Cultural manager, researcher, consultant and theater performer, Iman Zaki co-founded Reflection for Arts, a training and development organization in Alexandria, Egypt in 2007. The organization provides space and support for visual and performing artists and promotes the role of the arts in community development. Her work experience ranges from cultural management and facilitation to curating and producing work that investigates oppression, sexual harassment and domestic violence among other social issues, with a focus on personal transformation and the use of theater and other art practices as tools for social change. Deeply concerned by governmental censorship, a lack of adequate funding and the rejection of contemporary methodologies in local academic art schools, Iman recently opened a school for emerging artists.
During her ArtsLink International Fellowship 2020 (virtual and in-person residency), Iman conducted her research in the United States’ heart of independent theater, the legendary La MaMa Experimental Theater Club. Working closely with Artistic Director, Mia Yoo, Iman explored the unique theater scene of New York’s East Village and beyond. As a cradle of the off-Broadway theater, La MaMa E.T.C. opened broad opportunities for Iman to expand her professional network, create new connections and develop further cultural exchanges between New York and Alexandria, Egypt.
