In this online talk, Joumana Medlej shares her research into this forgotten aspect of Arabic writing history, that is also known as hisāb al-jummal. She tells the story of the Abjad numerals — their origins, how they came to be replaced with Indian numerals — and also a tutorial into how to use them. Stubborn myths […]
We are excited to announce that we will be commissioning four researchers and art writers to explore historical or new connections between crafts, technological innovation and/or environmental issues in the South West Asia and North Africa region, through the work of one of the international artists participating in our project 3oubour: A River Between Mountains […]
Another chance to catch our As We Are, Might Have Been and Could Be commission The Legend of the Looms, this time at Liverpool Arab Arts Festival. Join LAAF for a screening and conversation with poet and filmmaker Ali Al-Jamri on his first film, described as a poetic ghost story. When a visitor to a […]
Limbs of the Lunar Disc headed to the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival! This performance lecture was given by Sarah Al-Sarraj. In a spaceship hurtling through time, we explored non-Western conceptions of space and time through quantum physics, liberation theory, Black Quantum Futurism, and the scholar Jackie Wang. Sarah Al-Sarraj is a visual artist and cultural […]
Limbs of the Lunar Disc headed to the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival. Viewers were invited to follow an Ancestor on their journey down the river of time, from the faraway future to the present, encountering the remnants of ecological destruction left by their descendants. Blending Indigenous timekeeping systems with speculative fiction, Limbs of the Lunar […]
SAFAR Film Festival 2025 comes to Oxford, presenting cinema from across the Arab world. Featuring two poignant and incredibly relevant documentaries with coinciding Q&A events coming to audiences at Ultimate Picture Palace. A State of Passion (2024) After 43 horrific days working round the clock under constant bombardment in the emergency rooms of Gaza’s Al […]
SAFAR Film Festival 2025 comes to Brimingham, presenting cinema from across the Arab world. Featuring an Egyptian feature film and a poignant Palestinian documentary coming to audiences at Plymouth Arts Centre. The Tale of Daye’s Family (2024) Daye is a 14-year-old albino boy from Nubia with a golden voice, who dreams of becoming a singer […]
SAFAR Film Festival 2025 returns to Birmingham, presenting cinema from across the Arab world. Featuring two poignant and incredibly relevant documentaries with coinciding Q&A events coming to audiences at Midlands Arts Centre and Mockingbird Cinema. Sudan Remember Us (2024) Following Shajane, Maha, Muzamil, and Khattab: four young Sudanese activists in their twenties, these politically active […]
SAFAR Film Festival 2025 is coming to Manchester, presenting cinema from across the Arab world. This year’s festival is bringing documentaries and special events to Contact Theatre! Unspoken Silences: Reclaiming Colonial Archives of Palestine A special cine-concert experience alongside a screening of the short film The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing. How do we go about […]
SAFAR Film Festival 2025 is coming to Leeds, presenting cinema from across the Arab world. This year’s festival is bringing newly restored vintage cinema and a Palestinian documentary to Hyde Park Picture House. A State of Passion (2024) After 43 horrific days working round the clock under constant bombardment in the emergency rooms of Gaza’s […]