Alia Rayyan holds an MA degree in international politics, focusing on the Middle East, sociology, and history of art, from the University of Hamburg and School of Oriental and African Studies "SOAS" - University of London. She is a curator, journalist, educator, and culture manager and worked in Berlin, Beirut, Amman, and Ramallah for international cultural organizations. Rayyan was one of the founding members of the art magazine "Bidoun" for contemporary art from the MENA region and managed the Al Hoash Gallery – the Palestinian Art Court in Jerusalem, between 2013-2016.  Here, she created a new focus on socially engaged art programs with urban interventions to confront the hegemonic circumstances in public spaces for Palestinians in Jerusalem. Currently, Alia is finalizing her thesis on decolonizing socially engaged art practice - a critical reflection in non-western context at the Leuphana University, Graduate School for the Cultures of Critique.