Arab Britain is our programming theme that sets out to explore and document the history, achievements and experiences of Arabs in Britain. Through exhibitions, commissions, and community engagement programmes we aim to overturn preconceptions and challenge prejudices, retrace the ways the Arab world has influenced and shaped British culture and society, and celebrate the contributions of Arabs in Britain, past, present and future.
Our long-term goal is to create the first, comprehensive story archive of Arab British experiences, highlighting the achievements, experiences, and contributions of Arabs to British life.*
Kheit
January 2023 - July 2023
A collaboration between the Arab British Centre and Leighton House exploring the threads connecting Britain and the Arab world in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Featuring newly commissioned artwork by Nour Hage and a co-created textile piece by residents of Kensington and Chelsea.
People, Places, Traces
October 2022 - March 2023
People, Places, Traces is a project documenting a millennium of interactions and exchanges between the British Isles and the Arab world through a series of public talks, essays and oral history interviews in the East Midlands.
The project is run by the Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation and was awarded our Arab Britain commission following an open call in 2022.
Jarda جاردا
May - October 2021
Never before have parks, fields and forests been so important to us. In the year when green space became our only outing, this co-produced mixed media installation at the People’s History Museum questions who uses these spaces and how we experience them. Created across 6 workshops using photography, collage, self-portraiture and more, the art work invites you to re-question the spaces which we will never take for granted again.
London's Theatre of The East
November 2019 - February 2020
In a collaborative exhibition, the Arab British Centre and Dr Johnson’s House Museum invited artists, researchers and the public to (re)examine the historical connections of the Middle East and North Africa and London, via the lens of Dr Johnson’s 1749 play, Irene, set during the fall of Constantinople.
* The Arab British Centre is a charity which works to further understanding of the Arab world in the UK. The Arab world is defined as the 22 countries who are members of The Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Arab Britain is inclusive of all people from or with heritage from these countries and cultures. While for some this may refer to nationality, for others the reference might be to identity and/or regionality.
Whether you are born in or recently migrated to the UK, we recognise that the way participants self-identify is complex and personal and we welcome all who want to be involved.