WHO WE ARE
Zoukak was established in 2006 as a horizontal theatre collective committed to artistic practice as a form of social and political engagement. Each performance addresses issues that challenge the status quo, resonating with the context in which it operates and beyond.
Over the years, Zoukak has performed and collaborated both regionally and internationally, participating in numerous international festivals. Locally, the collective remains dedicated to decentralizing culture by presenting its work across Lebanon, reaching diverse audiences in various regions.
Zoukak continuously diversifies its theatre tools, applying them in contexts such as social engagement, therapy, and education. The collective also fosters dialogue and reflection around the performing arts, aiming to cultivate a supportive environment for artistic development and provide training opportunities for local artists in Lebanon and beyond.
ABOUT US
Founded in 2006, Zoukak emerged as a collective committed to harnessing theatre as a medium for social and political engagement. We conceive of theatre as a space for shared reflection and collaboration—an instrument of resistance against marginalization. By operating beyond dominant narratives, we cultivate direct engagement with communities, amplifying underrepresented voices and fostering critical discourse.
From its inception, Zoukak has prioritized collective creation, grounded in the belief that theatre is intrinsically shaped by a multiplicity of perspectives. Our approach privileges process over outcome, emphasizing collaboration as a means of expanding creative practices, interrogating theatrical forms, and embracing diverse modes of expression. Through our work, we challenge prevailing hegemonies, addressing themes of gender, history, power, religion, violence, and memory.
Beyond artistic production, we integrate theatre into broader frameworks of social engagement, therapy, and education. Over the years, we have developed a distinct approach to psychosocial intervention, conducting workshops and training programs for diverse groups while producing performances that traverse Lebanon’s varied socio-political landscapes. These efforts aim to bridge artistic exploration with tangible social impact.
2006, the year of Zoukak’s inception, was also marked by the Israeli war on Lebanon, which displaced two million people from the South. The following year, the entire population of the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp was forcibly relocated to Beddawi Camp. In both crises, Zoukak was actively present, conducting psychosocial theatre interventions informed by a unique drama therapy methodology. These experiences reinforced our enduring commitment to theatre as an instrument of social change. Since then, we have refined this approach, applying it within emergency contexts and beyond, working with incarcerated youth, children with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, migrant domestic workers, and other marginalized groups, as well as individuals directly and indirectly impacted by war.
Cultivating Artistic Discourse and Development
Zoukak remains steadfast in fostering dialogue and critical reflection within Lebanon’s performing arts landscape. Since 2013, we have curated Zoukak Sidewalks, a bi-annual international festival, alongside a constellation of initiatives designed to support emerging local artists. These include Focus Liban, the Mentorship Program for young creators, and the University Program, which showcases performances by university students. As part of our commitment to nurturing artistic development, we established Kawalis Zoukak, a suite of programs dedicated to enhancing the artistic capacities of theatre practitioners and students.
In 2008, we inaugurated Zoukak Studio, a dynamic hub for artistic experimentation and practical exchange. This space evolved into a fully equipped black box theatre in 2016, providing an open-access rehearsal and creation venue for local practitioners. It continues to host residencies, co-productions, and performances, remaining the creative nucleus of our work.
Despite the successive crises Lebanon has endured, we have remained resolute in our mission, sustaining our practice and reinforcing our engagement with the communities we serve. Today, in 2025, as we emerge from yet another war, our commitment to theatre as a site of resistance, reflection, and transformation remains unwavering.
Recognition and Accolades
Over the years, Zoukak has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including:
- Ibsen Scholarship Award (2012)
- Anna Lindh Foundation’s Euro-Med Dialogue Award for Social Resilience and Creativity (2014)
- Honorary Citizenship of the City of Palermo (2017)
- Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists from the Japan Arts Association (2017)
- Chirac Foundation Award for Culture for Peace (2017)
- Ellen Stewart International Award (2018)
By supporting Zoukak, you are endorsing:
- The enduring sustainability of a theatre collective that has dedicated the past 18 years to challenging the status quo in Lebanon and beyond, through its theatrical endeavors.
- The use of theatre to empower individuals and to foster cohesion among diverse Lebanese communities, through interventions employing various techniques such as drama therapy and nonviolent communication.
- An inclusive cultural venue that welcomes over 6000 audience members annually, including various marginalized communities.
- The annual support of over 500 theatre makers, providing them with mentorships, training, workshops, and residencies to enhance their practice and impact their work.
125k+
Audience
1000+
Participants in Artistic Trainings
Our Team
LAMIA ABI AZAR
Co-Artistic Director and Theatre Maker
Biography
Lamia Abi Azar is a theatre maker, performer and drama therapist, co-founder and co-artistic director of the Zoukak Theatre Company (2006) and Zoukak Studio (2008), Beirut.
She obtained her Bachelor degree in Clinical Psychology from St. Joseph University in Beirut (USJ) in 1999 while studying theater at the Institute of Fine Arts at the Lebanese University (1997-1999).
She then moved to Italy in 1999, where she co-founded La Casa del Teatro, a hosting space for theatrical encounters and production at L’Aquila where she acquired her degree in History & Practice of Arts, Music and Performance, with an emphasis on theater from the Università degli Studi dell’Aquila in 2004.
Merging the various tools she acquired during her studies, she developed a psychosocial methodology in response to the needs of the communities she worked with; increasing the wellbeing and self-esteem of participants, providing a free space of reflection and dialogue that allows the development of their personal and collective resources in an atmosphere of enjoyment through theater.
As a strong believer in the power of imagination as an agent for change, she led a wide number of psychosocial interventions since 2000 in collaboration with local and international organizations, providing workshops and training programs to diverse groups such as women, young people, and children who have been subjected to domestic violence, incarcerated minors and the residents of shelters, children and young people suffering from multiple disabilities, foreign domestic workers, migrants and refugees, and populations affected by wars and conflicts. She devised performances with these groups in various contexts in Lebanon and abroad, connecting socially engaged work with artistic research and practice.
Over the past 15 years, Lamia has created over 20 performances with Zoukak Theatre Company – co-devising, co-writing and performing. She has presented performances at international festivals and venues around the world such as the MuCEM, ITFOK Festival, Southbank Center, Ibsen theater, Théâtre des 13 Vents and more.
Based on her will to share her knowledge and expertise and her belief that political change is first and foremost a collective change of ecosystems, she developed a training of theater practitioners in psychosocial interventions and produced publications on that topic and on theater for development. Since the launching of Zoukak’s Mentorship Program and Production Support Grant in 2016, Lamia also actively contributes to the development of the program and has mentored young artists by supporting them in their projects’ development.
Junaid Sarieddeen
Co-Artistic Director and Theatre Maker
Biography
Junaid is a theatre actor, director, and dramaturge, as well as a founding member of Beirut-based Zoukak Theatre Company (2006) and a member of the Sundance Institute Board of Trustees (2019–2022). He has directed several theatre productions with Zoukak and other artists and has performed in more than 30 productions over the past 22 years, touring in multiple cities and festivals around the world.
Junaid is also a trainer of trainers in theatre, psychosocial theatre, and drama therapy. He holds a BA in Theatre, a BA in Philosophy, and a Master’s in Research in Theatre.
Omar Abi Azar
Co-Artistic Director and Theatre Maker
Biography
Omar Abi Azar is a theatre director and founding member of Zoukak Theatre Company.
He was the dramaturge and director of several of Zoukak’s performances that toured in various cities in the Middle East, Europe, the United States, South America, South Asia and Africa.
He was commissioned by international festivals, theatres and universities to create original work: NYUAD’s Performing Arts Center, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center, University of Houston, Texas, Theaterfestival Schwindelfrei Mannheim, Williams College, Massachusetts, among others. He was artist in residence with Zoukak at the Lift Festival, London, Sundance Theatre Lab, Utah among others.
Since 2008, Omar leads psychosocial interventions with Zoukak, targeting various communities in different regions of Lebanon and abroad (in Serbia and in Calais’ Migrants’ Camp, France); giving drama-therapy workshops and creating collective performances with various groups.
Since 2013 he co-curates “Zoukak Sidewalks” an international performance festival, and “Focus Liban” a platform showcasing and supporting the work of artists residing in Lebanon.
Maya Zbib
Co-Artistic Director and Theatre Maker
Biography
Maya Zbib is a Lebanese theatre director, performer, writer, and trainer. She is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Zoukak Theatre (2006) and Sidewalks Festival (2013).
Her work is process-driven, emerging from personal desires and obsessions that intersect with global political concerns. She explores intimacy, hybrid performative forms, and spatial relationships, particularly through feminine narratives within broader social constructs of gender roles. Using playfulness, theatricality, and liveness, she exposes systemic violence and segregation, employing archetypal figures and clichés to break taboos and confront the unsaid through poetry and historical positioning.
Her recent work includes co-directing Ruinous Gods, a new opera that premiered at Spoleto Festival USA in May 2024. Other productions and commissions, such as Listening to Walls Wear Off Their Color and The Love Project, have been showcased at international festivals and venues worldwide, including Williams College, MUCEM Museum, The New York Public Library, MASS MoCA, La Comédie de Reims, International Theatre Festival of Kerala, The Southbank Centre, Santiago À Mil Festival, Festival of the Arts in Bordeaux, Théâtre des Treize Vents in Montpellier, and Hamburg Schauspielhaus, among others.
She has been an artist-in-residence with Zoukak at Sundance Theatre Lab, Utah (2017); BAC, London, as part of LIFT Festival (2014); NYU Abu Dhabi (2015), where she directed Organs, Tissues and Candy Games; Schwindelfrei Festival, Mannheim (2014–2016), where she co-directed Death Comes Through the Eyes and Irregular; and University of Houston’s Mitchell Center (2015–2016), where she co-directed the promenade performances In Walking Distance (CounterCurrent Festival 2015) and Innocent Violence (CounterCurrent Festival 2016). She’s been invited by the city theatres of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach in Germany to directed Mahmoud Darwish’s A Memory for Forgetfulness (2013) and Anatomy Titus: Fall of Rome (2022), with the theatre ensemble.
Her play Ghalia’s Miles was presented as a staged reading at The Royal Court, London (2016) as part of the Told from the Inside series and later at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival (2017). Her installation Limbo of the White Sea was exhibited as part of On The Move within LIFT 2016 at the Royal Court Theatre, and was later performed in Berlin, Hamburg and Montpellier.
Since 2008, Maya has led psychosocial interventions with Zoukak in marginalized communities across Lebanon and internationally. She worked extensively with Lamia Abi Azar to develop and deliver training for theatre practitioners in psychosocial mediation techniques. She also facilitates collaborations, artistic residencies, and events with international artists at Zoukak’s studio, where she has co-curated Zoukak Sidewalks (an international performance festival) and Focus Liban (a platform supporting and promoting local artists) since 2013. Through Zoukak’s Mentorship Program, she has guided several artists since 2018, overseeing their projects from conception to realization.
She has given talks, workshops, and lectures at universities and in non-academic settings worldwide, focusing on devised theatre, physical performance, and narrative development.
As a playwright and editor, she has co-authored and published several plays with Zoukak Collective, including Silk Thread, Perform Autopsy, and Heavens, as well as a Theatre for Development Manual.
Maya has studied theatre at the Institute of Fine Arts, Lebanese University (2003) and earned an MA in Performance Making from Goldsmiths, University of London (2007). She also obtained a postgraduate degree in International Cultural Cooperation and Management from IL3, University of Barcelona (2011).
She is a Chevening/KRSF Alumna (2007), a Cultural Leadership International Alumna (2010), and a fellow of ISPA, NY (2010). She was selected as protégée of Peter Sellars in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiativen (2011) and was chosen by the International Theatre Institute to deliver the 2018 World Theatre Day message at UNESCO, Paris, representing the Arab world. She was honored at Cairo’s 27th International Festival for Experimental Theatre (2020) and was a two-time finalist for the Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award, receiving Special Recognition in New York City, October 2023.
Mohamad Hamdan
Co-Artistic Director and General Manager
Biography
Mohamad Hamdan is a mathematician, a trainer in nonviolent communication, a theatre practitioner, and a founding member of Zoukak Theatre. He serves as the General Manager and Co-Artistic Director of Zoukak, leading key production projects and participating in the collective creative devising processes of the theatre company.
Mohamad’s work focuses on people development and the sustainability of collective endeavors. He has applied this focus across various contexts, including the business and nonprofit sectors, as well as within social movements and diverse communities.
He studied Mathematical Engineering at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées in France (2001). He then joined Murex, a global leader in financial software, where he worked from 2001 to 2013 in France, the UAE, and Lebanon, managing projects and client relationships.
In 2013, Mohamad completed a course on Leadership, Organizing, and Action delivered by Harvard University, followed by Train the Trainer, conducted by CIPD in the UK. He then began designing and delivering training programs and consultancy services in communication, client care, leadership, social organizing, and cultural management.
Since 2016, he has been a practitioner of nonviolent communication, integrating it with theatre as a tool for self-growth, interpersonal connection, and social change. He also explores it as an entry point into creative processes.
Sandra Abdelbaki
Communication Officer
Biography
Sandra Abdelbaki is a Lebanese journalist born in 2000. She holds a Bachelor’s in Multimedia Journalism from the Lebanese American University and a joint Master’s degree in Journalism, Media and Globalisation from Aarhus and Charles University. Since 2019, Sandra has worked as a freelance journalist for multiple news outlets in Lebanon and abroad. She also worked in communications for cultural projects and non-governmental organisations. Aside from her media and journalism work, Sandra is a dance and theatre enthusiast. Her work is inspired by political activism against systemic injustices and her admiration of Arabic history and culture.
Karma Baalbaki
Senior Finance Manager
Biography
A seasoned business and management consultant specializing in SME development, with over 24 years of experience supporting the growth and success of small and medium enterprises from idea conception to realization, scaling, and maturation. Since 2022, she has led several regional SME consultancy assignments, with a particular focus on empowering women entrepreneurs and social projects.
Born in Beirut in 1977, Karma holds a master’s degree in Finance from Saint Joseph University (2002). With a deep passion for the arts and culture, she has been supporting the development of Zoukak since 2021. She currently serves as the Senior Finance Manager of Zoukak Theatre.
Jana Bou Matar
Programs Manager
Biography
Jana Bou Matar is a theater-maker who performs, directs and writes for theater to challenge concepts around political and social ideas in her environment. In January 2024, she joined Zoukak Theatre as the Program Officer. Currently, she is the Program Manager of Zoukak. “Meaning Making Cocktail”, is the first theater performance that she wrote and directed; it was produced by Zoukak Theatre and shown at Monnot Theater (2021) and Zoukak Theatre (2022) and was invited to represent Lebanon in Carthage Festival, Tunisia, in December 2022. Jana graduated from the Lebanese University in 2021, majoring in theater. Currently, she is pursuing her master’s in Theater Studies at Saint Joseph University of Beirut. She has worked as assistant director and stage manager on multiple plays including “The Rave Empire”, “The Gazelle of Akka”, and “Lines” directed by Junaid Sarieddeen and “Pinocchio”, directed by Omar Abi Azar. As part of Zoukak’s placements, Jana traveled to Théâtre National de Bretagne (Rennes), where she completed workshops with the TNB students and attended the yearly festival. Additionally, she traveled to Theatre 13 Vents in Montpellier, France, in November 2023, where she took part in l’Ecole Ephémère, a “temporary school”; bringing together artists from diverse nationalities with a focus on critical analysis and contexts of creations. Jana is one of the founders and organizers of Kawalis Zoukak Kommunity which is a community of performing arts practitioners focused on the growth of collective and individual artistic practices. Since 2021, she has been a performer and member of Laban Theater, an association that works with improvisational theater and its applications in civil society. Jana is specifically fond of cats and her favorite sound is: miaw.
JEAN HIMO
Admin and Finance Officer
Biography
Born in Beirut in 1975, Jean is a dedicated professional in accounting and finance and is enamored with the arts and culture scene. Currently serving as the esteemed administrative and finance officer at Zoukak Theatre, his journey has been fueled by a deep love for numbers and an unwavering commitment to education.
With a bachelor’s degree in accounting and auditing, earned with pride in 1999, Jean has since devoted his energy in the field of general accounting and taxation for various types of companies. As a teacher, from financial math to accounting and cost accounting, he strives to ignite curiosity and empower students with practical knowledge for their future success.
Hussein Khalaf Al-Hammoud
Logistician
Biography
Hussein Khalaf Al-Hammoud, also known as “Ezzo”, likes to help with everything. In 2021, he joined Zoukak as a logistician, always making sure that things are running smoothly in the space. Prior to that, he worked in sound with Wicked Solutions. Aside from his work at Zoukak, Hussein also does sound installation for several bands and events in Lebanon.
Antonella Rizk
Technical Director
Biography
Based in Beirut, Antonella is a technical director, light designer, and performer. She graduated from Lebanese University with a bachelor’s degree in theater, and since 2019, she has been actively involved in the theater industry. In 2021, Antonella took part in Ettijahat’s “Maharat 2021” program, specializing in theater lighting. Since then, she has contributed her expertise to over 100 plays, productions, and performances.
Additionally, Antonella has performed in two theatre productions, one of which was selected for JTC’s “Journées théâtrales de Carthage 2022.”
Currently, she holds the role of Technical Director at Zoukak Theatre while also working as a freelance light designer, technician, operator and performer.
Serjoun Sarieddine
Venue Manager
Biography
Born in 1999 and raised in Lebanon, Serjoun completed his education in 2019 in the aviation field as a commercial pilot at the Amman Mid-East Aviation Academy.
Serjoun holds more than 4 years of experience in the F&B industry.
Currently, and being interested in the arts and culture sector, Serjoun serves as the Venue Manager of Zoukak Theatre.
Maya Chami
Zoukak Association Member
Biography
Maya Chami is a graphic designer and digital artist based in Beirut. She has been involved in broader cultural work including organizing art exhibitions and auctions and managing art books from content to publishing.
Her live audiovisuals performances include “Transitional Digital Objects”, “Of Men, Champagne and Victory Aside”, “The Promise of a Field”.
Her work springs from interpersonal narratives employing theory leading to practice.
Maya holds a BS in Graphic Design from the Lebanese American University and a MA (with merit) in Digital Arts from Camberwell College of Arts, University of Arts, London.
Stéphanie Dadour
Zoukak Association Member
Biography
Associate professor at the National School of Architecture Paris-Malaquais, Stéphanie Dadour is affiliated with the French Collaborative Institute on Migration since 2019 and researcher at the Architecture Culture Société research lab. She is co-editor-in-chief of the online peer-reviewed journal Métropolitiques and co-founder of Dadour de Pous Architecture office.
Interested in the spatial, cultural, and political dimensions of the domestic sphere, her early research allowed her to historicize the intersections between feminisms and architecture. More recently, she mobilizes feminist theories and epistemologies in her work, thus taking a critical look at architecture and its systems of ideas: stories, canonical texts and theories. Her latest research focuses on the reception and accommodation of exiles by citizens in France, through the home-making process.
Among her published books Des voix s’élèvent. Féminismes et Architecture, (Editions de la Villette, 2022), Enseigner l’architecture à Grenoble. Une histoire, des acteurs, une formation (with S. Le Vot, Editions Recherches), The Housing Project. Discourses, ideals, models and politics in 20th century exhibitions, (with G. Caramellino, Leuven University Press, 2020), and 1989, hors-champ de l’architecture officielle : Liban, (ACS, 2015).
Dala Fakhreddine
Zoukak Association Member
Biography
Dala Fakhreddine is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist.
After finishing her degree in clinical and psychopathological psychology, she specialized in the field of addiction, in France in 2002, and started her work in that domain ever since. In 2007, she started working at Skoun, the first outpatient treatment center in Lebanon and one of the group of centers and professionals who lobbied to legalize OST in Lebanon.
Throughout the last 10 years, she participated as speaker and trainer in several workshops in Lebanon and abroad. She also teaches classes in specialized diplomas for addiction, addressed to professionals in the field.
Alongside her work at Skoun, she also held a clinical psychologist position in the psychiatry department of Mount Lebanon Hospital from 2010 till 2022. She worked individually and in groups with hospitalized patients. And during these 12 years, she supervised Masters 1 level students.
Additionally, she holds a private practice in the field since 2010.
DANIELLE GEARA-CHAUMONt
Board of Trustees Member
Biography
Currently Danielle Geara-Chaumont is a Strategic Procurement Manager at Murex, a leading provider of technology solutions for global capital markets. She drives strategic sourcing initiatives and manages key suppliers ensuring healthy long-term business relationships based on co-produced and shared values. Danielle’s career spans over 20+ years of experience in IT for financial markets, with a solid and transverse background of software engineering, strategy and management consulting, as well as business development, focused on long and complex sales lifecycles with multi-million size deals. She holds a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Saint-Joseph University in Beirut (2001) as well as an INSEAD MBA in Singapore and France (2009). Binational (French/Lebanese), interested in languages and their origins, Danielle has consistently sought and enjoyed working in diverse, international and inclusive settings, leveraging a strong cultural sensitivity to adapt to different environments and collaboration models. Passionate about film and theater, she has experienced as hobbies drama classes, acting in plays, singing classes and scenario writing.
Hilde Guri Bohlin
Board of Trustees Member
Biography
Currently Danielle Geara-Chaumont is a Strategic Procurement Manager at Murex, a leading provider of technology solutions for global capital markets. She drives strategic sourcing initiatives and manages key suppliers ensuring healthy long-term business relationships based on co-produced and shared values. Danielle’s career spans over 20+ years of experience in IT for financial markets, with a solid and transverse background of software engineering, strategy and management consulting, as well as business development, focused on long and complex sales lifecycles with multi-million size deals. She holds a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Saint-Joseph University in Beirut (2001) as well as an INSEAD MBA in Singapore and France (2009). Binational (French/Lebanese), interested in languages and their origins, Danielle has consistently sought and enjoyed working in diverse, international and inclusive settings, leveraging a strong cultural sensitivity to adapt to different environments and collaboration models. Passionate about film and theater, she has experienced as hobbies drama classes, acting in plays, singing classes and scenario writing.
Christopher Hibma
Chair of Board of Trustees
BIOGRAPHY
Christopher Hibma is a non-profit leader in culture, strategy, and international program design. He is the Executive Director for Videos for Change. He is the Founding Chair of Zoukak Theatre’s Board of Trustees. He is a member of Creative Capital’s National Advisory Council, a US organization that invests in artists to shape the future and is the Founding Director for the FoodxFilm Festival. Christopher is the former Senior Artistic Producer for the Guthrie Theater. He is also a member of Guild of Future Architects, a refuge for people shaping an inclusive & prosperous world. He has partnered with Ettijahat-Independent Culture in Lebanon, the Luma Fondation in France, D-CAF in Egypt, the Rolex Mentors & Protégés Arts Initiative in Switzerland, the Office of the King Mohammed VI and Dar al-Ma’mun in Morocco, the Kampala International Theatre Festival in Uganda, Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and the Nairobi Musical Theatre Initiative in Kenya. He has served as a consultant to The Apollo Theater, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the global design firm, IDEO. In his role as the Director of Sundance Institute’s Theatre Program, Christopher built one of the world’s leading brands and most diverse rosters of artists in partnership with Philip Himberg.
Philip Himberg
Board of Trustees Member
Biography
Philip Himberg is an Arts and Artist Consultant. He recently stepped down after four years as Executive Director of MacDowell, the US’s first artist residency program. MacDowell provides 300 Fellowships year-round for US and Global art makers across seven artistic disciplines. Previously, and for 23 years, Philip served as the Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program– a developmental lab for American, Middle Eastern and North and East African theatre makers. He serves as Vice Chair of the board of “Action For Hope”, an NGO based in Beirut and Amman. He is Past Board President of Theatre Communications Group and served on the Tony Awards Nomination Committee. Philip is also a playwright, whose play PAPER DOLLS, an adaptation of the documentary film, premiered in London and Washington, DC. He is in the process of moving his primary residence from New York to Lisbon. He is also a doctor of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.
Dr. Albert Moukheiber
Board of Trustees Member
Biography
Dr. Albert Moukheiber is a researcher in Neuroscience and a clinical psychologist. He spent 10 years working at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, focusing on anxiety disorders and resilience. For the past six years, he has been practicing privately while also teaching at Paris 8 University, where he gives lectures to Master’s students in clinical psychology and psychopathology.
In parallel, together with fellow researchers, he co-founded Chiasma, an organization dedicated to critical thinking and mental flexibility—particularly how we form opinions and how these shape our decision-making.
Albert is also a public speaker and works with companies to share the latest scientific insights on our cognition and behaviors, and how these influence our everyday lives.
He is the author of the best-selling book Your Brain Is Playing Tricks on You (Allary Editions, 2019), currently being adapted by Arte and translated into 12 languages. His latest book, Neuromania, was published in 2024. He is also the author of the children’s book The Not-So-Silly Brain (Bayard Editions).
Tiago Prata
Board of Trustees Member
Biography
Tiago Prata is a cultural manager, entrepreneur and journalist with over 10 years experience of transnational collaboration with more than 30 countries. He is from Portugal, based in Sweden, active across Europe. Director of Transversal Project, an impact-driven cultural agency helping cities, cultural institutions and creative businesses to work with culture across disciplines and borders. Instigator of Borderline Offensive, a transnational artistic platform exploring how humor can facilitate social debate about serious and difficult topics. Strategist of European Creative Rooftop Network, a network of cities developing rooftops as a new type of environmentally, economically and socially sustainable urban space.
Walid Zorkot
Board of Trustees Member
Biography
Walid M. Zorkot is a prominent Lebanese lawyer renowned for his extensive expertise in corporate law, international transactions, and public law. With a career spanning over two decades, Walid has made significant contributions to the legal field, particularly in energy, telecommunications, and media.
In 2003, Walid founded Zorkot Law Firm, where he served as Managing Director and Attorney-at-Law. Since 2018, Walid has been the driving force behind Laws & Rights Firm, a member of Aliant International. As the Founder, Partner, and Head of Corporate, he has led the firm in establishing legal entities, negotiating and reviewing a myriad of contracts, and providing strategic corporate guidance. Walid’s legal expertise is not confined to corporate transactions. He has provided invaluable legal consultation for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Lebanon, focusing on creating legal structures for collaboration between UNDP and Lebanese NGOs.
Walid holds a Bachelor of Laws from Lebanese University. His membership in the Beirut Bar Association underscores his commitment to the legal profession and his standing in the legal community.
THE VENUE
Originally established in 2008 in a small apartment, Zoukak Studio was conceived as an open space for artists and students—a hub for practical research, artistic reflection, and collaborative exchange. Over the years, it has remained committed to fostering dialogue and experimentation, supporting the production of over 30 performances.
In 2016, Zoukak relocated to a larger, multifaceted cultural space in the Karantina district, near Beirut’s River Bridge. This venue includes a rehearsal room, a fully equipped black box theatre, a café/bar, and a gathering area for public events. The studio regularly hosts performances, open studio presentations, and workshops, offering audiences and artists insight into the creative process at various stages. Local and international artists are invited to present theatre, dance, and music performances, as well as lead masterclasses, trainings, and artist talks.
On August 4, 2020, the devastating explosion at the port of Beirut severely damaged the theatre, located just a couple of kilometers away. After nearly two years of restoration and remodeling, the theatre reopened in 2022, marking a significant moment of resilience and renewal. The reopening coincided with the first post-COVID-19 edition of Zoukak Sidewalks Festival, reaffirming the studio’s role as a vital cultural hub in Beirut’s artistic landscape.
In 2024, during the Israeli war on Lebanon, Zoukak remained open, hosting open mic events, providing a platform for people to gather, reflect, and console each other through poetry, music, and storytelling.
IN THE PRESS
