QUOZ ARTS FEST (24 & 25 Jan 2020) Alserkal Announces the 8th of Quoz Arts Fest, the Arts and Culture Festival

The creative industrial neighbourhood of Al Quoz will celebrate the 8th edition of Quoz Arts Fest on 24 and 25 January 2020. Organised by Alserkal, the two-day annual festival of arts and culture is led by more than 60 thinkers and makers from the music, art, design, and performance realms in the UAE and beyond. The festival is free and open to the public and takes place across Al Quoz.

Aerial shot of Alserkal Avenue in Al-Quoz / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

Quoz Arts Fest showcases the breadth and depth of creativity across the arts that can be found in Al Quoz, with a two-day celebration of art exhibitions, live music, contemporary dance performances, food trucks, outdoor art installations, film screenings, and educational seminars, among other interactive activities for a wide range of audiences.

The 8th edition of Quoz Arts Fest is the biggest yet, with the 60+ creative homegrown concepts in Alserkal Avenue activating, alongside events and exhibitions by their neighbours across Al Quoz. Quoz Arts Fest 2020 explores the theme ‘In Search Of…’, with special programmes including a free concert by Jordanian-Palestinian shamstep band 47Soul; the exhibition FOOD: Bigger than the plate, held in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and much more.

Regional band 47Soul will take the stage in The Yard, Alserkal Avenue, on Friday 24 January. The Jordanian-Palestinian band combines traditional dabke music with electronic beats and is best-known for creating the Shamstep, a combination of mijwiz (a Levantine folk musical style) and dubstep.

47Soul / Photo © )Victor Frankowski / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

#finyouralquoz / elSeed next to his work. Photo by Augustine Paredes / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

#finyouralquoz Photo by Augustine Paredes / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

#finyouralquoz Photo by Augustine Paredes / Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue

FOOD: Bigger than the plate will open on 24 January in Warehouse 46 in Alserkal Avenue. The experiential exhibition invites visitors to participate, taste, and debate, as it explores current experiments at every stage of the food system – from compost to table. This iteration of the exhibition, previously staged at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, presents a quirky approach to experiencing food, and understanding how the collective choices we make can lead to a more sustainable food future.

Other highlights from Quoz Arts Fest 2020’s regional programme include:

• Ansaf, a contemporary dance performance by Sima Dance Company, choreographed by acclaimed Palestinian choreographer Alaa Krimed, which explores questions and concepts facing the Arab World. The performance will take place on 24 January;

• The Reel Palestine Film Festival, which returns for its sixth edition, in collaboration with Cinema Akil, the GCC’s first arthouse cinema whose flagship home is presented in partnership with Alserkal Avenue;

• A Photo Walk of Al Quoz and a cyanotype workshop by Gulf Photo Plus;

• Several workshops at The Courtyard, including the Courtyard Playhouse improv plays, a live drawing performance with Ali Razavi, and an Art of Zero Waste workshop with Yasmin Sinai;

• Africa & the other 54 countries: Focus on South Africa, an exhibition of art, culture, and cuisine from South Africa by African contemporary art gallery Akka Project;

• The Short+Sweet Theatre festival at The Junction, the world’s largest 10-minute play festival;

• A children’s walking tour of art galleries by thejamjar, encouraging them to discover art as a form of expression;

• A variety of children’s workshops focusing on art and creative writing by Wisdom Warehouse.