Translated with DeepL.
Original language: Deutsch
Azadeh Karami, born in Iran in 1984, completed a bachelor's degree in architecture in Tehran. She was interested in reading and writing poems and stories from a young age. In recent years, she has written twelve short stories and more than twenty-five long and short poems. She worked on her first novel at the Heinrich Böll House. She says of herself that writing enables her to come to terms with herself and get closer to herself. The wonder of the word fascinates her as something initially incomprehensible that every writer creates in their own way and thus creates different worlds.
In view of the difficult socio-political situation in Iran, Azadeh is an activist for women's rights in her country and raises her voice from exile in Germany.
Azadeh Karami was a fellow of the NRW Ministry of Culture from December 2022 to April 2024.
Esmaeil Pirhadi, born in Iran, studied traditional Iranian music and graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Guilan. As a student, he began teaching other students how to play the setar - a stringed instrument that is mainly played in Persian classical music. Esmaeil Pirhadi used the art of setar playing to express his protest against Iranian politics in his own songs; his parodies have made him famous throughout the country. Public events and concerts by Pirhadi were banned by the Iranian authorities, but Pirhadi continued to work as a musician in internationally renowned films.
Pirhadi has combined his professional career as an artist and music teacher with social commitment for many years. This includes supporting young people from humble backgrounds or children with special needs through music. He has received international awards for his artistic skills and commitment.
Esmaeil Pirhadi was a Heinrich Böll Foundation scholarship holder from November 2023 to October 2024
Mohamad Abi Samra, born in 1953, is a Lebanese writer and literary scholar. He graduated in cultural sociology from Lebanese University in 1983. Since 1977, he has worked as a cultural journalist for the newspapers Al-Safir, Al-Nahar and Al-Hayat. He is the author of four novels: Pauline and her Ghosts (1990), The Former Man (1995), Inhabitants of the Pictures (2003) and Women Without Influence (2017). During his stay, he wrote the article for the London-based Arabic culture magazine Al Majalla "A visit to Heinrich Böll's cottage: A calm, sprawling and undeniable pull".
Mohamad Abi Samra was a fellow of the NRW Ministry of Culture from August 2023 to January 2024.
Mojgan Ataollahi and her daughter Matissa Habibpour, born in 1981 in Tehran, studied architecture, design and interior design. She has written short stories, poetry, screenplays and plays as well as articles for various newspapers and magazines. So far, only the poetry collection "Die Passanten am trübsinnigen Fenster" (Adineh Verlag 2013) has been published; her other collections of stories and poetry have not yet received permission to be published in Iran. For Mojgan Ataollahi, resistance to censorship and self-censorship is at the heart of her writing. The German translation of the novel "Ein leichter Tod" is her first international publication.
Mojgan Ataollahi and Matissa Habibpour were scholarship holders of the NRW Ministry of Culture from January to June 2024.
Amirata Joolaee, author, professor of literature at Tehran University and film critic, and his wife Sara Menati Davoud, both come from Iran and traveled from exile in Dubai. They were Heinrich Boll Foundation fellows from August to October 2024.
Stanislav Ostrous is a photographer, lecturer and photojournalist. He works with documentary and artistic photography, mainly using analog technologies. He has participated in the main exhibition of the festival "Batumi Photo Days" (2016-2019) and in the photo symposium in Nida (Lithuania). He is a member of Ukrainian photographic alternative (UPHA) and the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP).
He has exhibited in Ukraine, Germany, Georgia, Armenia, Poland, Korea and Lithuania and was shortlisted for PhotoCULT 2019. His photographs are in private collections in Ukraine, Poland, Switzerland, Lithuania, Australia and the United States. He teaches photography at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture (KhDAK) and at the School of Conceptual and Artistic Photography MYPH and lives and works in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Stanislav Ostrous was a fellow of the Ministry of Culture NRW from August 2024 to March 2025.