Earshot is the world’s first organization dedicated to using audio in the defense of human and environmental rights. This emerging field, built on over a decade of research, artistic practice, and frontline advocacy, was founded by artist and audio investigator Lawrence Abu Hamdan.

Through pioneering investigations, Earshot has transformed the use of sound—long monopolized by judicial and security institutions—into a tool of empowerment for vulnerable communities. From exposing the unscientific use of accent tests in asylum tribunals, to the acoustic reconstruction of Syria’s Saydnaya prison in collaboration with Amnesty International, and more recently documenting war crimes and environmental destruction, Earshot continues to expand the potential of sound as testimony and evidence.

Sonic Justice offers participants the opportunity to engage with this groundbreaking field and to explore how audio can serve as a creative and investigative tool to amplify the most urgent stories of our time.

In the unpredictable world of theater, actors face high-stakes scenes, last-minute changes, and emotionally or physically demanding performances. This masterclass is designed to equip participants with tools to stay centered, emotionally available, and creatively agile—even under the most difficult performance conditions.

A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people follows a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in lines or rows. Many cultures have their own take on line dances, but in this workshop we will begin with the Electric Slide—a line dance popularized in the US in the 1980s and still danced at gatherings and celebrations today.

Starting from the deceptively simple score of the Electric Slide (four steps to the right, four to the left, four back, two forward–two back, quarter pivot change, repeat), participants will explore the full range of possibilities within the form. What begins as an almost trance-like dance gradually unfolds into a rigorous study of duration, variation, and movement vocabulary.

Working in real time within the structure that line dances provide, the workshop will then deviate from this base form, opening up space for exploration and introducing increasingly complex line dances from the past, present, and imagined futures.

In this Artist Talk/Masterclass, Walid Raad will present images, stories, and concepts from his three ongoing long-term projects: The Atlas Group (1989–2004), Scratching on Things I Could Disavow, and Sweet Talk: Beirut (Commissions). Together, these works explore the intersections of photography, fiction, history, and cultural politics in the Middle East. .

This module prepares participants to take part in the 10th edition of Dream City, a contextual and socially engaged art festival that takes place in public spaces across Tunis.

What’s included :

• Introduction to cultural mediation
• Welcoming the public and facilitating access to the artworks
• Various practices: mediation, logistics, and communication

Dream City 2025, will take place from Friday, October 3 to Sunday, October 19, featuring 17 days of performances, installations, and art projects by local and international artists.

This workshop explores research as a foundation for creating documentary theater.
Participants will engage in developing their personal sense of urgency in response to the world around them. Rather than treating documentary theater as a rigid form, this workshop approaches it as a flexible technique—a process that involves gathering primary sources, conducting interviews, and integrating diverse materials to craft a central narrative and visual performance. Through collective and individual exercises, participants will investigate different starting points for research-based performance and explore how form and content interact in creative storytelling.

As a continuation of the training module ‘The concepts and challenges of cultural mediation’ set up by L'Art Rue in 2024 as part of the Massari programme, this second module offers a practical and immersive approach to cultural mediation in the context of a festival in a public space.

Using the Dream City festival as a case study, this module explores :

• The role and challenges of cultural mediation in a territorially grounded festival.
• Artistic engagement and co-creation with the public.
• The dynamics, constraints and challenges of mediation in public spaces.

Participants will be asked to design and experiment, in a real situation, with innovative and inclusive mediation devices, which will be tested during the 10ᵉ edition of Dream City in October 2025.

This masterclass aims to provide participants with a practical and theoretical understanding of basic audio-visual tools and techniques for live performances and artistic installations. Through practical exercises and demonstrations, participants will be immersed in professional workflows and learn how to use industry standard tools such as Qlab, Ableton Live, Resolume, etc.

This masterclass aims to provide participants with a practical and theoretical understanding of basic lighting tools and techniques   for live performances and artistic installations. Through practical exercises and demonstrations, participants will be immersed in professional workflows and learn how to use industry-standard tools such as Qlab, Ableton Live, Resolume and more.

This masterclass aims to provide participants with a practical and theoretical understanding of basic sound tools and techniques for live performances and artistic installations. Through practical exercises and demonstrations, participants will be immersed in professional workflows and learn how to use industry-standard tools such as Qlab, Ableton Live, Resolume and more.

The Stage Lighting Design training offers an immersion into the complex art of lighting design. This course is designed to provide participants with the technical and creative skills necessary to bring visually captivating performances to life. Participants will learn how to design lighting schemes and execute creative concepts for different forms of live performance.

The training on digital image projection in relation to live arts and art installations aims to equip participants with the skills needed to create immersive visual experiences that complement live performances and art installations. The sessions cover the fundamentals of digital projection, image creation, synchronisation with live performances and projection design adapted to a variety of performing arts forms.

The Sound Mastery for the Performing Arts training focuses on the specialist techniques of capturing, processing and broadcasting sound specific to theatre, dance and other live artistic performances. Participants will be introduced to the use of professional equipment to record and optimise live sound, while exploring spatialisation and the latest audio technologies.

The training program aims to develop critical thinking skills and encourages participants to question their creative processes, delving into concepts such as the body in space, movement, time, and context. It also aims to expand participants' perspectives through experimentation and exploration of other forms of artistic practices such as crafts, visual arts, and cinema, while equipping them with the necessary tools for self-critique and artistic development.

The artistic and cultural scene in Tunisia has shown significant dynamism for over a decade, marked by a multitude of large-scale cultural events such as Dream City, Jaou, Gabès Cinéma Fen, the Carthage Days across various sectors, Kif el Kef, and more. However, beyond the events and their impact on audiences and Tunisian society at large, arises the question of the role of mediation within cultural initiatives.

Cultural mediation has a crucial role to play in the sector, especially at a time when inclusivity is strongly recommended.

Indeed, a common misconception—especially within the cultural sector—is to reduce mediation to a mere communication technique. While communication is indeed one aspect, mediation distinguishes itself by its territorial anchorage, exploring local issues. 

The term 'mediation' is also often used, with a focus on conflict resolution. Yet, let us not forget that cultural mediation is, above all, about fostering encounters. 

In Tunisia, in the training content, there is currently no specific branch dedicated to mediation in higher education. Addressing this gap, this training leverages the productivity of the Tunisian cultural scene and addresses current questions surrounding the role of the mediator and cultural rights, aiming to train professionals in this field.

Thisfirstmodule'Concepts and Challenges of Cultural Mediation / Cultural Mediation as a Meeting Point' (to be followed in 2025 by asecond, more specific module focused on the plurality of audiences and inclusive culture), seeks to broaden participants' perspectives by examining various contexts and modalities of cultural mediation. Particular emphasis is placed on enhancing participants' analytical skills, enabling them to strategically conceive, organize, and support cultural mediation projects.