philomena+ art & architecture platform

11/08/2026

Khollita
with Souad Mani & Emily Sarsam
Gathering to create with wool and felt, enjoy a meal and share stories
Wednesday, 02/09/2026, 4-8 pm
philomena+, Heinestraße 40, 1020 Vienna

Limited number of participants. Please register by writing a message or e-mail to [email protected]
Open to all – free of charge – no prior experience needed!

In the framework of the project Savage Roses الورود البرية, the artists Souad Mani and Emily Sarsam invite to a unique gathering at philomena+, inspired by the Tunisian ritual of Khollita—a communal rain summoning ritual practiced by women and children, involving cooking, songs, and prayers.

Together, we will spend 2.5 hours collaboratively creating a woolen textile piece using the technique of needle felting, while sharing stories about community rituals tied to wool, food, and rain. To conclude the afternoon, we will share a couscous* prepared by the artists. Each participant is warmly encouraged to bring an ingredient or dish to contribute to the feast.

The collective artwork made of wool and felt will be presented as part of an installation by Souad Mani and Emily Sarsam at their exhibition at the Parallel Vienna the week after the gathering. Everyone contributing to the work will be credited by name (unless asked not to) at the exhibition.
Let’s create, share stories and food!

Image credits: Emily Sarsam

Realized in collaboration with LA BOÎTE | Centre d’Art & d'Architecture
The event is part of the philomena+'s yearly programme supported by Kunst und Kultur in Österreich, Stadt Wien | culture, basis.kultur.wien, district Leopoldstadt.

07/08/2026

Savage Roses الورود البرية
Souad Mani & Emily Sarsam

curated by Christine Bruckbauer and Aline Lenzhofer

Khollita: Gathering around wool, food, and shared stories: Wednesday, 02/09/2026, 2026, 4-8 pm
Registration at [email protected]
Exhibition duration: 03/09 – 19/09/2026
Wed-Fri 11 am-3 pm, Sat 3-6 pm
Venue: philomena+, Heinestraße 40, 1020 Vienna

Project Statement Parallel Vienna
Opening: Wednesday, 09/09/2026, 5-10 pm
Exhibtion duration: 10/09 – 13/09/2026
Thr-Fri 1-8 pm, Sa-So 11 am-8 pm
Otto Wagner Areal, Pavillion 13, Ground Floor, Room 13, Baumgartner Höhe 1, 1140 Vienna

For Savage Roses الورود البرية, Emily Sarsam and Souad Mani examine the impact of large-scale extraction projects in the region of Tataouine in southern Tunisia on the ecosystem and vernacular agricultural practices.
In this exhibition project, starting in Vienna and continuing in Gabès in 2027, the artists contrast the exploitation of fossil fuels in the supposedly ‘barren lunar landscape’ with local land-use practices and communal rituals, such as food preparation or wool processing.
Through an installation of textile works, video and sound, Emily Sarsam and Souad Mani bring collective practices – known, among other names, as Khollita – to life, whilst simultaneously drawing parallels with the romanticised floral names of the gas and oil extraction facilities in southern Tunisia.
Navigating the spectrum between extraction and commoning, invasion and resistance, Savage Roses الورود البرية reframes the term ‘savage’—which carries negative connotations in a colonial context—by highlighting the significance of this desert-like region as a source of sustenance and collective action.

The project is realized in collaboration with our partner institution La Boîte I Centre d’art et d’architecture that will present the project's edition in Gabes in 2027.
It is part of philomena+'s yearly programme supported by Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und Sport, Stadt Wien | cultural affairs, BasisKultur Wien, Bezirksvorstehung Leopoldstadt

Photo credits: Aziza Gorgi

04/08/2026

A warm welcome to our soon arriving artist-in-residence, Souad Mani!
Souad Mani is a visual artist and university lecturer who lives and works in Sousse, Tunisia. Her transdisciplinary work is distinguished by its techno-poetic experiments. In her artistic practice she currently examines landscapes undergoing transformation under the impact of human activity, and opens up new perspectives on the links between art, technology, and environment. Souad Mani is the founder of De l’image à l’atelier and eSseda.lab. She has exhibited, among others, at the Biennale des Photographes du Monde Arabe Contemporain at the Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), at Casa Arabe (Madrid and Cordoba), at Mucem (Marseille) and at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

Together with Emily Sarsam, she is currently preparing the project Savage Roses الورود البرية that will be presented in September 2026 at philomena+ and Parallel Vienna. They reflect on practices of commoning in the south of Tunisia and look into the implications of industrial extraction projects in the region.

Souad Mani's residency in Vienna is part of the ongoing collaboration project Carrefour des Possibles. Since 2018, every year La Boîte I Centre d’art et d’architecture (Tunis) and philomena+ art & architecture platform (Vienna) have been carrying out (cross) residencies and collaborative art projects with artists from Tunisia and Austria.

The project is part of the philomena+'s yearly programme supported by Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und Sport, Stadt Wien | culture, BasisKultur Wien, Bezirksvorstehung Leopoldstadt.

09/07/2026

Last week to see the exhibition Sitting on the Sidewalk presenting artworks by Raed Ibrahim and Marlene Hausegger inside the philomena+ project space as well as on the sidewalk in front of it.

Exhibition duration: 29/05 - 11/07/2026
Photo credits: Ibrahim Dirani
Raed Ibrahim's residency in Vienna is supported by Culture Resource المورد الثقافي.
The exhibition is curated by Sibylle Omlin and part of our yearly program supported by Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und Sport, Stadt Wien | culture, BasisKultur Wien, Bezirksvorstehung Leopoldstadt

02/07/2026

Sitting on the Sidewalk
Marlene Hausegger & Raed Ibrahim

For the exhibition Sitting on the Sidewalk, Raed Ibrahim and Marlene Hausegger present new works on the wide sidewalk in front of philomena+.
Raed Ibrahim work "Carrying the Crocus" sculpturally engages with the Crocus Moabiticus, a rare yet very resilient flower native to north-western Jordan, growing once a year in fall.
For her work "Dependencies" Marlene Hausegger perforated maps – which identify oil exporting countries – on three oil drums. In doing so, the artist sheds light on global interconnections in the trade of raw materials.
Through the aesthetics of identity-forming symbols, both artists highlight connections to the issues in the current political situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and West Asia.

The exhibition is on view until 11/07/2026 at philomena+ and the broad sidewalk in front of it. It is curated by Sibylle Omlin.
Supported by Mawred | المورد الثقافي, , Stadt Wien | culture, basis.kultur.wien, district Leopoldstadt
Photo credits: Ibrahim Dirani

23/06/2026

10 Years philomena+ celebration 🎵🎂
with music by Sarvin Hazin & Omid Darvish, Judit Antal and performances by Patrick Timm, Ursula Maria Probst, Sula Zimmerberger

photos: Ibrahim Dirani

15/06/2026

10 YEARS Celebration

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

09/06/2026

10 YEARS philomena+
10 YEARS artistic collaborations between WANA and Austria