Living Landscape

Living Landscape is a multidisciplinary exhibition that grew out of Embrace, a Brussels- based solidarity initiative. Across disciplines, the artists and contributors weave together more than threads, images, or stories—they weave memory, resilience, and connection. Through film, photography, embroidery, calligraphy, sound, and text, their practices trace networks of care, attentive presence, and social imagination.

From Noor Abed’s reawakening of Palestinian folktales, to Ahmed Abu Awad’s intimate photographic archives of Gaza, Rakan Mayasi’s poetic and political cinema, Heide Winne’s tactile embroideries, Ismail Matar’s calligraphic explorations of communal memory, and Sofie Verclyte, collaborating with the Migrating Heritage Collective and Syrian artisans, each work traces histories, experiences, and acts of resistance, creating a living fabric of shared reflection.

The Kitchen adds a sonic layer through its Kitchen Broadcast, reviving archival recordings from 1980s Brussels’ Radio El Wafa. Episodes on the First Intifada transform past soundscapes into a resonance of memory, solidarity, and intergenerational connection.

Together, the exhibition becomes a communal weaving, where voices, stories, and practices intersect—inviting visitors to bear witness, imagine alternative futures, and experience the fragile yet enduring possibilities of connection.

Artworks and Programs

Artworks by:
Ahmed Abu Awad, Heide Winne, Ismail Matar, Sofie Verclyte (including works created in collaboration with Syrian artisans through the Migrating Heritage Collective)

Short Films:
Nour Abed – Our Songs Were Ready for All Wars to Come
Rakan Mayasi – Bonboné + TRUMPETS IN THE SKY ( الحب يأتي غداّ(

Listening Session:
Radio installation by the Kitchen, based on archival recordings from Brussels radio station Al Wafa (1980).

Note on Sales: Heide Winne’s embroidered pieces in the exhibition are available for purchase. All proceeds support the Social Developmental Forum. Interested visitors may contact the exhibition team for details.

Origins: From Embrace to Living Landscape

Living Landscape grew out of Embrace, a Brussels-based solidarity initiative founded in 2024 by Mohamed Toukabri and Eva Blaute. What began as a one-night event quickly became a collective of Brussels-based citizens using their privilege to create connection, raise awareness, and respond to violence, displacement, and silencing, with a focus on Palestine.

The second edition of Embrace, held on 22 January 2026 as Embrace #2 – In Solidarity with Palestine and Beyond, was initiated and curated by Mohamed Toukabri, Eva Blaute, Annalena Fröhlich, and Matthieu Vergez. Around forty engaged artists and thinkers contributed across disciplines, weaving together performances, music, dance, poetry, short films, video art, and an exhibition. The evening explored resilience, repair, and connection, using weaving as a guiding metaphor.

From this multidisciplinary evening, the exhibition component—Living Landscape—was curated by the same team and is now extended into a longer public exhibition, allowing visitors to continue engaging with the works and their themes of memory, solidarity, and care.

Background & Proceeds

The first Embrace event (July 2024) supported Child Smile – Theatre and Education in Gaza. All proceeds from this edition were donated to the Social Developmental Forum, supporting communities affected by ongoing violence in Gaza.