Darsiná

Darsiná is a research and artistic experimentation group, resident at Santa Mònica and formed by Sassouki Salma and Maha Ibraheem.

The research project is dedicated, on the one hand, to reconstructing the feminist memory erased and censored in a colonial and post-colonial context - in order to maintain an oppressive system - and, on the other hand, to providing an analysis of the traumas generated by these contexts, which are systematically repressed as a survival reflex.

The name of the collective Darsiná is inspired by the name of the neighbourhood where the project was created: Drassanes. The word Drassanes comes from the Arabic Dar Sinaâ - دار الصناعة and literally means ‘house of construction’, in reference to the site dedicated to the construction or repair of boats and ships.

© Farah Allegue

Members:
Sassouki Salma
Maha Ibraheem

Sassouki Salma, born and raised in Tunisia, first settled in France where she studied cultural mediation and cultural project management at the Sorbonne, and focused on the dissemination of the underground electronic scenes of Detroit and the MENA and Arab region. Currently, Sassouki has settled in Spain where she collaborates with cultural projects, such as festivals and agencies, between Barcelona and the southern Mediterranean region, creating bridges between both shores and spaces for the voices and struggles of her region.

Maha Ibraheem, Palestinian, raised between Nazareth and Qana in Galilee, settles in the city of Haifa to develop her academic and professional career. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in social work and a master's degree in gender studies, Maha also obtained a degree in phototherapy. Driven by a passion for social change and a love of phototherapy, Maha spent more than a decade in mental health, working with diverse groups, including women victims of gender-based violence and sexual abuse, youth and children.