teja
network of cultural spaces in support of emergency situations
TEJA is an international cultural solidarity network that provides support to artists and cultural professionals in emergency situations. It emerged in 2022 as a response from the arts scene to the emergency triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and has since continued to work with other contexts, such as Palestine and Iraq. La Escocesa has been part of this network since 2023.
Its mission is to promote transnational cooperation by offering temporary residencies to artists and cultural professionals who find themselves in complex socio-political situations in their home countries. Conflict zones not only disrupt essential services, but also profoundly impact the development of artistic practices and limit freedom of expression. With a strong and ongoing commitment, TEJA is dedicated to supporting these artists, understanding that art is a key way to preserve the culture of a people whose autonomy is under threat.
Currently, the network is composed of a total of fifteen public and private institutions and independent organisations from the cultural sector in Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao:
Institute for Postnatural Studies
These are the activities carried out by La Escocesa within the framework of the TEJA network:
Emergency Residency Programme 2025 for Artists and Cultural Workers in Palestine
Shada Safadi has been selected for the residency within the framework of the Emergency Residency Programme 2025 for Artists and Cultural Workers in Palestine.
The project she will be working on during these months at La Escocesa, ‘Birds that no longer want to emigrate’, combines folklore with environmental and ecological issues in a context of colonisation, reflecting on the geopolitical reality of Palestine and the region. Shada's work draws parallels between her Syrian roots and her connection to Palestine and the West Bank community of which she was a part.
As part of the accompaniment, a visit was made to La Escocesa with Shada, Manuela Otero, coordinator of TEJA and Kevin Jones, Director of Strategy at Alserkal Arts Foundation, the organisation that supports this residency.
This programme provides resident artists with accommodation, a workspace, legal and psychological counselling, as well as access to a network of organisations and professionals with whom they can share, develop and continue their creative projects.
Presentation of Mahmoud Alhaj
At the beginning of 2025 we welcomed Mahmoud Alhaj, a Gazan visual artist and teacher who spent the month of January between Madrid and Barcelona as part of a residency of the TEJA network, to La Escocesa.
During the meeting we shared a meal together with members of La Escocesa and the teams of HANGAR and MACBA (institutions that are also part of TEJA); then his short films ‘Anatomy of Control’ and ‘The Right to See’ were screened.
Alhaj has developed several projects based on the use of photography, digital art and video, exhibiting in Palestine, Europe and the United States. In 2022, his experimental short film The Right to See was presented at the 35th edition of the Les Instants Video festival in Marseille. Mahmoud is currently based in Avignon, France, as he was awarded a grant from IIE's Artist Protection Fund and a residency at ESAA.
AZAR, Arab Studies Group 2025
Shada Safadi participates in the opening session of the 2025 edition of AZAR, a group of Arab studies by the collective Darsiná (Sassouki Salma and Maha Ibraheem), in collaboration with the Santa Mònica art centre, La Escocesa and the Sâlmon Festival.
During the meeting, the artist presents her research ‘Birds that no longer want to emigrate’, as well as sharing fragments of her artistic work and her career, which allows, among other things, to understand the colonial context in the Golan Heights.
In addition to these specific activities, since 2023, the profits generated in the events Alto al Foc, Oda Buch or Tallers Oberts, which have been held at La Escocesa, have been used to provide support to artists and cultural professionals in emergency situations within the framework of the TEJA network.