Seen and Unseen: Sufi Life in Frankfurt – Listening, Presence, and Community in Contemporary Germany

27. June 2026
Press, Press Release

Photography exhibition
16–22 October 2026
Römerhalle Frankfurt · Röme

MTO Sufi Verband e.V. presents Seen and Unseen: Sufi Life in Frankfurt, a photographic and ethnographic exhibition exploring Sufism as lived practice in contemporary Germany. Taking place from 16–22 October 2026 at Römerhalle Frankfurt, the exhibition focuses on the MTO Shahmaghsoudi School of Islamic Sufism in Frankfurt while situating the community within a wider German context.

Curated by Negah Angha—scholar, curator, photographer, and 2026 Praxis Fellow at the Academy for Islam in Research and Society (AIWG) at Goethe University Frankfurt—the exhibition grows from her sustained academic and photographic engagement with the MTO Shahmaghsoudi community, beginning with her doctoral research at King’s College London.

The photographs attend to ritual, listening, service, hospitality, and everyday community life. They move between what can be seen and what remains beyond the frame: bodies, gestures, rooms, rhythms, atmospheres, and thresholds, as well as the interior work of remembrance, attention, and ethical self-cultivation that photography cannot fully render.

“Photography can show bodies, gestures, spaces, and light, but it cannot fully render the interior work of remembrance, listening, and ethical cultivation. The exhibition invites viewers to remain within that tension between what can be seen and what can only be approached,” says Angha.

Extending beyond the still image, the exhibition incorporates immersive and participatory elements: a VR installation that brings visitors into the spatial and sonic environment of a dhikr gathering, a moving-image presentation of samāʿ, and guided Tamarkoz® concentration and meditation sessions offered through wireless headphones at scheduled times. Together, these elements open onto the temporal, sonic, embodied, and contemplative dimensions of Sufi practice that photography can evoke but cannot fully contain.

The accompanying programme also includes free Daf and Samāʿ performances by the Zendeh Delan Ensemble, offering visitors a direct encounter with the musical and communal dimensions of the Sufi tradition. The sessions are expected to take place at the following times:

Friday, 16 October: approx. 13:00 and 16:00
Saturday, 17 October: approx. 10:00, 13:00 and 16:00
Sunday, 18 October: approx. 10:00, 13:00 and 16:00

Alongside Angha’s photographs, the exhibition includes works by Aram Norouzi and Mehdi Varvani, expanding its visual language through spatial, atmospheric, documentary, and cinematic approaches.

The exhibition unfolds across four themes:

Ritual and Embodied Practice
Belonging
Service as Practice — Khidmat
The In-Between

An accompanying bilingual catalogue extends the visual narrative through essays by Dr. Payam Yousefi and Dr. William Rory Dickson on listening, embodied practice, diaspora, transmission, and belonging.
The publication is framed by forewords from Hessian Minister for Science and Research, Arts and Culture Timon Gremmels and Prof. Dr. Bekim Agai. Their contributions offer additional perspectives on cultural memory, social participation, and coexistence in a plural contemporary society.

The exhibition and catalogue form part of a wider program of cultural exchange and public engagement developed by MTO Sufi Verband e.V. The program also includes Sufi Dialogues, interfaith encounters, and public conversations exploring Sufism as lived practice and its place within contemporary German society.

Public Exhibition
Friday, 16 October: 13:00–17:00
17–21 October: 10:00–17:00
Thursday, 22 October: 10:00–13:00

Free admission – A complimentary bilingual exhibition catalogue will be available onsite while supplies last.

Special Events – By Invitation
▸ Vernissage · Thursday, 15 October 2026 · 18:00 – 20:30
▸Academic Round Table · Friday, 16 October 2026 · 10:00 – 12:00 · In collaboration with the Academy for Islam in Research and Society (AIWG), Goethe University Frankfurt
▸ Finissage · Thursday, 22 October 2026 · 17:30 – 20:30 · By invitation

Press Preview
Members of the media are warmly invited to a press preview on Thursday, 15 October 2026 at 16:30. Together with the curator, they will be offered an introduction to the exhibition concept and its background, followed by an opportunity for questions and interviews.

Press images are available upon request. Captions, photographer credits, and usage conditions will be supplied with the files.
Photography by Negah Angha, Aram Norouzi, and Mehdi Varvani.

About the curator
Negah Angha is a scholar, curator, photographer, and foreign policy expert whose work brings together visual storytelling, lived religion, peacebuilding, and public-facing scholarship. She has nearly two decades of experience advising senior US government leadership on foreign policy, strategic communication, and international security. Her academic work focuses on Sufism, ethical self-cultivation, and peacebuilding. She has held fellowships with the Atlantic Council, Woodrow Wilson Center, Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, King’s College London, and the Academy for Islam in Research and Society (AIWG) at Goethe University Frankfurt.

About MTO Sufi Verband e.V.
MTO Sufi Verband e.V. is part of the MTO Shahmaghsoudi School of Islamic Sufism in Germany — a non-profit association that supports cultural, educational, and interfaith initiatives related to Sufi life and Sufi practice in Germany.
In 2022, the MTO Shahmaghsoudi School was granted the status of a corporation under public law (KdöR) in North Rhine-Westphalia — one of the few Muslim organisations in Germany to receive this recognition.