Khaled Barakeh

Khaled Barakeh is a conceptual artist and cultural activist. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus in 2005 and received his MFA from Funen Art Academy in Odense, Denmark, in 2010. In 2013, he completed a Meisterschuler study at the Städelschule Art Academy in Frankfurt a.M., Germany.

Khaled Barakeh’s practice is based on reframing moments of dissonance, and often outright injustice, in political, and social structures. In recent years, his projects have delved into the media’s portrayal of victims of conflict, once cohesive communities divided by political strife, and the dynamics of integration for refugees.

In 2017, Studio Khaled Barakeh was established in Berlin. The studio’s activity and engagement are driven by what Barakeh has termed The Practice of Necessity; an ethos which dictates responses to the urgencies of an ever-changing political and social landscape. This led Barakeh to found CoCulture e.V. alongside his artistic practice. A nonprofit organization which contains a suite of initiatives including SYRIA Cultural Index, the Syrian Biennale, and Support the Supporters, coculture is focussed on addressing the many challenges faced by displaced cultural producers in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond.

Alongside his studio activity, since 2018, Barakeh has facilitated an ongoing series of workshops with the Berlin Career College at the Universität der Künste Berlin. Aimed at supporting artists in exile, these workshops provide professional practice skills critical to success in the Berlin scene. Barakeh has exhibited at Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, The 11th Shanghai Biennale, Salt Istanbul, The Frankfurter Kunstverein, Artspace New Zealand, The Busan Biennale, The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, and many other international venues and instituations.