Rahraw Omarzad is an artist, independent curator, writer, and professor from Kabul, Afghanistan, working mainly with video and photography. He has taught Fine Arts at the University of Kabul for 20 years, before having to leave the country due to the assumption of power by the Taliban in 2021. In his broad range of cultural activities, Omarzad is committed to socio-political topics: He founded the CCAA Center for Contemporary Art Afghanistan including the Women’s Center for the Arts, which is dedicated to teaching and promoting the advancement and empowerment of Afghan women artists and is also the founder of the Afghan art magazine, Gahnama and Hunar, amongst others. His artistic work focuses on the portraiture and reflection of Afghan society. Existing in the interspace between politics, war, and personal life, Omarzads artistic and cultural activities have expressed a deep strength of resistance against inequalities, war as a political tool and an advocacy for peace, justice, and an open and democratic society.
Rahraw Omarzad’s video works have been exhibited worldwide, including Documenta 13, Kassel, and Tate Britain, London, 9. International Istanbul Biennial. His work can also be found in the permanent collection of the Asia Society Museum, New York. He received an IFA Scholarship in Germany 2006 and the CEC ArtsLink Projects Award in Washington D.C. 2012. He is also a member of AFI Art Film International curators, Whitechapel Gallery, London, and IKT International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art. He holds Fine Art degrees from the Kabul University and The Oslo National Academy of Fine Arts. Omarzad’s current academic and curatorial involvement besides Städelschule includes work with the Castello di Rivoli contemporary art Museum, as well as the Accademia Albertina Art Academy, both in Turin.
Professors
![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/7196/portrait1_2014.500x500.jpg)
Monika Baer
Fine Arts and Painting![Photo: Åsa Lundén, Moderna Museet](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1425/daniel_birnbaum_002_dali_web.500x500.jpg)
Daniel Birnbaum
Philosophy and Art Education![Photo: Louis Haugh](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/4862/gerard_byrne.500x500.jpg)
Gerard Byrne
Film![Photo: Constanze Flamme](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/10121/benjamin_foerster-baldenius_foto_constanze_flamme_webres.500x500.jpg)
Benjamin Foerster-Baldenius
Cohabitation, Vice-Rector![Photo: Heji Shin](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1431/000054_01.500x500.jpg)
Isabelle Graw
Art History and Art Theory![Foto: Florian Zeyfang](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1433/final_judith_hopf_web.500x500.jpg)
Judith Hopf
Fine Arts![Photo: Sebastian Bolesch / HKW](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/4733/unnamed.500x500.jpg)
Hassan Khan
Fine Arts![Photo: Büro Schramm für Gestaltung](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1435/141016_kulturamt-1467_la01_web.500x500.jpg)
Philippe Pirotte
Art History and Curatorial Studies![Photo: Valentina Knežević](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/7193/yasmil_raymond_foto_2_valentina_knezevic_c_stadelschule_2020.500x500.jpg)
Yasmil Raymond
Rector, Professor for Curatorial Studies![Photo: Killa Schuetze](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1437/rehberger_img.500x500.jpg)
Tobias Rehberger
Sculpture![Photo: Jonas Leihener](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1439/willem_scan2_web.500x500.jpg)
Willem de Rooij
Fine Arts![Photo: Abigail Enzaldo, © Haegue Yang and kurimanzutto, 2017](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1443/unnamed.500x500.jpg)
Haegue Yang
Fine ArtsGuest
Professors
![Photo: Lisa Whiting](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/12585/eric_baudelaire_3_photo-by_lisa_whiting.500x500.jpg)
Éric Baudelaire
Fine Arts![© Pauline Ferron@ArtExplora](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/14568/flakahaliti_c_paulineferron_artexplora.500x500.jpg)
Flaka Haliti
Fine Arts![Photo: Herman Dreyer](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/14562/camille_norment_bw_hd_ed.500x500.jpg)
Camille Norment
Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/14559/henrik_2041.500x500.jpg)
Henrik Olesen
Fine Arts![Photo by Keshet Migdal](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/14565/nirapereg_portraitpicture.500x500.jpg)
Nira Pereg
Fine ArtsPast Faculty
![Photo: Sam Penn](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/9509/hannah_pic.500x500.jpeg)
Hannah Black
Winter Semester 2021/22: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/8447/image001.500x500.jpg)
Tania Bruguera
Summer Semester 2021: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/12588/screenshot_2023-02-28_at_11_09_53.500x500.png)
Francisco Camacho Herrera
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![Photo: Albrecht Fuchs](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/10371/cytter-_keren_foto_albrecht_fuchs.500x500.jpeg)
Keren Cytter
Summer Semester 2022: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![Photo: Christian Werner](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/11259/clementinedeliss_by_christianwerner_62.500x500.jpg)
Clémentine Deliss
Winter Semester 2022/23: Guest Professor for Art History and Curatorial Studies![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/13657/foto_loretta.500x500.jpeg)
Loretta Fahrenholz
Winter Semester 2023/24: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![Photo: Albrecht Fuchs](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/7839/cyprien_gaillard_foto_albrecht_fuchs.500x500.jpeg)
Cyprien Gaillard
Winter Semester 2020/21: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/9517/ayse_gulec_no_credit-1.500x500.png)
Ayşe Güleç
Winter Semester 2021/22–Summer Semester 2022: Research Fellow![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/11442/kasmani-profile.500x500.jpg)
Omar Kasmani
Winter Semester 2022/23–Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/12574/photo_of_vera_mey_by_steve_lawton_2022_100.500x500.jpg)
Vera Mey
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Curatorial Studies and Art History![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/5532/jnachtigall_2019.500x500.jpg)
Jenny Nachtigall
Summer Semester 2019–Winter Semester 2020/21: Guest Professor for Art Theory![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/12577/ruth_noack_portrait.500x500.jpeg)
Ruth Noack
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Curatorial Studies and Art History![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/13660/foto_imaabasi_okon.500x500.png)
Ima-Abasi Okon
Winter Semester 2023/24: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/10374/rahraw-_omarzad.500x500.png)
Rahraw Omarzad
Summer Semester 2022: Guest Professor for Fine Arts (Gasthof)![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/10364/raad-_walid_no_credit.500x500.jpeg)
Walid Raad
Summer Semester 2022: Visiting Artist![Photo: Paula Court](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/11564/00_asad_raza_portrait_photo_credit_laura_cooper.500x500.jpg)
Asad Raza
Winter Semester 2022/23: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![Slavs and Tatars, Molla Nasreddin the antimodern, 2012, fibreglass, lacquer paint, steel, 180 × 180 × 80 cm, Installation view at Yinchuan Biennale, 2016.](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/12580/s_t_molla-nasreddin-the-antimodern_2012_view.500x500.jpeg)
Slavs and Tatars
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professors for Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/11561/unknown.500x500.jpeg)
Monika Szewczyk
Winter Semester 2022/23–Summer Semester 2023: Research Fellow![Photo: Diana Pfammatter](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/9513/2021-sungtieu-portrait-lores-01_edit.500x500.jpg)
Sung Tieu
Winter Semester 2021/22: Guest Professor for Fine Arts![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/13651/foto_helena_uambembe_2200x2200.500x500.jpg)
Helena Uambembe
Winter Semester 2023/24: Visiting Artist / Fine ArtsHonorary
Professors
![Photo: Rheinisches Bildarchiv, Köln](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1446/kasper-koenig.500x500.jpeg)
Kasper König
Cultural Education![Photo: Renate Brandt](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/8444/christa_naher-_wolfegg_2020_--_c_renate_brandt.500x500.jpg)
Christa Näher
Fine Arts![Photo: Anders Clausen](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/1448/20130929-img_7295_anders_clausen_2013.500x500.jpeg)
Wolfgang Tillmans
Fine ArtsResearch Fellow
![](https://cms.staedelschule.de/site/assets/files/13781/barbaracasavecchia-1.500x500.png)