Artist and curator Ala Younis has been appointed as artistic director of the Academy of the Arts of the World (ADKDW).
A member of the Cologne-based global cultural collective since 2018, she has previously served as co-artistic director of Singapore Biennale 2022 and co-head of Berlinale’s annual section Forum Expanded. She has also curated shows at renowned institutions across the world, including SAVVY Contemporary, the New Museum, Beirut Art Center and Mathaf.
In her new position, Younis intends to curate exhibitions with a view to facilitating interaction and dialogue between Cologne and the international art scene. “The Academy is an entity that builds, through friendships, solid networks and expanded opportunities for art practitioners. I am looking forward to being more present”, says Ala Younis.
She will begin her duties in May by executing and building upon the programming for 2023 designed by her predecessor Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz. The programming includes the Learning to Listen series, the exhibition My Life Began Several Centuries Ago, An Ecosystem of Circulating Images, and Arte De Carnaval.
