Will The Unsafe House take over the Venice Biennial 2026?

It is always difficult to assess a chance of something happening if you have only access to limited direct information or people stay quiet on the real issues involved.

In a former post we talked about the apparent demise of The Creeps from the Middle East in which we shortly mentioned the new biotope of Sina Khani, the main character of The Creeps:

"The last year Khani seems to be submerged in The Unsafe House project, initiated by Tarik Sadouma, he even lives in their dwellings and seems to have left Berlin. Did he leave The Creeps behind?"

Sadouma, also a character in episode 5, is boosting his art career in several ways. This seems necessary, as he claims to  have been cancelled, recently  by cultural institutions such as De Balie in Amsterdam and the Art Academy of Leipzig (HGB). To achieve this aim Sadouma is running for the USA Venice Biennial pavilion, in collaboration with his friend philosopher, monarchist and "lord of darkness" Curtis Yarvin, who is convinced that Sadouma makes a serious chance to be the USA candidate for the Biennale di Venezia. This topic has also been discussed in The Unsafe House podcast, hosted by Sadouma’s partners in crime, Ruth Spetter and Sina Khani. People interested should watch the podcast.

Sadouma has emerged as a brilliant A.I.-powered trailer producer. ”I like his satirical way of using it," a friend of mine remarked recently. His creative flair even extends to painting, where, according to some,  his unique visual language and bold ideas stand out. Judge for yourself: Tarik Sadouma Paintings

Of course, the Venice Biennale demands something on a larger scale, and while trailers alone might not suffice, his concept The Unsafe House, a kind of relational artwork, could be just the thing. Why not build it in the pavilion in Venice in 2026? That would be my suggestion.

The Unsafe House is currently pouring energy into a bold proposal, set to be delivered by Curtis Yarvin to a cultural envoy in the Trump administration.  A strategic move to bypass the usual tastemakers of the art world in the USA. It’s an audacious approach, but then again, that’s very much Sadouma’s style. To quote the Vanity Fair about their shenanigans: The Barbarians Are at the Gates. 

In the meantime Sadouma, the initiator of The Unsafe House, went on with his project to really achieve a participation in the Venice Biennial. He and some of his partners visited the USA a couple of times, had a meeting with Curtis Yarvin, the big ‘project accelerator’, in Paris, and assured me in personal talks the chance of really getting the USA Pavilion commission was 70%!

As a former professional researcher of opinions, consumers and markets,  you have several options to estimate certain developments by, for example, desk research, combined with qualitative interview techniques, using projective techniques, and  others and you can make people talk on subjects they prefer to stay silent on. This  might deliver relevant data, like a recent publication in The Washington Post and others on latest developments and  relevant candidates for the Venice Biennial 2026.

After visiting The Unsafe House a few times, inviting them to exhibitions with Art Space 411, contributing performances and jingles, and being the main musician on Sina Khani’s No Gaza No Cry, recorded in the Unsafe studios, I found myself caught in a strange dual role. On one hand, I try to stay objective and reliable, maintain a professional face, maybe even live a normal life. On the other hand, there’s the pull of my own projects, artistic and journalistic, increasingly entangled with radical gestures and controversial figures. Collaborating with someone like Sina Khani feels urgent and necessary, but how far can you go before the risk outweighs the impact? And how do you navigate all this without losing your footing or getting cancelled?

Let’s go back to the main topic: will The Unsafe House actually be selected to represent the USA at the Venice Biennial of 2026?

Sadouma and his partners have been quite secretive to me about their proposal, but in The Washington Post though, much is revealed: The proposal would present artists who "have been previously excluded or underrepresented by the hegemonic and ideological art world," artists "who challenge progressive orthodoxies" with a vision of patriotism and traditional values according to their application. Their proposal also includes a workshop for "public figures aligned with conservative or MAGA-related values," like movie stars, to co-create artworks in collaboration with traditional American craftspeople."

The Washington Post reports: “Their vision calls for the U.S. pavilion to be rebaptized as the Salon des Déplorables, a reference to the Salon des Refusés, the 19th-century Parisian exhibition of rejected avant-garde works. A Museum of Dark Enlightenment will showcase artwork of creation and destruction that will declare the 'old' art world to be dead. A series of Hollywood-style sets will offer a provocative mimicry of pop art, without its often disdainful view of American identity.”

It is a clever strategy. By positioning themselves as the alternative, once excluded art community, they directly challenge the art establishment that has long controlled the selection of U.S. representatives at the Biennale. In this shifting cultural landscape, marked by a reorientation of leadership within American institutions, there is a real opportunity. As the Trump administration reshapes the ideological direction of cultural policy, figures like Curtis Yarvin and Tarik Sadouma are not just provocateurs. They are emerging as serious contenders with a cohesive and radical vision. If this momentum continues, it is entirely possible that Sadouma and his collaborators could represent the United States in Venice in 2026.

One very important note on the main competing artist with an "overtly Trumpian, Maga" proposal: Andres Serrano. Notoriously bombarded to fame in the late 80’s with his Piss Christ work (officially called 'Immersion (Piss Christ)),' which also could be the hindrance to his selection by the way, considering the very conservative and explicitly pro-Christian roots of the Maga movement now trying to control and redesign the USA.

Again The Washington Post: Serrano "now thinks he has a perfect fit for a MAGA-ified Biennale. ‘The Game: All Things Trump’ is Serrano’s exhibition of Trump ephemera from his casinos, product lines and television work over the years."

Considering the narcissistic personality of the current president this proposal might even have a bigger chance of being selected, presupposing that the Piss Christ is successfully concealed by the Serrano team.

Things are shifting. The old cultural hierarchies are cracking, and in that space, people like Curtis Yarvin and especially Tarik Sadouma are starting to move in ways that seemed unthinkable a few years ago. In my opinion, Sadouma isn’t just reacting to the moment. He is actually shaping it, with a mix of strategical thinking and sharp media instincts, dark humor, and a kind of unapologetic aesthetic strategy. If the current momentum holds, I genuinely think it is not far fetched to imagine him taking over the U.S. pavilion in Venice in 2026. And honestly, it would make sense in the current cultural and political climate in the USA. His work speaks directly to this weird and unstable time, not just in opposition to the established art world but as something that could replace it.

The decision on who will be the selected artist will fall this month, September-October  2025.

Hans Kuiper

The Creeps are dead?

(Photo:) On Instagram, Sina Khani claims to have been beaten up by his...new girlfriend.

You always have to take care if you are the carrier of bad news, people may be seduced to haunt you. But, in this case I have an urgent need to ask the question in public: Are the Creeps, the notorious series starring Sina Khani,  dead?

I know it has been asked many times before to boost careers that were already on their way downwards, but The Creeps didn´t even seem to have reached their summum.

What happened? Main character Sina Khani, also one of the founders and directors of the project posted last week on a frequented social medium his apologies to not have posted a new episode yet...since a year.

Now, insiders whisper the Creeps team broke up! Khani got into a serious fight with his fellow Creeps creators and, so he told "they broke up". Why? It´s still unknown to outsiders - insiders know better.

I know Khani a little bit longer. You never know whether it´s a new ´episode´ in his theatrical way of being or not, but he looked rather serious, when I asked it him face to face. "It´s not going to be mended", were the last words he uttered on it. The Creeps are dead?

Now, surprisingly, yesterday he posted a new ´episode´, episode 5, Das Blut der Anderen, of  The Creeps from the Middle East, which is not new at all, for insiders, but looks exactly like the one they showed months ago in The Unsafe House in Amsterdam. Maybe there is some more post-production work attached to it, but that seems to be marginal. The story that Khani has found his ´real dad´, played by Philip van den Hurk, seems exactly the same. Is it a cover-up for potential new fans, that suggests there is still life in the Creeps project?

To dig a little deeper: The last year Khani seemed to be submerged in the Unsafe House project, initiated by Tarik Sadouma, he even lives in their dwellings and seems to have left Berlin. Did he leave The Creeps behind?

Sadouma, also a character in episode 5, intends himself to boost his ´career´ in several ways. This seems necessary because, as he claims himself, he has been cancelled by Dutch and other culture czars. To achieve this aim Sadouma claims to be running for the USA Venice Biennial pavillion, via his shady contacts with self-proclaimed tech guru Curtis Yarvin, who now even convinces Sadouma, he makes a serious chance to be the USA candidate for the Biennale di Venezia. 

Now Sadouma is a great A.I. trailer producer - "I like this satirical way of using it", a friend of mine said. Sadouma is even a reasonable painter, but for the Biennale you need to produce something bigger. Trailers are not enough, and I didn´t see Sadouma produce any big installation yet, or it must be his ´relational artwork´, The Unsafe House itself. Maybe build it in the pavillion in Venice in 2026? Sadouma works like hell on a proposal that has to be brought by Yarvin to a secretary of culture in the ...Trump government. Bypass the liberal wokies of the art domain!

In this context, Sina Khani seems to have left his Creeps project behind , got into the Unsafe House cult, where he probably believes to boost his career in a better way. So, he seems to have hitchhiked into the Unsafe House, where Sadouma even confesses himself that ´he is burning money´, which means they don´t make a dime, except by selling their real estate to some big investment company - a classical capitalist story. Even Art Space 411, the only art venue to show their work in Berlin and currently in Haarlem (NL), has a hard time selling their work, where Sadouma thinks he can multiply his prices now ´Venice´ seems to be that close.

Scratches on the cheek - his girlfriend must be a cat...

But let´s stick to the main character of this post, mr. Sina Khani himself. Last week I was in the neighbourhood to talk to him face to face - yes, in the Unsafe House - but he was not to be seen anywhere around. Even the Unsafe House crew didn´t know where he hung out, I got the excuse: "He is an artist, they sometimes disappear for a few days, you know how it is".

Ok, maybe I was one of the lucky few who saw the PREVIEW of Episode 5, but that was almost a year ago. To present Episode 5 now as a completely new episode is a farce, but what do you expect of mr. Khani?

Steven Bos and Susan Lanting, the co-directors of the ´permanent series of Sina Khani, till he dies´,  have totally disappeared from the scene, and story goes they have been in a fight with Khani on legal issues considering who owns the rights of the Creeps from the Middle East.

I hope these are not the first steps into the abyss of mr. Sina Khani, who seemed to be so promising one day...

POST SCRIPT

One of the directors reacted immediately and wrote: " Look from minute 43.00!" to convince us of a coming NEW episode, suggesting The Creeps are not dead at all. We only see a short (new) scene of a squirrel dying, symbolic for the Creeps project and a coming s. attempt of one of the characters? WE are NOT convinced the story above ain´t right!

To be continued...

Neoschlager · I am gonna need a Detective Show

Creeps in the Unsafe House

It took me almost a week to process the latest episode of *Creeps from the Middle East*. In the dark cellars of *The Unsafe House*, a few yards away from the former largest prison in Amsterdam, the ´Bajes´, now turned into a ´creative breeding place´ (a Dutch euphemism for a heavily subsidized work camp for underperforming wannabe artists), it´s not a particularly inviting setting to witness the next farce in the *Creeps from the Middle East* saga.

Photo: The Unsafe House with Tarik Sadouma in front of the film screen

For our readers not familiar with the Creeps, its main character is the former, failed painter, Mr. Sina Karim Khani (although he wisely deleted the "Karim" part for unknown reasons), who is also one of the three directors of the "live long project". Khani intends to make episodes until his physical death. Having seen the previous episodes, I would almost consider sending a hit squad to end this tragedy for the man, who apparently sees this as his last chance to have something like a creative career. However, I prefer to see him and his team continue struggling to create something that ressembles an interesting narrative approaching the concept of a film.

Photo: Sina Khani with Tunc Topcuoglu, Sohrab Bayat and some unidentifiable characters

Of all places, the Creeps end up, in this far-out shack, called *The Unsafe House*, run by former Kirac member Tarik Sadouma. As a kind of "high priest" he welcoms visitors into his kingdom for the preview of *Creeps*, episode 4, and his own film, surrounded by a selection of stand-ups including Edo Blaauw and Salima El Musalima (who both starred, by the way).

As soon as you enter the garage (it´s nothing more than a garage, stuffed with old couches, shimmering lamps, a bar with a tattooed girl working hard, and a lot of paintings) you become aware of some imminent danger. You don´t know what to expect, but it doesn´t seem to be good.

Photo: Sina Khani with Kirac actress Jini Jane

I went completely incognito, my credentials were not even checked. I saw one of the founders of Radio Neverno walking around in a ridiculously wannabe business suit with a light green tie, pretending not to know me and shooing me away as he continuously chatted with the Creeps in-crowd that he seemed to know, for whatever reason.

Two films were shown. First *The Creeps*, in which Sadouma now appears as a contributing actor and even member of the creative team. I have to say, Sadouma has the qualities to "contra star" against the rather bleak acting performances of Sina Khani. Suddenly, *The Creeps* seems to become a real movie sequence adhering to film theory, which posits that you need a main character and a opposite one, at least in so-called ´narrative film´. This opposite character needs to be as strong as the main character to create a challenging dialogue, in images or narrative or both, to keep the viewer engaged in an unfolding story.

Photo: Still of a scene with mr Sina Khani in a train discussing life and latest breaking news

Bless mr. Sadouma, he saved *The Creeps*, from ´utter boredom´, as written in a former review here.

For a video impression, check *Art Tours Amsterdam* on Instagram, to understand what we are talking about. Check it out (link below)!

The whole night featured a stand-up program with Edo Blaauw, Salima El-Musalima, John Pelech, John Kefentse, Joel, and "comedian" Sina Khani himself opening, despite claiming "not to be funny". Next to a huge Sadouma created painting of Michel Houellebecq, Khani fulminated for 15 minutes on his latest frustrations, often interrupted by Sadouma himself sitting on a couch in the limelight. "I heard of a dangerous place, a whorehouse, full of pimps and criminals, a crack house, illegal immigrants, innocent people getting beaten up in the backroom, rapists on horse and Thierry Baudet", Khani ranted about The Unsafe House.

"Tarik, you are a beautiful person, but people ask me, what do you see in Tarik? His work ethic, his generosity, he helps you solve problems, he creates" Khani continues as the crowd cheered. "Like Khadaffi", Sadouma added into his microphone, "Tarik is so patient, whenever I have a problem, he lends me an open ear, he even lends me his paintings, Tarik is paranoid, but in a good way!"

After this, the latest episode of *The Creeps from The middle East* which was shown for a selection of "invitees" and some incognitos, I have to conclude, that it was by far the best one even if I might be fired by the Radio Neverno Team now.

Photo: The surroundings of the Unsafe House

The second movie, was a creation of *The Unsafe House* team itself, apparently by director mr. Sadouma himself. As I am a critic of the Dutch politicized "Culture Industry", that claims to be permanently fit for subsidization by nepotistic culture czars, distributing tax payers money to their "artists" or better "friends" by shady committees, *The Unsafe House* seems to be an exception to the rule, I hope.

Before stating more about the second movie of the night, which I really liked, maybe because of Sina Khani NOT being in it: please never enter the subsidy abyss awaiting you by the so called "generous culture politicians". Otherwise one day you will be blamed to have collaborated with the current ultra right ´PVV´ government (on which Sadouma fulminates at the end of the night in a passionate speech) that aims to centralize all culture to create its own image and annihilating everything oppositional by first luring artists in the ´subsidy abyss´ before killing them off.

Maybe Sadouma is clever enough to arrange private investors, like Philip van den Hurk is to the Kirac Team. But: don´t make this kind of van den Hurk person to a character in your own movie, it will kill the spirit, I have seen the current Kirac Team struggling with this man in their latest episodes. Khani mentioned van den Hurk´s description of his Creeps, "Creeps of the Middle Class", which says enough.

The second movie by and in the Unsafe House, had depth, showing Sadouma working as a painter commenting  on Picasso and others and sampling parts of critics like "Paul-talk", a wannabe youtuber art specialist commenting on art, mainly painting, but even commenting *The Creeps* in one of his episodes. Next to the strong story line, we could see , for me the first time, a very appealing AI generated, animation, a celebration of his love for his lady. This movie was a good example for the Creeps team to improve the level of its episodes even more. They should keep on working with mr. Tarik Sadouma.

Photo: The dark night falling on Khani and his companions

Go and witness some secret recordings of the night at instagram.com/art_tours_Amsterdam 

Inspector Casino