council, an annual event that transformed Lagos city's theatrical scene. Under his leadership, the LTF provided a crucial platform for diverse theatrical expressions, fostering collaboration and attracting both local and international audiences. Building on this success after 5 years, Kenneth Uphopho also spearheaded the creation of the Lagos Fringe and the Abuja Fringe in 2018, extending the reach of independent performing arts to a wider Nigerian audience and further democratizing access to cultural experiences. These festivals are not merely showcases but incubators for new work, providing vital opportunities & access to the market for artists to experiment, connect, and thrive.

Kenneth Uphopho is also a visionary artistic director with a remarkable portfolio of

plays that reflect his diverse interests and has helmed some of Nigeria's most ambitious musical productions, including the critically acclaimed Saro the Musical, a vibrant and historically rich narrative that captivated audiences across the nation. His directorial touch was also evident in Firestarter the Musical, Rubiewe the Musical, Fantasia 2023, BAAD, Fela: Arrest the Music, London Life Lagos Living, Speaking Out and Ada the Musical, etc., further solidifying his reputation for bringing large-scale, engaging musical theatre to life. Kenneth Uphopho’s directorial range, however, extends far beyond musicals. He has masterfully directed thought-provoking and impactful dramatic works such as Every Single Day & Shattered, pieces that delve into contemporary societal themes, and his longest touring show, ‘Esther’s Revenge’, inspired by a true story, which is an exploration of raw human emotion and vulnerability.

His collaborative spirit and his desire to connect Nigerian arts with the global community are evident in his significant work with the British Council. He has played a crucial role in the British Council's Festival Gathering project, an initiative aimed at fostering connections and sharing best practices among festival organisers in Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and the UK.

One of Kenneth Uphopho's most impactful contributions has been his relentless commitment to mentorship for emerging artists. He also consistently provides guidance, shares his extensive network, and creates platforms for young artists to gain practical experience and exposure. Kenneth Uphopho is a fellow of the Arts, National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners, ISPA Fellow and the Coordinator of the Guild of Theatre Directors Nigeria.

Hadi is the Founder and Artistic Director of Studio 8 in Amman, a leading platform in Jordan for dance and performing arts. Additionally, he serves as the Director and Co-Curator of the IDEA Festival, a bi-annual International Contemporary Dance Festival aimed at positioning Jordan as a hub for innovative choreographic work. Since 2014, Hadi has collaborated with numerous artists, cultural producers, academics, and researchers worldwide, expanding his global network and consolidating his reputation within the field. He has actively participated in talks, seminars, festivals, and exhibitions, contributing to the exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Currently, initiating the "Sahra Sharq Gharb: Arab region meets the Global South '' artistic residency series, Hadi aims to bridge connections between South and East. This initiative brings together artists from diverse regions for a 20-day residency in the desert of Wadi Rum, Jordan.

Hadi's latest full-length performance, "Crossing," showcases his collaborative approach, involving visual, sound, and light artists. The performance has been showcased in prestigious venues globally, including the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, the Asia Culture Centre in Korea, the Marche Festival in Morocco, and the Akropidita Festival in Greece. Besides his curatorial and artistic roles, Hadi has collaborated and worked as a cultural expert at various arts organisations, including Halaqat, a project organised by Goethe-Institut Brüssel and Bozar in Brussels, The Prince Claus Fund in the Netherlands, ProHelvetia in Switzerland, Drosos Foundation in Switzerland, Erasmus+, and others.

As the Artistic Director and Co-curator of IDEA Festival, Hadi aims to elevate Jordan in the global dance scene, fostering connections between local and international dance professionals. The festival showcases cutting-edge works from around the world and facilitates intercultural understanding and capacity building.

Hadi holds a B.A. in Business Administration and a Master's degree in Cultural Anthropology in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage from the Norwegian University of Technology and Science and the University of Roehampton in London. He is fluent in Arabic and English.

Anas Nahleh is a self-taught multidisciplinary performer and choreographer.

He began dancing at the age of 14, like many self-taught street artists, practicing in the streets of Amman without formal training, guidance, or support. After more than a decade of practice and advocacy for dance development in Jordan, Anas co-founded Studio 8 in 2014 with Hadi Abunahleh and Ren Shallman. The platform was created to inspire young people, provide opportunities for inclusive creative projects, and foster the conditions necessary for dance to thrive and survive in Jordan.

Since its founding, Studio 8 has organised more than 100 workshops across different dance styles, produced several original dance productions, and toured locally and internationally. Anas has choreographed and co-directed three productions that integrate performance with art installations, envisioning a future where the boundaries between dance, design, architecture, circus arts, and science intersect. Studio 8 has also brought dance into galleries and exhibition spaces in Jordan, expanding the possibilities of where and how dance can exist.

In 2017, Anas represented Studio 8 at the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) Congress in New York and became a listed member of ISPA. From 2016–2017, he attended an intensive year-long training at the Boulder Circus Center in Colorado, USA. Between 2019 and 2021, he took an active role in stage management and artist liaison while co-organizing International Dance Encounter Amman (IDEA), an eight-day festival that brought together 52 artists from 20 countries, supported by key local and international organizations such as the European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC), the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the Nationales Performance Netz (NPN), Goethe-Institut, the Arab Theatre Training Centre (ATTC), and Al Balad Theater.

Most recently, in 2022, Anas participated in Arab Arts Focus (AAF) at the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) in Cairo, and joined an intensive program with the Festival Academy (Atelier Elefsina–Beirut).

Ren, a graduate of Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (UAL), is a multidisciplinary artist, a programmer, and a curator. As co-founder of Studio 8, Ren contributes to shaping the organisation into a platform for contemporary live arts rooted in innovation and collaboration. Her role bridges artistic vision with program development, curation, and strategic partnerships, ensuring that Studio 8’s initiatives foster dialogue across local and international contexts.

Ren contributes to the curation and programming of festivals and exchange projects, emphasising interdisciplinary approaches and collaborative creation. She contributes to coordinating logistics and oversees the realisation of projects. Her contribution nurtures emerging voices while connecting diverse communities through shared creative experiences.

Auronda Scalera currently serves as Chief Curator of WUJŪD Art Foundation in Jordan, a brand new 1.300 sqm cultural hub in the heart of Ayla Oasis, Aqaba. This landmark 4.3 million sqm destination integrates art galleries, cutting-edge architecture, luxury hotels, golf clubs, beaches, cinemas, theatres, wellness centres, and public art initiatives.

Auronda is an internationally recognised artistic director, curator, board member, lecturer, cultural strategist, and consultant for museums and governments. With over two decades of experience in contemporary art, she is known for creating exhibitions and programs that fuse artistic vision with technology and global discourse.

Her recent curatorial highlights include Noor Riyadh Festival, Art Dubai Digital, Lumen Prize x Sotheby’s and the MAXXI–Bvlgari Prize for digital art. She has co-curated national and collateral pavilions at the Venice Biennale (Latin America IILA Pavilion; Arto Lindsay, 2009 inauguration; Until the End of the Sea, 2015, 2017) and served for a decade as Artistic Director of VISIVA – The City of Art in Rome, a 7,000 sqm multidisciplinary hub for culture.

Auronda is a frequent speaker at leading cultural summits, including Harvard University, TATE+, the House of Beautiful Business (Lisbon), speaking and performing in front of 700, and lectures at IESA University Paris and Kingston University London. She has addressed the UK House of Lords as an expert witness on art and culture, appeared on Sky TV/Class CNBC discussing art and AI, and featured in a CNBC documentary on the future of the art market. A published writer, she recently authored a monograph on Ellen Sheidlin for Rizzoli International, and contributes as a columnist for The Observer NY.

In collaboration with Dr. Alfredo Cramerotti, director of mm:museum Doha, she co-leads Web to Verse (a global digital art exhibition) and Multiplicity – Art in Digital, advancing women’s representation and inclusion in the digital arts. She has advised and spoken at the AI House and Women for Davos at the World Economic Forum. Auronda also serves as a Board Member of Stage Block, a London based and international performing and art firm celebrating talent. She is a member of the IKT the largest association of contemporary art curators, CIMAM, and UN Women UK, and acts as global consultant for IKT in the MENA region. In 2025, she organised the 2025 IKT Symposium across Dubai, Sharjah, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, convening over 200 top cultural leaders, museum directors, and curators.

Currently serving as the Artistic and Executive Director of WUJŪD, a private art association based in Amman, Jordan, where she is charting a new model of cultural and artistic innovation and institutional growth. With vision and purpose at its core, WUJŪD is preparing to establish its permanent home on the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba, within the inspiring landscape of Ayla Oasis.

Throughout her career, Al Hindawi has launched pioneering initiatives that have reshaped the practice of arts and culture management in the Arab region and beyond. She founded the Middle East Center for Culture and Development (MECCAD) in New York and Amman to foster cross-cultural cooperation, dismantle stereotypes, and highlight the richness, diversity, and openness of Arab culture. In 2001, she introduced the Arab world’s first international cultural market, Souk Ukaz, a multidisciplinary platform that sparks creativity, dialogue, and intercultural exchange through innovative artistic programming.

Her leadership has extended to key national cultural strategies, including her role as Advisor to the Minister of Culture in Jordan, where she headed the reform and restructuring of the media, arts, and culture sectors. Internationally, she has initiated, directed and shaped world-class cultural institutions such as the Spring of Culture Festival in Bahrain, the establishment of the Royal Opera House Muscat, ARAMCO’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (ITHRA) in Saudi Arabia, and the Abu Dhabi Festival, consistently merging artistic excellence with institutional sustainability.

A seasoned global cultural strategist, Al Hindawi has collaborated with the Institute for Cultural Enterprise (ICE) in New York, organized the second edition of the World Culture Forum at the Dead Sea in 2005, and worked with leading organizations including Weimar: European Capital of Culture 1999, UNESCO’s International Music Council in Paris, the International Music Center (IMZ) in Vienna, and the Latin American Cultural Market in Brazil.

Speaker at international cultural forums and gatherings, and an active member of cultural networks

Andrew Gharaibeh Collingwood is a number of things. As an Entrepreneur and development expert, he is the Managing Partner at Expectation State, building a more sustainable model for consultancy across a range of disciplines, including arts and culture. As a co-founder of Impact Jordan and the Arab Impact Network, he is an impact ecosystem builder with a focus on localisation and inclusion. As a Dj, having begun playing on pirate radio stations in London in the ‘90s and ‘00s, he is a resident on Radio alHara and has played across West Asia and Europe. As a supper club and experience creator, he co-runs Vicarage & Sons, a supper club in Amman and London.