Amel Malfait Lakhtara at Espaço Alkantara
TRIQ SALAMA
- 14.09 — 25.09 2026
- Espaço Alkantara
After Cleo Diára's residency at Moussem Nomadic Arts Centre in Brussels, as part of our annual exchange programme, it is now Bilal Elhad’s turn to join us in Lisbon, at Espaço Alkantara. Both Moussem and Alkantara operate from diverse cities with strong diasporic communities and pay close attention to the relationship between art and society. Through this exchange, we aim to support the development of new narratives by artists who reflect these dynamics in our cities. Past residencies have included Youness Khoukhou and Marco Mendonça (2023) and Alix Konadu, Diego Bragà (2024) and Inés Sybille Vooduness (2025).
Amel Malfait Lakhtara’s new performance, TRIQ SALAMA, forms a visual and dramaturgical exploration of the many ways we say goodbye — to places, borders, homes, people. Its raw material emerges through a patient investigation of images and gestures. Instead of telling the story of departure through text, Lakhtara lets images, movements, and video fragments reveal the subtle emotional shifts that accompany the act of leaving. A laboratory of departure where visual matter shapes meaning, and the intimate choreography of letting go slowly takes form.
During the second week of the residency, Amel Malfait Lakhtara will be joined by the artist Katrien Baetslé. There will also be an Open Studio event, with the date and time to be confirmed.
Amel Malfait Lakhtara (1995, she/her) is a Moroccan-Belgian theatre director, scenographer and sociocultural worker. After studies in history, Arabic and philosophy she made theatre her terrain of visual exploration, graduating with great distinction in Drama and Directing from RITCS in 2021. Lakhtara is also part of the collectives CaddyForPalestine & Collectif Faire-Part. Rooted in the surrealist and absurd spirit of Brussels, Lakhtara’s work drifts between dream and decay. She creates visual universes on stage where the abject and the magical intertwine:...
Katrien Baetslé works as a visual artist and designer in performing arts. Using the process as an intuitive tool. She invents, designs, develops and interweaves between props, costumes and scenography, both in her personal work and on commission. Over the years, she has developed a healthy obsession with materials and systems. Her signature balances the technical qualities of materials with the poetry of the image. It is within the realm between science and art that the magic happens to her. Comfortable working alone and collaborating with others, Baetslé is an...