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

Monika Baer
Fine Arts and Painting
Daniel Birnbaum
Philosophy and Art Education
Gerard Byrne
Film
Benjamin Foerster-Baldenius
Cohabitation
Isabelle Graw
Art History and Art Theory
Judith Hopf
Fine Arts
Hassan Khan
Fine Arts
Philippe Pirotte
Art History and Curatorial Studies
Yasmil Raymond
Rector, Professor for Curatorial Studies
Tobias Rehberger
Sculpture
Willem de Rooij
Fine Arts
Haegue Yang
Fine Arts, Vice-RectorGuest
Professors

Loretta Fahrenholz
Fine Arts
Niklas Maak
Fine Arts – Frankfurter Prototyp
Ima-Abasi Okon
Fine ArtsHonorary
Professors

Kasper König
Cultural Education
Christa Näher
Fine Arts
Wolfgang Tillmans
Fine ArtsVisiting Artist

Helena Uambembe
Visiting Artist / Fine ArtsTeachers

Liberty Adrien & Carina Bukuts
Portikus
Eric Bell
Photo Lab
Karl Kliem
Production Studio
Marius Moll
Film and Video Lab
Nino Pezzella
Drawing
Bernhard Schreiner
Film and Video LabAdditional Teachers
Milena Büsch
Photo Lab
Juliet Carpenter
Production Studio
Anja Cooymans
Print Workshop
Daniel Fort
Sound Studio
Sandra Havlicek
Production Studio
Jacqueline Jurt
Print Workshop
Yasuaki Kitagawa
Sculpture Workshop
Harald Pridgar
Computer Workshops
Peyman Rahimi
Print Workshop
Nermine Saadeh
Production Studio
Katharina Schücke
Photo Lab
Sebastian Stöhrer
Wood and Ceramics Workshop
Silke Wagner
Print Workshop
Stefan Wieland
Portikus
Wolfgang Winter
Sculpture Workshop
Christian Zickler
Print Workshop
Past Faculty

Eric Baudelaire
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Hannah Black
Winter Semester 2021/22: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Tania Bruguera
Summer Semester 2021: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Francisco Camacho Herrera
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Keren Cytter
Summer Semester 2022: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Clémentine Deliss
Winter Semester 2022/23: Guest Professor for Art History and Curatorial Studies
Cyprien Gaillard
Winter Semester 2020/21: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Ayşe Güleç
Winter Semester 2021/22–Summer Semester 2022: Research Fellow
Omar Kasmani
Winter Semester 2022/23–Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Vera Mey
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Curatorial Studies and Art History
Jenny Nachtigall
Summer Semester 2019–Winter Semester 2020/21: Guest Professor for Art Theory
Ruth Noack
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professor for Curatorial Studies and Art History
Rahraw Omarzad
Summer Semester 2022: Guest Professor for Fine Arts (Gasthof)
Walid Raad
Summer Semester 2022: Visiting Artist
Asad Raza
Winter Semester 2022/23: Guest Professor for Fine Arts
Slavs and Tatars
Summer Semester 2023: Guest Professors for Fine Arts
Monika Szewczyk
Winter Semester 2022/23–Summer Semester 2023: Research Fellow