The Institute of Fine Arts
Central Asia Initiative

Rahraw Omarzad

Rahraw Omarzad is a pioneering Afghan artist, writer, and educator whose work is exhibited and collected internationally, including at documenta 13 (Kassel). Omarzad taught at Kabul University’s Faculty of Fine Arts in 1991–92 and 2002–21. He founded the Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan (CCAA) in 2004, the country’s only Women’s Art Center in 2006, as well as the Studio of Contemporary Arts at Kabul University and the Ostad Brashna Art Training Center in 2021. In August 2021, Omarzad relocated to Turin, Italy, where he held a residency at Castello di Rivoli and taught at Albertina Academy. In 2022, he moved to Germany and co-founded CCAA in eXiLe e.V. in Frankfurt. He currently teaches at HfG Offenbach and holds an MA from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts.