Research
My research practice is situated at the intersection of curatorial research, decolonial theory, artistic research, and reflexive methodologies. I am particularly interested in collaborative and transdisciplinary forms of knowledge production that understand research, teaching, and public engagement as interconnected processes of inquiry, exchange, and critical reflection.
Current research focuses include Decolonial Critical Reflective Practice (DCRP), public space, migration and plural publics, artistic interventions, and the transformation of knowledge production in contemporary societies.
Writing
Writing accompanies my research and curatorial practice as a space for reflection, exploration, and narration. It moves between academic, essayistic, critical, and literary forms and includes essays, articles, exhibition texts, cultural criticism, and experimental writing.
Recurring themes include public space, memory, migration, decoloniality, artistic practice, and the relationship between personal narrative and political realities.
Selected Publications
Rayyan, Alia, and Laura Goldenbaum (eds.). Family Matters: Global Stories about Affiliation, Disruption, and Belonging. Munich: Hirmer Verlag, 2025. 296 pp.
Rayyan, Alia. “Socially Engaged Art Practice in Jerusalem: A Critical Reflection on Public Space Art Engagement.” In Drafts in Action: Concepts and Practices of Artistic Intervention, edited by Anna Kipke, Iryna Kovalenko, Laura Rogalski, Simon Teune, and Mimmi Woisnitza, 93–108. Zurich: Diaphanes, 2025. DOI: 10.4472/9783035808353.
Rayyan, Alia. “What Are You Afraid Of? Gedanken zur Ausstellung Paul Gauguin – Why Are You Angry? in der Alten Nationalgalerie, Berlin.” In Ins Bild kommen: Spielräume der Kunstkritik, edited by Anita Hosseini, Anna Kipke, Holger Kuhn, and Mimmi Woisnitza, 56–62. 2023. DOI: 10.30965/9783846767993_010.
Rayyan, Alia, and Mona Kriegler. “After the Turn: Decolonial and Noncanonical Learning in Gaza.” e-flux Education, 2021.
Rayyan, Alia. “The Liberated Gaze.” In Culture Opens Worlds – Perspectives. KIWit – Competence Network for Cultural Integration and Knowledge Transfer, 16 May 2018. Online publication.
Rayyan, Alia. “Recounting the Past, Present and Future.” In Future Imperfect: Contemporary Art Practices and Cultural Institutions in the Middle East, edited by Anthony Downey. Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2016.
Rayyan, Alia. “The Transformer: On Tareq Abou El Fetouh.” Bidoun, Issue 1, “We Are Spatial” (2004). Translated from German by Todd Dennie
Exhibition Catalogues
Rayyan, Alia (curator). Memory Flows Like a Tide at Dusk. Exhibition catalogue. Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark, 2016. Featuring a conversation between Alexandra Sophia Handal and curator Alia Rayyan, with contributions by Chiara De Cesari and William Uricchio.
