In a dystopian world, does art survive as memory, as symbolic gesture, or as resistance? This is one of the questions explored by Tunisian ROOF, which will spend two weeks at Østfold Teater working on their new piece Guerret El Anz.

(Photo: Oliver Langdalsåsen)

ROOF is Houcem Bouakroucha (choreographer and performer) and Feteh Khiari (choreographer and performer). Through various projects, the two have built a broad community of interdisciplinary artists, including skaters, rappers, photographers, video editors, visual artists, and musicians. Joining them in Fredrikstad are visual artist Achref Bettaieb and sound designer Rami Harrabi.

Drawing on their hip-hop background, ROOF have developed a style that blends raw energy with a deeper exploration of the emotional: For example, they focus extensively on how conflicting emotions affect the body and movement.

ROOF’s artistic practice encompasses music, dance, sound, video, installation, and performance. Their exploration is inextricably linked to Tunisian culture – but in a way that constantly questions established forms and norms. Instead of reconstructing tradition, they engage with fragments, distortions, and absences – revealing ambiguity and change.

«The Cold of the Goats»

During their residency in Fredrikstad, the group is working on the project “Guerret El Anz,” which can be directly translated as “The Cold of the Goats”. The title refers to an expression from Amazigh culture that describes a brief but intense cold spell before spring – a climatic rupture that is experienced as violent but signals renewal. The project asks how other types of ruptures – political, climatic, or social – influence artistic expression:

Through choreography and movements inspired by Tunisian culture, the work explores bodily knowledge and artistic resistance: What stands in the way of attempts at erasure, what mutates, and what reemerges in new forms?

– We hope to spark some conversations about the resilience of cultural identity in the face of sociopolitical and economic adversity – and about art’s role in showcasing alternative futures, says the group.

ROOF invites you to a work-in-progress at the theater on the afternoon of Friday, May 22; the exact time will be announced!

Support

Guerret el Anz and this residency are made possible through the IN SITU PLATFORM program, co-funded by the European Union,. The production is also supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture and Workspace Brussels. The finished production will premiere at Fira Tàrrega in Spain in September 2026.

Co-producers: L’Art Rue (Tunis), BASE / Zona K (Italy), PASMO (Poland), Østfold Teater (Norway)

IN SITU is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. The author has sole responsibility for this publication, and the European Commission may not be held liable.

IN SITU is the European platform for artistic creation in public space. We pledge to make public space a place where all people can be heard, seen, respected, and welcome.