Sina Khani

Sina Khani (born 1982)[1] is a German‑Iranian multidisciplinary artist, musician, comedian, and filmmaker, active in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Bochum. He is the creator and lead performer of the satirical web series Creeps From The Middle East, known for blending absurdist humor, mockumentary elements, and social critique.[2]

Career

Early work and The Sina Khani Show

Sina Khani graduated from the Rietveld Academie Amsterdam in 2008.[3] His graduation project The Sina Khani Show, produced via Mediamatic, mimics the late‑night talk show format with a subversive twist: “Sina Khani is the new David Letterman. Without the budget, without the connections and without the humor.”[4]

Among his early works is the student short film Inhalal Versus Exhalal, which was screened at the Netherlands Film Festival.[5][6][7]

Music

Khani has released several offbeat singles at Blowpipe Records.[8] In a 2015 interview, he described transitioning from comedic performance to music and listed “Shrek” among his early releases.[9][10]

In 2016 performed a hymn for the German football club VfL Bochum, expressing his admiration for the team.[11][12]

Writing

Khani is the author of The Artist-Mullah-Construction-Essay, published by Veenman Publishers,[13] a work exploring aspects of diasporic identity and cultural archetypes.[14][15]

In February 2026, Khani and software engineer Hichem Touati co-founded The Unsafe Journal, a literature magazine that describes itself as a “safe space for unsafe ideas.”[16]

Creeps from the Middle East

Khani is the principal creator of Creeps from the Middle East, a black-and-white, semi-scripted comedy series. The series blends satire, performance, and confrontation.

The series has featured a range of contributors from music, theatre, and comedy, including Mohsen Namjoo, Gover Meit (also known as Stefano Keizers or Donny Ronny),[17] Adelheid Roosen, Aerea Negrot, San Proper, Michiel Lieuwma and Tarik Sadouma.

Media engagement and controversies

In 2024, FeltenINK reported that Hans Teeuwen was considering legal action over a scene in Creeps from the Middle East, following provocative interactions involving Khani.[18]

Sina Khani appeared as guest in Open Geesten #26, a podcast episode where he discussed his independent format and creative philosophy.[19]

Khani is a member[20][21] of The Unsafe House, an Amsterdam-based art collective. The group has described its work as engaging with classical artistic themes and practices through contemporary and experimental methods. In collaboration with Curtis Yarvin, The Unsafe House proposed a project for the U.S. Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, intended to present an alternative approach to conventional exhibition formats.[22][23][24]

In the Unsafe House Podcast, Khani and Ruth Spetter interviewed Tarik Sadouma, Mohsen Namjoo and Ronja Brainstorm.[25][26]

Khani has made several public performances, including an appearance on the German dating show First Dates, during which he stated that no woman should date him.[27]

Sina Khani co‑authored the satirical manuscript Fart School with Tunç Topçuoğlu while studying at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. The work was originally canceled by their tutors Linda van Deursen and Will Holder due to its provocative content but was published independently seventeen years later for its irreverent critique of institutionalized art and artistic censorship.[28][29][30][31]

Reception and criticism

Khani’s work often divides audiences. Ray Jackson of FeltenINK frames Creeps from the Middle East as deliberately provocative, pushing boundaries to expose ideological contradictions in art, religion, and media.[18] Critical commentary has questioned whether the show’s shock tactics constitute meaningful critique or performative provocation.

Since August 2025, Khani has been contributing to the project Leipzig & The Wokies (Scorched Earth) by The Unsafe House, a film documenting the cancellation of a planned event at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, HGB) following accusations of extremism.[32]

References

  1. ^ "IMDb". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  2. ^ "Creeps From The Middle East – Official Site". Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  3. ^ "Sina Khani | Rietveld Alumni Index". alumni.rietveldacademie.nl. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  4. ^ "The Sina Khani Show PILOT". Mediamatic. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Sina Khani". filmcommission.nl. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  6. ^ "VIDEO ON DEMAND – Sign". sign2.nl. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Inhalal versus Exhalal". Nederlands Film Festival (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  8. ^ "sina khani". www.blowpipe.org. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  9. ^ Hoekstra, Emiel (15 April 2015). "Zie hoe Sina Khani danst en tongt met meisjes in de nieuwe video voor 'Shrek'". VICE (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Interview with Sina Khani". Tomatrax. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  11. ^ 11FREUNDE (1 June 2016). ""Bitte steig wieder auf!"". www.11freunde.de (in German). Retrieved 16 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Stahl, Jürgen (15 June 2016). "Prince-Fan aus Bochum singt schräge VfL-Hymne auf YouTube". www.waz.de (in German). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  13. ^ The Artist-Mullah-Construction-Essay. Veenman Publishers. 2009. ISBN 978-9086900930.
  14. ^ "9789086900930 - The artist-mullah-construction-essay = Das Kunstler- Mullah-Konstrukt-Essay / druk 1 - Karim Khani, S." Euro-boek (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Das Künstler-Mullah-Konstrukt-Essay • Salon für Kunstbuch". Salon für Kunstbuch. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  16. ^ "THE UNSAFE JOURNAL - The Unsafe Journal". unsafejournal.com. 27 January 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  17. ^ "GeenStijl: VIDEO. Moslims vallen Hans Teeuwen lastig". www.geenstijl.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Controversy around film collective 'Creeps From The Middle East'". FeltenINK. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Open Geesten #26 – Sina Khani". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  20. ^ "Sina Khani". The Unsafe House. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  21. ^ "Collaborations". The Unsafe House. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  22. ^ Greenberger, Alex (20 June 2025). "Curtis Yarvin Details Proposed Titian-Centric 'Art Hos' US Pavilion for Venice Biennale". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  23. ^ Freeman, Nate (19 June 2025). ""The Barbarians Are at the Gates": Curtis Yarvin Has Big Art Plans for the US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  24. ^ Sharp, Sarah Rose (20 June 2025). "Curtis Yarvin's Venice Biennale Proposal Proves the Far-Right Can't Do Art". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  25. ^ The Unsafe House (21 March 2025). MOHSEN NAMJOO interviewed by TARIK SADOUMA and SINA KHANI at the UNSAFE HOUSE | The Unsafe Podcast. Retrieved 17 October 2025 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ The Unsafe House (20 March 2025). TARIK SADOUMA interviewed by SINA KHANI at the UNSAFE HOUSE (PT. 1: CHILDHOOD) | The Unsafe Podcast. Retrieved 16 October 2025 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ "First Dates: Sina findet, dass keine Frau ihn daten sollte". www.vox.de (in German). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  28. ^ "Sina Khani". The Unsafe House. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  29. ^ "FART SCHOOL by Tunç Topçuoğlu". 19 February 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  30. ^ Kuiper, Hans (16 March 2026). "Radio Neverno: Fart School". Radio Neverno. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  31. ^ Jackson, Ray (16 March 2026). "Long live FART SCHOOL". Feltenink.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ Overveen, Erick (13 November 2025). "Kunstenaarscollectief strijdt tegen "beleefde censuur"". De Andere Krant (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
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