London’s largest celebration of Arab Arts Shubbak Festival returns this Summer
The Shubbak Festival, London’s largest Festival of contemporary Arab arts and cultures, is all set to mark its seventh edition with a vibrant and multi-dimensional program that showcases the best of Arab, South West Asian, and North African cultures.
Image: Hamed Sinno, photo by Derrick Kakembo
Shubbak Festival 2023 has been announced and is set to celebrate the seventh edition of London’s largest festival of contemporary Arab arts and cultures, with further events across the UK. With over 80 events across both arts venues and the public realm, the festival will showcase a dynamic and multi-disciplinary programme. This year’s festival will include popular favourites, emerging artists, and highly anticipated UK debuts and world premieres. It will champion artists and their crafts as they confront the urgent environmental and social issues of today.
The festival's events will range from music concerts to multi-disciplinary performance pieces, including exhibitions and workshops. Notable highlights include a weekend take-over at the National Theatre’s River Stage Festival, a performance from Lebanese-American musician and activist Hamed Sinno, who will explore the resonances between Amazon-era consumerism, mental illness, unrequited love, and environmental collapse in a captivating musical composition. Another highlight is the Tunisian songstress Ghalia Benali in an electrifying live concert, and the UK debut of Bahiyya, a rapturous revival of revolutionary Egyptian musicians.
Image: Hamed Sinno, photo by Derrick Kakembo
The festival will also feature a variety of comedy events. Notable performers include rebellious Lebanese activist Shaden, the first openly queer comedian in the region, and a back-to-back comedy set from two Palestinian voices with Soho Theatre. Additionally, the festival will present a variety of events that highlight female work and disabled creatives, including an all-female group taking their UK premiere of Woman at Point Zero to the Royal Opera House.
The festival also features unconventional performance pieces that aim to blur the lines between artist and non-artist. Examples of this include Mohamed Toukabri's The Power (of) The Fragile, in which he invites his mother to join him on stage to unfold her untold narrative, and lisa luxx and Jasmin Kent Rodgman's ground-breaking immersive call for climate justice with their promenade installation.
Shubbak is more than just a festival. It serves as a home away from home for artists and communities, a source of joyful resistance and respite from the times we live in. With a diverse lineup, it celebrates Arab arts and cultures and, for the first time, is led by two Arab women.
Date: 23 June – Sunday 9 July 2023. Location: Various locations across the city. Website: shubbak.co.uk
