The curtain is raised today, Monday 4 July, on London’s first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world, organised by the Mayor of London and sponsored by HSBC.

Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture, will feature around one hundred artists in over seventy events in more than thirty key cultural venues throughout the city for three weeks from 4 – 24 July 2011. Shubbak (the arabic word for ‘window’) will feature a wide‐ranging programme of events including visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, architecture, lectures and discussion, many of them free.

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A banner flies next to City Hall at the launch of the festival ‘Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture’  on July 4, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

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Munira Mirza, a Mayoral Advisor on Arts and Culture, poses in front of an artwork in City Hall by Hala Elkoussy entitled ‘The Myths and Legends Room - The Mural’ at the launch of the festival ‘Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture’  on July 4, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

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Key members of the Shubbak festival pose for a photograph in front of an artwork in City Hall by Hala Elkoussy entitled ‘The Myths and Legends Room - The Mural’ at the launch of the festival ‘Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture’  on July 4, 2011 in London, England. From left to right: Khaled Fahmy, Professor and Chair of the Department of History at the American University in Cairo, Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, a Palestinian composer, singer and oud player, Noreen Abu Oun, the Executive Director of the Arab-British Centre, Munira Mirza, a Mayoral Advisor on Arts and Culture, Zeid Hamdan, a pioneer of modern Arabic music, Omar Al-Qattan, a film director and producer and founder of the Mosaic Rooms, London’s centre for contemporary culture from the Middle East and internationally.  (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Among the highlights of the programme are:

Monday 4 July: A Musical Revolution into the Arab World, a free concert to open the Festival at The Scoop featuring three of the hottest new generation stars of the Middle East’s music subcultures: Zeid Hamdan from Beirut, Tamer Abu Ghazaleh from Palestine, and Maryam Saleh from Egypt.

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Munira Mirza (C), a Mayoral Advisor on Arts and Culture, poses for a photograph with musicians Zeid Hamdan (L), probably the single most important figure in the story of modern Arabic alternative music, and Tamer Abu Ghazaleh (R), Palestinian composer, singer and oud player at the launch of the festival ‘Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture’  on July 4, 2011 in London, England. Zeid and Tamer will perform the opening concert of the Shubbak festival entitled ‘A Musical Revolution Into the Arab World’.  (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Until 23 July: A Girl in her Room, an exhibition of photo works by highly acclaimed Lebanese/American artist, Rania Matar, at the Mosaic Rooms, one of London’s leading centres for Arab contemporary arts.

Until 24 July: Shopopolis, produced by Delfina Foundation. Artists from the UK and UAE have been developing a special commission for Shubbak, involving shoppers at Westfield Shopping Centre in a series of collaborations, drawing on the contrasting shopping experiences of the luxury Malls in the UK and the Emirates.

Friday 8 July ‐ Sunday 10 July: Interference, a free weekend of films, talks and workshops at the ICA curated by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha in a close collaboration between the two organisations. Speakers include curator Jack Persekian, artist Emily Jacir, film director, Ahmad Abdalla, Deena Chalabi, Head of Strategy at Mathaf. Friday evening will include a screening of Microphone (2010), directed by award‐winning director Ahmad Abdalla, followed by a Q&A with the director and James Neil, film curator of Parallax Media.

Monday 11 ‐ Saturday 23 July: In the Penal Colony, Kafka’s classic play presented by Young Vic Theatre, adapted by director Amir Nizar Zuabi and Palestinian company ShiberHur, performed in Arabic with English surtitles.

Tuesday 12 July: The Bidoun Library in Residence at the Serpentine Gallery opens, a travelling collection of 50 years of books, magazines, videos, music and ephemera from and about the Middle East, of interest to artists, researchers and art lovers. Until 11 September.

Wednesday 13 July: Palestine/Lebanon/Syria: Poetry and Political Protest presented by Poet in the City at City Hall, featuring renowned Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish.

Friday 22 July: A Night in Tahrir Square presented by the Barbican Centre featuring a line‐up of artists who helped to create the soundtrack of Egypt’s revolution including street music group El Tanbura, Azza Balba, oud virtuoso Mustafa Said and singer‐songwriter, Ramy Essam.

Full details of the Festival are available on:
http://www.london.gov.uk/shubbak
http://www.twitter.com/shubbakfestival
http://www.facebook.com/shubbakfestival
http://www.flickr.com/groups/shubbakfestival


Comments
  • Khadijah - Hanine Lakkis
    Dec 16, 2011 - 9:31:16

    I’ld like to send you an invitation and basic info on the 2nd Forum on Festivals in the Arab Countires to be held in Manama, March 1&2, 2012.
    Also, i’ld like to enquire on how to participate in your music festival.I have a magnificent classical Arabic singer who’ld like to participate in your festival.
    Kindly answer me on the email address as above.thank you so much

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