We have recently secured funding from the City of London to run a collaborative project with our neighbour, the museum Dr Johnson’s House, home of the writer and playwright Samuel Johnson, best known for compiling the first comprehensive ‘Dictionary of the English Language’ (1755). Together, we’ll be commissioning 3 artists of different practices to examine […]
The International Fashion Showcase (IFS) runs until 24 February, inviting 16 of the best emerging designers from across the globe to question, provoke, and explore their worlds through fashion installations at Somerset House. This year, we’ve been delighted to support the sole entry from the Arab world, Lebanese designer Roni Helou, in partnership with Creative Space Beirut […]
2018 saw the second edition of the Manchester festival Celebrating Syria take place, organised by Rethink Rebuild Society (RR), a charity that provides community assistance and support to improve lives and promote aspirations of refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in the UK. Offering a varied programme of services and events, they are currently displaying an […]
Following a series of performances in London earlier this Winter, we caught up with Kamaal Hussain, AKA The Thief of Baghdad, whose one man show Becoming Scheherazade explores his own family’s migration to the UK, and his identity as a British Arab. As he embarks on a wider project collecting stories of other British Arabs, […]
Accumulation: Legacy and Memory will bring the best of contemporary and modern art from Bahrain to London for the third edition of Bahrain Art Week in London, from Wednesday 21 – Wednesday 28 November 2018. Showcasing and celebrating Bahrain’s rich history as one of the oldest contemporary cultures in the Middle East, Bahrain Art Week […]
Jenan Younis is a London-based comedian of Middle Eastern heritage, whose comedy has been described as ‘a slap in the face… so don’t sit within arm’s reach’. Boasting a very healthy list of accolades, including a nomination for the BBC New Comedy award, and being a finalist for the South East Comedian of the Year, […]
Dr Khalid Ali explains why ‘Wajib’ is an authentic Palestinian story with universal themes In her third feature film, ‘Wajib’, award-wining director Annemarie Jacir explores the opposing viewpoints of Palestinian emigrants and those who remained at home through a bittersweet tale of a son and his father. Shadi (Saleh Bakri) is Palestinian architect living in […]
Header image: “What do you mean, here we are?” Photo by Andy Stagg courtesy of The Mosaic Rooms 6 July – 15 September Coming to an end this week at the Mosaic Rooms is What do you mean, here we are? a retrospective of the renowned Townhouse Gallery in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1998, Townhouse emerged onto […]
Al-Janabi’s film ‘Stories of Passers Through’ is a triumph of cinematic vision inspired by personal trauma Review written by Dr Khalid Ali, Safar writer-in-residence In ‘Stories of Passers Through‘ Koutaiba Al-Janabi (Iraqi director and cinematographer) weaves a poignant story based on his own memoirs from escaping Baghdad at the age of 17. He fled his […]
Header image credit: Margaux Chalançon, Zoubeyda from the “Zoubeyda’s World Series”, Film Photography In times of war, life is interrupted and people find themselves forced from their lands, their traditions and their communities. Tints of Resilience, on show at London’s P21 Gallery, is a collective exhibition that brings together the works of 11 Middle Eastern artists […]