Kenan Khatib is a visual artist, whirling dervish, and PhD candidate in Fine Arts, at the University of Rennes 2. Born in Damascus, Syria, and based in France, he earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts (Arts plastiques) and a Master's degree in Creative Approaches in Public Spaces (CAPS) at the University of Rennes 2. His practice focuses on performance, video, visual and sound installations, and the whirling dervish dance.
From a young age, he has practiced the whirling dervish dance, a tradition passed down in his family from Aleppo and Turkey. Over time, this evolved into a professional artistic path involving collaborations and experimentation with ensembles such as the Hamza Shakkur Ensemble and the Tahleeleh Ensemble across Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Pakistan, Algeria, and Morocco. This experience has placed collaborative creation at the core of his work, which he continues to develop through artistic partnerships with diverse artists in France.
His background has inspired a deep reflection on the memory of a destroyed city and how to represent it within radically different geopolitical and cultural contexts. Through his projects, he explores how art can revitalize personal memory and contribute to collective memory, questioning the place of the individual in war, displacement, and the modern urban environment.
Education :
2025 Master’s degree CAPS – (Creative Approaches to Public Space), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2023 Bachelor’s degree in (Arts plastiques), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2025 Master’s degree CAPS – (Creative Approaches to Public Space), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2023 Bachelor’s degree in (Arts plastiques), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
Exhibitions / Collective Projects :
2025, Une reconstruction prolongée, Tokonoma, Rennes, France.
2024 Bois Perrin vous invite, European Heritage Days, EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
2024 Matière sensible, Centre d’art Bastille, as part of the 18ᵗʰ edition of the cultural festival of Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France.
2024 Bois Perrin dans le (m)arbre collective project with Master’s CAPS students and Agathe Ottavi (Cuesta), EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
2023–24 Artistic residency (Collectif Serge) at the Terrain d’Aventure of the association L’Allumette, supported by DRAC Bretagne and EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
2023 Manifeste Miasonner, collective project with Master’s CAPS students, Rennes, France.
2023 Trois jours à Groix, Bois Perrin, Rennes, France.
2023 Open Day (Journée portes ouvertes), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2022–23 Performette, Waterproof Festival, Le Triangle, Rennes, France.
2025, Une reconstruction prolongée, Tokonoma, Rennes, France.
2024 Bois Perrin vous invite, European Heritage Days, EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
2024 Matière sensible, Centre d’art Bastille, as part of the 18ᵗʰ edition of the cultural festival of Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France.
2024 Bois Perrin dans le (m)arbre collective project with Master’s CAPS students and Agathe Ottavi (Cuesta), EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
2023–24 Artistic residency (Collectif Serge) at the Terrain d’Aventure of the association L’Allumette, supported by DRAC Bretagne and EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
2023 Manifeste Miasonner, collective project with Master’s CAPS students, Rennes, France.
2023 Trois jours à Groix, Bois Perrin, Rennes, France.
2023 Open Day (Journée portes ouvertes), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2022–23 Performette, Waterproof Festival, Le Triangle, Rennes, France.
Whirling Dervish (selection) :
2025 Créations Musicales of the MAAAV Master’s program, with Burhan Khatib, Museum of Fine Arts, Lyon, France.
2024 Il est défendu d’entrer dans le jardin public sans fleurs à la main, Franck Chauvet and Muriel Taragano, Orangerie du Thabor, Rennes, France.
2017–18 Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ramadan Events, Istanbul, Turkey.
2015 Tripoli International Festival, Tahleeleh Ensemble, Tripoli, Liban.
2014 International Mystic Music Festival, Tahleeleh Ensemble, Lahore - Islamabad, Pakistan.
2014 Algeria Independence Day Festivals, Tahleeleh Ensemble, (Plusieurs villes) Algérie.
2012 Festival of Spiritual and Religious Music, Damas, Syrie
2010 Chefchaouen Sufi Song Festival, Tahleeleh Ensemble, Chefchaouen, Maroc.
2009 Damascus Citadel Festival, Hamza Shakkur Ensemble, Damas, Syrie.
2025 Créations Musicales of the MAAAV Master’s program, with Burhan Khatib, Museum of Fine Arts, Lyon, France.
2024 Il est défendu d’entrer dans le jardin public sans fleurs à la main, Franck Chauvet and Muriel Taragano, Orangerie du Thabor, Rennes, France.
2017–18 Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ramadan Events, Istanbul, Turkey.
2015 Tripoli International Festival, Tahleeleh Ensemble, Tripoli, Liban.
2014 International Mystic Music Festival, Tahleeleh Ensemble, Lahore - Islamabad, Pakistan.
2014 Algeria Independence Day Festivals, Tahleeleh Ensemble, (Plusieurs villes) Algérie.
2012 Festival of Spiritual and Religious Music, Damas, Syrie
2010 Chefchaouen Sufi Song Festival, Tahleeleh Ensemble, Chefchaouen, Maroc.
2009 Damascus Citadel Festival, Hamza Shakkur Ensemble, Damas, Syrie.
Performances :
2024 Damas La Ville Cruelle, Grenoble, France.
2022 The Art of Bullshit, Rennes, France.
2024 Damas La Ville Cruelle, Grenoble, France.
2022 The Art of Bullshit, Rennes, France.
Artistic Assistant / Video Editor :
2023–25 Video editor, Technical support in video editing and shooting for 2nd- and 3rd-year Visual arts students, Video Workshop with Martin Le Chevallier, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2024 Video editor, Video Workshop with Marie Reinert, Department of Visual arts, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2023–24 Artistic assistant, Peinture morale à corps perdu, residency exhibition What’s at Play by Céline Ahond at EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
Internships :
2023 Artistic assistant, film project: Question pour personnages actuels et futurs, Francis Raynaud, Rennes, France.
2025 Research internship, Cartographie sensible, Laboratoire Espaces et Sociétés (ESO – Rennes), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2023–25 Video editor, Technical support in video editing and shooting for 2nd- and 3rd-year Visual arts students, Video Workshop with Martin Le Chevallier, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2024 Video editor, Video Workshop with Marie Reinert, Department of Visual arts, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2023–24 Artistic assistant, Peinture morale à corps perdu, residency exhibition What’s at Play by Céline Ahond at EUR CAPS, Rennes, France.
Workshops (selection) :
2024 Freshorama, Audiovisual Research Methodologies, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2024 Art et société, oralité et conte, with Myriame Martineau, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2024 Exposer un processus de création, TNB, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, with Marie-Noëlle Semet and Sophie Lucet, as part of the show SKINLESS by Théo Mercier, Rennes, France.
2023 Momoshima Ponant, Rennes 2 University, Hiroshima City University, EUR CAPS, with Taro Furukata, Séverine Cauchy, Émeline Jaret, Yann Sérandour, and Anne Zeitz, Groix & Rennes, France.
2023 Travail artistique à plusieurs, Rennes 2 University, EUR CAPS, with Émeline Jaret and Laura Aufrère, Rennes, France.
2023 À la rue, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2022 Performance et genre with Hortense Belhôt, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2024 Freshorama, Audiovisual Research Methodologies, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2024 Art et société, oralité et conte, with Myriame Martineau, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2024 Exposer un processus de création, TNB, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, with Marie-Noëlle Semet and Sophie Lucet, as part of the show SKINLESS by Théo Mercier, Rennes, France.
2023 Momoshima Ponant, Rennes 2 University, Hiroshima City University, EUR CAPS, with Taro Furukata, Séverine Cauchy, Émeline Jaret, Yann Sérandour, and Anne Zeitz, Groix & Rennes, France.
2023 Travail artistique à plusieurs, Rennes 2 University, EUR CAPS, with Émeline Jaret and Laura Aufrère, Rennes, France.
2023 À la rue, EUR CAPS, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
2022 Performance et genre with Hortense Belhôt, Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.
Internships :
2023 Artistic assistant, film project: Question pour personnages actuels et futurs, Francis Raynaud, Rennes, France.
2025 Research internship, Cartographie sensible, Laboratoire Espaces et Sociétés (ESO – Rennes), Rennes 2 University, Rennes, France.