In the spring of 2024, our Fellow Stefanos Levidis co-founded FAIA (Forensic Architecture Initiative Athens)—a new research agency based in Athens dedicated to conducting situated spatial human rights investigations with a regional focus on Greece, the Balkans, and the Eastern Mediterranean. By placing this initiative at the geographical periphery of Europe, FAIA directly engages with the tensions and conflicts shaping this frontier region of many crises.

Documenting Power, Violence, and Resistance

From its base in Athens, FAIA works closely with affected communities to document pressing social and political crises. The agency investigates the rise of far-right and nationalist violence, police brutality, and the enduring violations against asylum seekers at Europe’s borders. It also examines gender-based violence in both public and private spheres, as well as the devastating impact of climate change in the region. Furthermore, FAIA sheds light on the consequences of economic austerity, the unsustainable effects of over-tourism, and the state’s failure to uphold essential public services and infrastructure.
Through innovative evidentiary techniques, FAIA seeks to expose these realities in pursuit of public truth and collective justice. The findings are not only shared with the public but also serve as a foundation for advocacy and accountability.

A New Generation of Practitioners

Beyond research and activism, Stefanos Levidis is deeply committed to pedagogy and knowledge-sharing. Teaching at the Athens School of Fine Arts and traveling widely for lectures, workshops, and exhibitions, he aims to disseminate methodologies, investigative frameworks, and aesthetic approaches developed through his practice. More than just an academic endeavor, his work aspires to cultivate a new generation of spatial and visual practitioners in Athens—one that will expand the possibilities of forensic architecture in the service of justice, solidarity, and care.

Selma Selman is a globally renowned artist and activist whose work focuses on protecting and empowering women, particularly those from marginalized communities. As the daughter of a Bosnian Roma man, Selman’s practice is deeply rooted in her personal experiences of oppression, exclusion, and structural violence. These experiences inspire her to create a pragmatic and contemporary form of political resistance that fosters collective self-emancipation for oppressed women.

Central to her vision is the exploration of the interconnected histories, movements, and the resilience of displaced populations, with a special emphasis on the experiences of women. Selman’s long-term goal is to use art, research, and technology to amplify the voices of marginalized women and to create spaces for critical dialogue. Her work aims to provoke reflection on the collective human experience in the face of global migration and to challenge the systems that perpetuate inequality.

Through her art, she delves into the struggles of ordinary people, the complex social and geopolitical relationships they navigate, and the intersecting challenges of their everyday lives. Using diverse mediums—performance, painting, photography, and video—she seeks to amplify and protect both her individual and socialized body.

One of Selman’s most socially significant projects is Get The Heck To School, a program aimed at supporting the elementary education of Roma girls in Bosnia through scholarships. To fund the project, Selman organizes art sales and fundraisers, directly channeling the proceeds into scholarships for over 60 children.

During her Allianz Foundation Fellowship, Selman plans to leverage resources to further her interdisciplinary artistic practice. Drawing on contemporary activist methods, networked media, and theoretical archives, she aims to develop new ways to connect art with resistance. She aspires to expand the understanding of how individuals with limited resources can use art to confront, reflect upon, and resist the systemic forces that marginalize and oppress them.

Alona Karavai is a cultural manager, curator, and essayist, as well as the co-founder of the project space Asortymentna Kimnata, the residency house Khata-Maysternya, and the art media platform post impreza. She began her career at the IZOLYATSIA contemporary art center in Donetsk, where she curated artistic residencies and community projects. After fleeing Donetsk with her young daughter in 2014 due to threats from Russian proxy forces, she rebuilt her life and cultural work in Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine. There, she founded an art residency house, a non-commercial gallery, and an archive for Ukrainian art, collaborating with locals, newcomers, and displaced people.

Since 2022, Alona Karavai has focused on urgent art residencies, evacuating private collections, and organizing exhibitions of Ukrainian contemporary art across Europe. Her work centers on peripheries, absence, and local art communities, earning her the prestigious Kairos Prize in 2023.

When the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022, Alona Karavai chose to stay in the Ukraine, resisting by organizing grassroots evacuations of art and hosting residencies for over 100 artists. These residencies provided mental space, professional connections, and opportunities for creative renewal.

During her Allianz Foundation Fellowship, Alona Karavai seeks to connect with international colleagues, gain global perspectives, and foster cooperation beyond Ukraine. She is working on two key projects: helping artists reintegrate into civilian life after military service and reconnecting Ukrainian artists in exile with those remaining in the country, fostering collaboration and rebuilding artistic communities.

Our fellow, Anuscheh Amir-Khalili, is a passionate anthropologist and women’s rights advocate who explores the interconnectedness of people, communities, and nature. In her quest for healing alternatives to patriarchal structures, she founded Flamingo, an NGO that has created a network offering refugee women and children safe spaces for trauma recovery and personal growth. One example of this work is the Hevrin Xelef Healing Herb Garden, which she established in 2019 with the Flamingo team. She drew inspiration for this initiative from the sister project in Jinwar, a women’s village in Rojava. This transcultural community garden provides not only herbal medicine but also workshops, counseling, and a space for knowledge exchange.

Amir-Khalili’s work is deeply shaped by her commitment to supporting refugee women and informed by her own experiences of displacement. Her goal is to strengthen communities and preserve traditional knowledge about healing and nature. She is developing a networking framework to provide refugee women*, particularly at the EU’s external borders, with free access to healing practices. This effort led to the creation of interactive herbal medicine pharmacies, designed by women for women. These pharmacies integrate knowledge of nature, trauma, and healing, fostering exchange and empowerment.

At the same time, Amir-Khalili documents her travels and encounters to preserve the knowledge she gathers in articles and her art book. Through this work, she aims to amplify the visibility of women’s organizations and their activism on a global scale.
Amir-Khalili’s vision is to further strengthen feminist networks through her work while fostering a deep connection to nature. She serves as a bridge-builder between cultures and stands as a role model for sustainable, women-led initiatives.

Nalan Sipar: Civic Journalism Fellow

Nalan Sipar aims to shake up the German media landscape. Her motto: Diverse journalism in the service of the community, for the benefit of society as a whole. Since May 2024, the journalist and political scientist has been part of the Allianz Foundation Fellowship Program. As part of the fellowship, which is awarded in cooperation with Publix, the new house for journalism and public affairs in Berlin, Nalan is working on the development and implementation of various formats to diversify the German media landscape.

The Kurdish journalist came to Germany at the age of 15 and built a successful career. She worked for WDR, Deutschlandfunk, Deutsche Welle, and SPIEGEL, hosted Germany's first German-Turkish children's show "Kelebek," and developed formats such as "Echt?!" and "Im Ring mit Nalan." In November 2023, she founded the digital publishing house MedyaN, which specializes in non-profit, German-Turkish journalism and was recognized for its innovative media work by the German Journalists' Association. Starting in September 2024, Nalan will also participate in the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship program at Stanford University in California for nine months and conduct research on diversity in the German media landscape.

Niovi Zarampouka-Chatzimanou: Art is a social right for all

Niovi Zarampouka-Chatzimanou believes that art is a social right for all. She collaborates with citizens, artist-led initiatives, and art institutions to foster dialogue and transparency in the local cultural sector. During her fellowship with the Allianz Foundation, Niovi will concentrate on developing the Pavilion of Imagination, aiming to create a space for discussions and participatory practices. She aims to establish a framework wherein citizens, artists, curators, cultural actors, and collectives can collectively envision and design an inclusive arts institution that reflects the evolving contemporary Athenian, Mediterranean, and European identities. 

Additionally, Niovi is an architect and the co-director of Counterpoints in Greece, a non-profit arts organization that focuses on displacement, climate, racial justice, and mental health. Her work centers on socially and politically engaged art projects related to national identity, migration, active citizenship, and public space.

For the first time, the Allianz Foundation is supporting an entire team as part of a Community Fellowship. Sonia and Douglas Herman, our long-standing partners from ReFOCUS Media Labs, have launched the podcast ‘Fractured’ together with Dawoud Nouri, Eli Fazlollah, Rasheed Galli and Sude Fazlollah. Whether human rights violations in Greek refugee camps, anonymous deaths along the Balkan refugee route or the UK’s deportation deal with Rwanda – the podcast tackles critical issues head-on, giving a voice to those who are too often only spoken about. The podcast provides first-hand insights on topics connected to refugees and migration. 

The Allianz Foundation also supports ReFOCUS as part of our cooperation with the newly opened Publix Berlin.

Here you can find all episodes of the podcast.

About ReFOCUS Media Labs: ReFOCUS is creating a global network of media labs to equip asylum seekers and recognized refugees with modern media creation skills. The Labs provide a platform for students to showcase original work, share their stories, and pursue professional careers. Currently ReFOCUS runs Labs in Lesvos, Athens, and Cracow. 

You have questions about our current Fellows? Please contact Alban.

Alban Genty develops formats for the Allianz Foundation Fellows Program and is also responsible for the Risktakers Fellowship. He also works with funding projects in the field of European civil society dealing among others with issues of rule of law, independent journalism, and tech.

alban.genty@allianzfoundation.org