Abdullah Miniawy is an Egyptian expressionist, writer, singer, composer, 3D generalist (programmer) and actor. Over the years, he has shared the stage with celebrated artists like Erik Truffaz, Kamilya Jubran, Yom, Médéric Collignon, Aly Talibab, A Filetta, Hvad, Ziur, Zuli, Simo Cell, Maurice Louca, and many others. Abdullah has performed at prestigious international venues and festivals, including the Biennale di Venezia musica 2025, 72nd Festival d’Avignon, French national theaters, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, Haus der Kunst in Munich, MAO Museum in Turin, Philharmonie de Paris, and even the Louvre in Paris.
Beyond his music, Abdullah showcased his acting talent in Ala Eddine Slim's Tunisian feature film Tlamess, which premiered at the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival in 2019. The film received critical acclaim, winning Best Full-Length Feature Film at Kino der Kunst 2020 and Best Director at the Marrakech International Film Festival in 2020. Abdullah was shortlisted for Best Actor by the Arab Cinema Center at Cannes. He also directed his first short film, Rain Ticket in 2021.
As a composer, Abdullah has composed soundtracks for dance, theater, and exhibitions, including Wael Shawki’s Cabaret Crusades III, premiered at MoMA PS1; Kirsten Dehlholm’s AMDUAT, premiered at Hotel Pro Forma; Insurrection by Jilani Saadi; and On the Hill by Belhassen Handous.
His influence extends beyond the arts. In 2021, the European Parliament in Strasbourg selected Abdullah as one of three "change makers" from the Schengen area, inviting him to share his French-Egyptian perspective on contemporary issues at the European Youth Event’s “Live Fully” section. He also took part in "Europe Takes Part," a forum of 30 diverse speakers discussing economic models and digital solutions for artists in a post-pandemic world. Since 2015, Abdullah has collaborated with the German trio Carl Gari, blending avant-garde electronic sounds with his poetic lyrics. Their debut album, Darraje, was named one of the top 50 albums of 2016 by NPR. Theirfollow-up, The Act of Falling from the 8th Floor, received acclaim from Pitchfork, The Quietus, and Wire Magazine, while the track "Zawaj" topped Resident Advisor’s list of "Deep Listening" tracks in 2019.
In 2023, Abdullah’s album Le Cri du Caire, featuring Erik Truffaz, won the Les Victoires du Jazz award; the French equivalent of the Grammy Awards achieving global distribution and acclaim.
As a writer, Abdullah's lyrics resonate deeply across the Middle East, especially during the Arab Spring, where they were displayed in places like Syria's Yarmouk Camp, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab and Western countries. In early 2022, he released his first collection of stories, Extinguishing The City of Lights.
Press & Features
Dying Is the Internet - Album of the month ‘The Guardian’
Libration - “Le Oiuasuo Rare Abdullah Miniawy” by Jaques Denis
Rolling Stone Italia «Il capitalismo è ormai la religione del mondo: non posso accettarlo» by Irene Papa
Télérama “Peacock Dreams”, fait souffler un emballant vent free et baroque by Anne Berthod
Télérama “Le Cri du Caire” : hypnotique voix de l’underground égyptien by Anne Berthod
The Wire - Nigma Enigma
Shilla Stalka On Miniawy’s life and perspective, end of 2024.
Watch the Abdullah Miniawy Trio activate the Musée de Grenoble in a new video work filmed by Henri Nun and co-directed with Miniawy. The trio continues its forward movement, following an independently released album that pushes the intersection of electronic and baroque sound. Their practice builds on years of transforming MIDI fragments, harmonies and digital textures into physical, acoustic performance an ongoing process of experimentation that has brought them to leading 2025 platforms including Unsound, the Venice Biennale, CTM, and more. As they look toward 2026, the trio expands its research into Tunisian sonic heritage while developing new commissions and a multi-continent tour across Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Further details will be shared here. watch <here>
Translations & Publications :
Peacock Dreams - English & Classical arabic
Nigma Enigma - English & Classical arabic
Le Cri du Caire - English, French & Classical arabic
Abdullah Miniawy, driven by an expansive dedication to art-making, moves fluidly across disciplines—shifting from early experiments in videogame design to poetry, performance, and hybrid sonic practice. Nigma Enigma marks a new chapter: an immersive walk through his album of the same title, released on Hundibess and entirely programmed, sculpted, and rigged by Miniawy. Over the past five years, he has built a technical vocabulary through C++, Unreal Engine, and iClone, shaping the project’s visual and interactive language. The work was presented at the National Museum of Science in Sweden on 26.09.2025 and on several occasions, where it received a notably strong response from the audience.
Kharatet El Henna is a choir working to revive lost henna harvest songs from Gabès, Tunisia and Fayoum, Egypt. Drawing from existing and archived music and ritual, the project reimagines a fading tradition that has long been shaped by women and the land to stage performances that explore cultural loss, resilience and the power of art to reconnect audiences with forgotten heritage.
Dying Is The Internet, March 12, 2026 on Dekmantel
Peacock Dreams, May 23, 2025 on pplsongs
Childhood Passed in a Blink, October 31 2025 on pplsongs
Nigma Enigma, November 15, 2024 on Hundibess
A Sorcerer or a Madman, June 28, 2024 on Planet Rouge
Shoot the Engine, May 9, 2024
Eyeroll, July 28, 2023 on HAKUNA KULALA
Le Cri du Caire, January 27, 2023 on Les Disques du Festival Permanent
Extinguishing the City of Light, January 17, 2022
Between the Bullet and the Front Sight, Casting Lots, February 25, 2022 on Molten Moods
Notice a Tiny Scratch for the Blue Behind, February 10, 2022 on ULLLU
Kill Me or Negotiate, October 16, 2020 on BFDM
The Act of Falling from the 8th Floor, September 6, 2019 on WHITIES
Shipster, January 19, 2018 on Permanent Vacation
Darraje, January 1, 2016 on The Triology Tapes ‘TTT’
01/01/26–05/01/26 – Tunis, Tunisia | Residency (Tunis Residency 1)
11/01/26 – Théâtre des Abbesses, Paris, France | (Trio)
27/01/26–01/02/26 – Biennale, Saudi Arabia | (Trio)
10/02/26 – Cafe OTO, London, UK | (Trio)
13/02/26 – Sottencoppa, Naples, Italy | (Trio)
18/02/26 – STUK, Leuven, Belgium | (Trio)
19/02/26–01/03/26 – Inkonst, Malmö, Sweden | (solo)
01/03/26–05/03/26 – Tunis, Tunisia |(Tunis Residency 2)
02/03/26 – Sounds Jazz, Brussels, Belgium | (Trio)
03/03/26 – Kiosk Radio, Brussels, Belgium | (DJ Set)
25/03/26 – Lisbon, Portugal | (Trio)
26/03/26 – Tremor Festival, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal | (Trio)
06/04/26 – TBC, Venice, Italy | Abdullah Miniawy (solo)
10/04/26 – Rewire Festival, The Hague, Netherlands | (Trio)
11/04/26–12/04/26 – La Corrouie, Avignon, France | (Trio)
22/04/26 – Phono, Aarhus, Denmark | (solo)
24/04/26 – Intonal Festival, Malmö, Sweden | (Trio)
26/04/26 – TBC, Stockholm, Sweden | (Trio)
01/05/26 – Donaufestival, Krems, Austria | (Trio)
05/05/26 – Cartography Exhibition, Venice, Italy | (Solo)
07/05/26 – Supernova, Rimini, Italy | (Solo)
08/05/26 – Flaming Creatures, Chiesa S. Maria Esquilino, Rome, Italy | (Trio)
09/05/26 – Spazio ZUT, Foligno, Italy | (Trio Performance)
10/05/26 – Chiesa di S. Nicolò Arena, Catania, Italy | (Trio)
22/05/26 – TBC - Pantin, Paris, France | (With Simo Cell)
23/05/26 – Nuits des Musées, Metz, France | (Trio)
29/05/26 – Morgenland Festival, Osnabrück, Germany | (Trio)
31/05/26 – TBC, Amsterdam, Netherlands | (Trio)
15/06/26–19/06/26 – Tunis, Tunisia | Residency (Recording – New Creation)
20/06/26 – Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany |(Trio)
23/06/26–25/06/26 – Vienne, France | (Abdullah Miniawy with Erik Truffaz)
03/07/26 – Festival Cinq Continents, Marseille, France | (Trio)
05/07/26 – TBC, Lyon, France | (Guest)
08/07/26 – TBC, Berlin, Germany | (Solo)
11/01/26 – Théâtre des Abbesses, Paris, France | (Trio)
27/01/26–01/02/26 – Biennale, Saudi Arabia | (Trio)
10/02/26 – Cafe OTO, London, UK | (Trio)
13/02/26 – Sottencoppa, Naples, Italy | (Trio)
18/02/26 – STUK, Leuven, Belgium | (Trio)
19/02/26–01/03/26 – Inkonst, Malmö, Sweden | (solo)
01/03/26–05/03/26 – Tunis, Tunisia |(Tunis Residency 2)
02/03/26 – Sounds Jazz, Brussels, Belgium | (Trio)
03/03/26 – Kiosk Radio, Brussels, Belgium | (DJ Set)
25/03/26 – Lisbon, Portugal | (Trio)
26/03/26 – Tremor Festival, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal | (Trio)
06/04/26 – TBC, Venice, Italy | Abdullah Miniawy (solo)
10/04/26 – Rewire Festival, The Hague, Netherlands | (Trio)
11/04/26–12/04/26 – La Corrouie, Avignon, France | (Trio)
22/04/26 – Phono, Aarhus, Denmark | (solo)
24/04/26 – Intonal Festival, Malmö, Sweden | (Trio)
26/04/26 – TBC, Stockholm, Sweden | (Trio)
01/05/26 – Donaufestival, Krems, Austria | (Trio)
05/05/26 – Cartography Exhibition, Venice, Italy | (Solo)
07/05/26 – Supernova, Rimini, Italy | (Solo)
08/05/26 – Flaming Creatures, Chiesa S. Maria Esquilino, Rome, Italy | (Trio)
09/05/26 – Spazio ZUT, Foligno, Italy | (Trio Performance)
10/05/26 – Chiesa di S. Nicolò Arena, Catania, Italy | (Trio)
22/05/26 – TBC - Pantin, Paris, France | (With Simo Cell)
23/05/26 – Nuits des Musées, Metz, France | (Trio)
29/05/26 – Morgenland Festival, Osnabrück, Germany | (Trio)
31/05/26 – TBC, Amsterdam, Netherlands | (Trio)
15/06/26–19/06/26 – Tunis, Tunisia | Residency (Recording – New Creation)
20/06/26 – Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany |(Trio)
23/06/26–25/06/26 – Vienne, France | (Abdullah Miniawy with Erik Truffaz)
03/07/26 – Festival Cinq Continents, Marseille, France | (Trio)
05/07/26 – TBC, Lyon, France | (Guest)
08/07/26 – TBC, Berlin, Germany | (Solo)
18/07/26 – TBC, Italy |(Trio)
16/07/26 – Le Sud, Arles, France | (Trio)
September 2026 – TBC, Milan, Italy | (Solo)
20/09/26 – Arabesques Festival, Montpellier, France | (Trio)
01/10/26 – TBC, Warsaw, Poland | (Trio)
17/10/26–18/10/26 – Poesía en Voz Alta Festival, Mexico City, Mexico | (Trio)
17/10/26 – TBC, Palermo, Italy |(TBC)
24/10/26 – De Singel, Antwerp, Belgium | (Trio)
10/11/26 – Festival d’Automne, Paris, France | (Trio)
25/11/26–29/11/26 – Next Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia | (Trio)
26/11/26 – Vienna, Austria | (TBC)
05/12/26 – TBC, France |(Trio)
16/12/26 – TBC, Belgium |(Trio)
16/07/26 – Le Sud, Arles, France | (Trio)
September 2026 – TBC, Milan, Italy | (Solo)
20/09/26 – Arabesques Festival, Montpellier, France | (Trio)
01/10/26 – TBC, Warsaw, Poland | (Trio)
17/10/26–18/10/26 – Poesía en Voz Alta Festival, Mexico City, Mexico | (Trio)
17/10/26 – TBC, Palermo, Italy |(TBC)
24/10/26 – De Singel, Antwerp, Belgium | (Trio)
10/11/26 – Festival d’Automne, Paris, France | (Trio)
25/11/26–29/11/26 – Next Festival, Bratislava, Slovakia | (Trio)
26/11/26 – Vienna, Austria | (TBC)
05/12/26 – TBC, France |(Trio)
16/12/26 – TBC, Belgium |(Trio)