Liverpool Arab Arts Festival returns this summer with ten days celebrating the best Arab arts and culture. Marking 20 years since the first festival was held in the city, organisers have revealed the popular Family Day returns as part of the programme, for the first time in two years, at Sefton Park’s Palm House.
With music, visual art, literature, film, performance, workshops, Liverpool Arab Arts Festival brings artists from around the world to the city, as well as providing a platform for those closer to home, as it allows people to experience and enjoy Arab culture. The longest running Arab arts festival in the UK, this year’s theme explores language and translation. It takes place Thursday 7 – Sunday 17 July 2022.
The ever-popular Family Day has been a firm fixture of the annual festival. Held at Sefton Park’s historic Palm House, which this year marks its 150th birthday, the event returns after a two-year break due to the pandemic. Held on the final Sunday of the festival, Family Day has grown each year, bringing together contemporary and traditional Arab cultural music and dance, along with authentic food, drink and family activities. This free event is an opportunity for Liverpool’s many communities to come together in a joyful celebration of Arab culture.
Other highlights of the 2022 programme include Curfew, a contemporary dance production presented by Hawiyya Dance Company and El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe at Unity Theatre. Supported by British Council and Arts Council England, the Liverpool show will also premiere the performance of another dance piece by Sharaf DarZaid, Love in the Time of Apartheid.
An exhibition by the Arab Image Foundation brings rare photographs depicting 100 years of Arab history and culture, which are never previously seen in Europe. Artists from Beirut Printmaking Studio have created new etchings in response to the photographs. The exhibition will be held at Liverpool John Moores University’s Exhibition Research Lab at the School of Art and Design alongside a new video commission by emerging British-Algerian artist Hannaa Hamdache.
The full ten-day programme will be announced in Spring 2022.
Festival Chair Afrah Qassim says,
“After two years of programming both online and offline, we are delighted to be back to our ten days in 2022. Our festival has always been a celebration, a way to provide a platform to show the rich and diverse art and culture that comes from our Arab community. We are all looking forward to welcoming our artists and audiences back this July”.
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