siwa 02, Arab Spring at the Odéon 
 8 June, 2008 
Think workshop: Arab representation today
with Haytham Abderrazak, Iraqi director, Arafat Sadallah, researcher, philosopher, Siwa collaborator, Hassan El Geretly, Omar Abi Azar, director and actor; chaired by Catherine David museum curator.

Nadia Tazi:
The triumph of Saddam
"It is difficult to talk about Saddam today given Iraq’s current ordeal under the U.S. occupation, and given the end he came to, the image of which sticks in the memory, but it is of Saddam that I will speak here in addressing the representation of the virile chief and its political overtones. I shall take a monument as my starting point, the triumphal arch Saddam had built in Baghdad in the late 80s." Continue reading article in PDF format (french version)  >>

 la Sorbonne, salle Bourjac, Paris 
 17 January, 2008 
In partnership with the joint research group (UMR) "Writing and modernity", "The Centre for Research in Women's Studies" and as part of Mireille Calle-Gruber’s seminar "The Hospitality of literature, passages of the arts"

Arafat Sadallah:
Thoughts inspired by the experience of Siwa 01
"Before I begin, I have a few preliminary remarks. First, I must confess right away that I realised my foolishness the same day I chose this subject and how adventurous and crazy, and therefore irresponsible, my decision had been. But the craziest thing of all this is that I persisted and I wanted to engage my responsibility in the face of this irresponsibility. My purpose shall therefore be to talk about representation in the "Arab world". To lay myself open to your criticism by speaking of Arab representation. (...)"
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 Article published in the journal Cassandra
 Autumn 2008 

Yagoutha Belgacem / Interview
Western World-Arab World: Return trips
"Last June, an 'Arab spring' was hosted by the Odéon Theatre (Paris), with contemporary productions staged at the Odéon’s Ateliers Berthier space. Alongside the organisation Ecritures Vagabones and the publisher Actes Sud, Siwa also invited several artists and intellectuals. To learn more about the team we met with Yagoutha Belgacem, artistic director." Continue reading article in PDF format (french version) >>

 Article published on Babelmed, the website of Mediterranean cultures
 July 2007 

Yagoutha Belgacem interviewed by Camille Soler
"How did you come to start off the Siwa adventure? A curiosity for what's happening artistically in the Arab world. I found that there was no real space to relay, to reveal differently, to make legible what is happening there in terms of contemporary creation. What interests me is working on the plurality of times, time is not the same in the West and in the Arab world." Continue reading article in PDF format (french version) >>

 Article published in Les Lettres Françaises
 June 2, 2007 

interview with Jean-Pierre Han
Haythem Abdul-Razzaq, Iraq, and the movement of life
"Les Lettres Françaises: What is it like doing theatre in Iraq today?
Haythem Abdul-Razzaq: Since 1950, the theatre situation in Iraq has become increasingly catastrophic. Theatre is like a decrepit house inhabited by old people. Guests or spectators are no longer drawn to it. Other homes are more attractive. But today’s Iraq needs the theatre. People were deprived of it during the embargo years. They want to see theatre, because they need the theatre to talk about them."
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 Article published in issue no. 5 of the magazine Arcadi
 April 2007 

Trend by Arafat Sadallah
SIWA: Window on the contemporary Arab stage
"What is the current state of theatre and representation in the Arab world? Is there a (contemporary) theatre to speak of in the Arab world? What do we know here about what is happening there in terms of artistic creation and live performance? What are the problems and difficulties faced by Arab artists in this field? How do the performance arts position themselves in relation to the culture and politics of this region?"
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