9 - 19 November 2022

Photo credit: FOCUS Association

Shakyla Hussain (born 1985) is founder and director of FOCUS association since 2009. She has curated international artistic projects with Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Iran. Recently, she has opened the art center Mosaic Room which strengthens encounters in the field of art, foodlab and research. She has previously worked in cultural institutions for partnerships development and coordination of artists residencies. She holds a master in International Relations from the Graduate Institute (Geneva) and a digital marketing diploma from the SAWI (Zurich).

Founded in 2009 by curator Shakyla Hussain, FOCUS association aims to encourage cultural exchanges between Switzerland and abroad. It contributes to Swiss creativity and artists’ promotion. It aims to build bridges between artistic fields and contemporary art scenes. With projects in Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Iran, FOCUS has encouraged artists and designers to confront the Other, stimulating sustainable partnerships, which have met with great success and interest from the public and the media. Diversity and social cohesion are the core of its initiatives. To sustain its regional activities, FOCUS considered new development perspectives by creating a multidisciplinary place called Mosaic Room (Vevey, Switzerland). It present local and international artists, while offering pop-up food, workshops, artistic residencies and a social restaurant.

Read more about Shakyla’s research trip here.