About

From creating works to creating contexts.

Sepehr Sharifzadeh is a curator, festival researcher, and cultural intermediary originally from Iran, now based in France. His practice bridges performing arts, cultural policy, and international collaboration, with a focus on building meaningful connections across artistic communities and geographies and bringing access.

Originally trained as a playwright and having worked as a filmmaker and actor with several national awards and international recognition early in his career, Sepehr later shifted his focus from creating works to creating contexts, moving into production, curation, and cultural facilitation.

Over the past decade, he has worked across Europe, Australia, and Iran, developing projects that foster exchange and dialogue between artists and institutions. He co-curated and co-founded initiatives such as Re-connect, a global online festival supporting collaboration beyond dominant infrastructures, and New Narrative Showcase, a platform for Iranian and diasporic artists.

A natural network builder, Sepehr is the founder of PADA (Producers, Agents and Distributors Alliance), a peer network of over 160 performing arts professionals across 30 countries. He served on the Advisory Committee of IETM for four years, a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow, an ISPA Fellow, and an alumnus of The Festival Academy, where he sits on the Alumni Steering Committee.

He is frequently invited by festivals, networks, and cultural institutions to give keynotes, moderate discussions, or facilitate sessions on international collaboration, curating, and the politics of cultural exchange. His work consistently seeks to connect people, ideas, and practices across borders, shaping spaces where collaboration can emerge from genuine encounter and mutual care.

Selected Public Contributions