Coline Houssais

Founder, l'Agence Ustaza

Coline is from France.

Born in 1987 in Brittany, Coline Houssais is a researcher, curator and writer, specialising on the Arab world and culture. In addition to servicing a number of profit and non-profit clients, Coline’s own recent projects have included: “Karaokitsch” (a themed-night dedicated to Western and Eastern influences on French and Arab pop music at the Institut des Cultures d’Islam in Paris), “Lovebirds of Baghdad” (a musical and artistic experience exploring the golden age of Iraqi music presented at the Institut du Monde Arabe) and “This Is Not A Veil” (a visual journey through archives and interviews questioning the use of headwear in France through time).

As a writer, Coline is a regular contributor in a number of French media, including Wahed, a French-Arabic magazine on culture and current affairs from both sides of the Mediterranean. A graduate from Sciences Po, LSE, INALCO and IFPO, Coline currently teaches History of Arab Politics and Culture in Europe, as well as Music and Politics in Contemporary MENA at Sciences Po. Coline also works as a translator (French, English, Arabic). She currently lives between Paris, London and Amsterdam.