Winter 2026 Faculty Announcement

IDSVA’s internationally renowned philosophers, artists, and scholars join students at residency sites, leading seminar discussions and field work that explore each location's historical, aesthetic, and ideological significance. They bring cutting-edge research and diverse global perspectives directly into the learning experience.

Ilham Ibnou Zahir, Silvia Mazzini, Simonetta Moro, Laila Sandoval, and George Smith will participate in our January 2026 residencies in Marrakech and Madrid.

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Ilham Ibnou Zahir (Visiting Faculty) Marrakech

ILHAM IBNOU ZAHIR received her PhD at Goldsmiths’ College where her dissertation explored the unsettling relationship between ancient philosophy and techne/the art of healing-medicine. Currently, she is researching the way 'other' philosophies (Islamic-Jewish, Indian, and Chinese) have influenced one another and by the same token have notably marked Western and Continental philosophy.

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Silvia Mazzini (Core Faculty) Madrid & Marrakech

SILVIA MAZZINI is a philosopher and theatre author, and the Director of IDSVA. She works at the intersection of Aesthetics and Political Philosophy, and published on arts and politics in Pasolini, Bloch, and Vattimo, on comic thought and community theatre. Currently, she is developing a Philosophy of Poverty. Before joining IDSVA, she worked at Humboldt University Berlin, where she also obtained her PhD, and Berlin University of the Arts. She lives in The Netherlands.

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Simonetta Moro (Core Faculty) Madrid & Marrakech

SIMONETTA MORO is a visual artist and scholar focusing on painting, drawing, and mapping practices, and the President of IDSVA. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally. Publications include Mapping Paradigms in Modern and Contemporary Art: Poetic Cartography (Routledge, 2021) and The Vattimo Dictionary (Edinburgh University Press, 2023). Moro holds a PhD in Fine Arts, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. She lives in New York City.

Laila Yousef Sandoval (Visiting Faculty) Madrid

LAILA YOUSEF SANDOVAL works as a Lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy at the UCM, in the Department of Philosophy and Society. She holds a PhD in Philosophy (Complutense University of Madrid) with a thesis on the Philosophy of International Relations. Her current research focuses on topics in modern and contemporary political philosophy, cultural heritage and feminist theory. 

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George Smith (Core Faculty) Marrakech & Madrid

GEORGE SMITH is the founder of the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. Professor Smith writes on literature, the visual arts, visual culture, psychoanalytic theory, and philosophy of education. He is the author of The Artist-Philosopher and New Philosophy (Routledge, 2018), The Artist-Philosopher and Poetic Hermeneutics (Routledge, 2021), and The Artist-Philosopher in the Age of Addiction (Routledge, 2025).