Ali El-Darsa

Ali El-Darsa works at the interface of moving image, performance, installation and sound.

His practice examines structures of belonging in transnational contexts, foregrounding the specificity of time-based media in creating networked, mediated memories and cultural imaginaries.

His interdisciplinary research in performance engages with the fields of text, word, sign, and language, questioning – often collaboratively – how language shapes movement, systems of thought, and, by extension, the discourse surrounding the interpretation of a work of art, both materially and metaphorically. His work approaches communication through its means, methods, and media – oral, written, or coded – examining the transmission of customary, historical, and contemporary narratives.

El-Darsa was a fellow at the Villa Aurora Residency in Los Angeles/USA (2022). From 2020 to 2024, he served as a board member of Dazibao, an art center dedicated to the dissemination of contemporary image practices in Montréal/Canada. He lives and works in Berlin/Germany.