Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 2022 Programme revealed
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary next month with a busy 10-day programme of events and activities.
The annual festival, the oldest and most extensive of its kind in the UK, runs from July 7-17 at various city venues and online.
The theme of this year is ‘Nuqwat Wasl’ or A Point of Connection, and organisers say they want to invite people to “explore these points of connection with artists from around the globe.”
The festival opens on July 7 with a performance in the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room by Moroccan band N3rdistan who fuse electronic and rap music with Arabic poetry.
The Phil’s Music Room will also play host to the London Syrian Ensemble on July 15.
Hawiyya Dance Company and El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe present Curfew, a contemporary dance production, at the Unity Theatre on July 16.
And the popular LAAF Family Day returns to Sefton Park Palm House on July 17, with a host of entertainment set to include performances by festival favourites TootArd and Al Awadhei Band, Gazelleband and LAAF newcomers Aar Maanta among others.
The festival programme also includes a Arabic song workshop with Camille Maalawy, poetry events, a special preview event for the new book Egypt + 100, taking place at Chapters Are Us, and a carefully curated series of films.
Above: Family Day at Sefton Park Palm House. Credit: AB Photography. Top: N3rdistan
Meanwhile original poems written by diasporic Yemeni communities in the UK, and presented in both English and Arabic, will be exhibited across venues in Liverpool during the festival for Yemen in Conflict, an ongoing collaboration between Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, the University of Liverpool and the University of Leeds which asks how storytelling might heighten and enhance both political and public awareness of the situation in Yemen.
Some events are part of a ‘Pay What You Can’ scheme being used by the festival for the first time.
LAAF chairwoman Afrah Qassim says: “It gives me so much pleasure to reveal our full, rich and exciting programme, which has been carefully created to ensure there is something for everyone, and to remove as many barriers to joining in as possible.
“Our theme this year is all about how we create a bridge, connecting language and culture. It is about how we discover what we have in common and how we communicate, and for ten days in July, we invite you to explore these points of connection with artists from around the globe.”
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival runs from July 7-17. Full programme details HERE