The second edition of Shubbak, A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture, featuring artists from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, hosted by London’s leading cultural venues, more than doubled its audience in 2013, it was announced today that the festival reached over 43,000 people in 15 days. In a further announcement, it was confirmed that the next Shubbak Festival will take place in London in Summer 2015, reflecting the success of the Festival this year.
The Festival ran for 15 days from 22 June to 6 July 2013, presenting new talent and new works from some of the most exciting young artists originating from the Arab world. Among the host venues were the Barbican Centre, the British Museum, Tate Modern, The Mosaic Rooms, Arab British Centre, Asia House, ICA, Serpentine Gallery, Rich Mix and the London College of Fashion.
Festival Chair, Omar Al-Qattan, said today: “We have been deeply moved by the public’s response to Shubbak this year, and by the extraordinary support we have received from London’s cultural organisations, despite the current realities of the region. Thanks to that support, we are delighted to announce that we have already begun planning for an even more ambitious Shubbak Festival in Summer 2015!”.
Shubbak 2013 was sponsored by the A. M. Qattan Foundation and is supported by Arts Council England, the Mayor of London’s office, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in London, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith London BID, Institut Français, Qatar UK2013, Qatar Museums Authority and the British Council. Shubbak official opening is sponsored by Barclays.
Highlights of the Shubbak 2013 programme included a sold out double bill at the Barbican Centre opened the Festival on Saturday 22 June bringing together two of Algeria’s most outspoken musical rebels, rock ‘n’ rai icon, Rachid Taha, and steely singer-songwriter, Souad Massi.
The film programme including the UK premiere of highly acclaimed Syrian film Round Trip, by writer/director, Meyar Al Roumi, screened at the ICA, and a season of Arab films at the Ciné Lumiere at the French Institute co-curated by Omar Kholeif, founder of the UK’s Arab Film Festival. Tunisian student and blogger Malek Sghiri and writer Ghias Al Jundi discussed their approaches to capturing the Arab Spring at Rich Mix.
Novelist Hisham Matar and Serpentine Co-Curator, Hans Ulrich Obrist were among the people taking part in a three day focus on Arab contemporary arts at the Serpentine, presented in collaboration with Qatar Museums Authority. The huge range of exhibitions included the first major show of the visionary Sudanese artist, 83 year-old Ibrahim El-Salahi at Tate Modern. Rich Mix put on show Culture in Defiance: Street Art From Syria’s Uprising, including works by the anonymous 15 member poster collective Alshaab Alsori Aref Tarekh.
Music was threaded through the entire programme including a unique concert by the Cairo-based Nubian singers and drummers collective, Nuba Nour, and an evening devoted to contemporary Arab composers in the newly restored splendour of the Nasser Hall at the Egyptian Cultural Centre. Families participated in three special weekends of free events: at the Lyric Square Hammersmith; in Kensington Gardens, hosted by the Serpentine Gallery and Qatar Museums Authority as part of Qatar UK 2013, and the popular Lebanese Festival Day on Paddington Green.
London’s best experimental theatres hosted a series of international premieres of work by significant Arab writers and companies from countries including Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco.The closing night on Saturday 6 July at The Flyover Portobello, showcased a fresh blend of Arab hip-hop, soul and reggae, and featured the most inspiring yo!
SHUBBAK FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY ARAB CULTURE ANNOUNCES LONDON THIRD EDITION
The second edition of Shubbak, A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture, featuring artists from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, hosted by London’s leading cultural venues, more than doubled its audience in 2013, it was announced today that the festival reached over 43,000 people in 15 days. In a further announcement, it was confirmed that the next Shubbak Festival will take place in London in Summer 2015, reflecting the success of the Festival this year.
The Festival ran for 15 days from 22 June to 6 July 2013, presenting new talent and new works from some of the most exciting young artists originating from the Arab world. Among the host venues were the Barbican Centre, the British Museum, Tate Modern, The Mosaic Rooms, Arab British Centre, Asia House, ICA, Serpentine Gallery, Rich Mix and the London College of Fashion.
Festival Chair, Omar Al-Qattan, said today: “We have been deeply moved by the public’s response to Shubbak this year, and by the extraordinary support we have received from London’s cultural organisations, despite the current realities of the region. Thanks to that support, we are delighted to announce that we have already begun planning for an even more ambitious Shubbak Festival in Summer 2015!”.
Shubbak 2013 was sponsored by the A. M. Qattan Foundation and is supported by Arts Council England, the Mayor of London’s office, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in London, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith London BID, Institut Français, Qatar UK2013, Qatar Museums Authority and the British Council. Shubbak official opening is sponsored by Barclays.
Highlights of the Shubbak 2013 programme included a sold out double bill at the Barbican Centre opened the Festival on Saturday 22 June bringing together two of Algeria’s most outspoken musical rebels, rock ‘n’ rai icon, Rachid Taha, and steely singer-songwriter, Souad Massi.
The film programme including the UK premiere of highly acclaimed Syrian film Round Trip, by writer/director, Meyar Al Roumi, screened at the ICA, and a season of Arab films at the Ciné Lumiere at the French Institute co-curated by Omar Kholeif, founder of the UK’s Arab Film Festival. Tunisian student and blogger Malek Sghiri and writer Ghias Al Jundi discussed their approaches to capturing the Arab Spring at Rich Mix.
Novelist Hisham Matar and Serpentine Co-Curator, Hans Ulrich Obrist were among the people taking part in a three day focus on Arab contemporary arts at the Serpentine, presented in collaboration with Qatar Museums Authority. The huge range of exhibitions included the first major show of the visionary Sudanese artist, 83 year-old Ibrahim El-Salahi at Tate Modern. Rich Mix put on show Culture in Defiance: Street Art From Syria’s Uprising, including works by the anonymous 15 member poster collective Alshaab Alsori Aref Tarekh.
Music was threaded through the entire programme including a unique concert by the Cairo-based Nubian singers and drummers collective, Nuba Nour, and an evening devoted to contemporary Arab composers in the newly restored splendour of the Nasser Hall at the Egyptian Cultural Centre. Families participated in three special weekends of free events: at the Lyric Square Hammersmith; in Kensington Gardens, hosted by the Serpentine Gallery and Qatar Museums Authority as part of Qatar UK 2013, and the popular Lebanese Festival Day on Paddington Green.
London’s best experimental theatres hosted a series of international premieres of work by significant Arab writers and companies from countries including Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco.The closing night on Saturday 6 July at The Flyover Portobello, showcased a fresh blend of Arab hip-hop, soul and reggae, and featured the most inspiring yo
Photo: The Mosaic Rooms. A.M. Qattan Foundation. Alia, 19, Beirut. Photographer: Rania Matar.