As We Are, Might Have Been, and Could Be is the Arab British Centre’s UK-wide visual arts and talent development programme, curated by Jessica El Mal and supported by the Freelands Foundation. Over the past three years we have commissioned artists of Arab descent in the UK, hosted exhibitions and community activities in museums and galleries, organised an international residency between the UK and Morocco, and mentored 30+ artists.  

Now, we are taking some time to look back, share learnings with our community and pilot some new ideas for the year ahead. 

Through research, we found that there exists quite a lot of professional development opportunities for emerging artists, art school graduates and young people – which often cap participation at age 25 or 30. Yet, through the mentoring offered by our curator and through a survey with our creative community, we found that older adults were interested in opportunities too, with many universal, but also culturally specific reasons stopping us from being as creative as we’d like. We have heard stories of familial pressure to study law or medicine which left little room for play, of mothers who after years of looking after little ones wanted to relearn old skills, and many tales of artistic careers back home which have been diverted by migration. 

Shaped by people in our community with these kinds of experiences we have organised two Creative Exchange Days in partnership with Manchester’s Longsight Art Space. These days are an opportunity for people with a connection to the Arab world* to get together, get inspired, and think about practical steps you can take to help advance your creative practice. It’s also a chance for us to more deeply understand the needs of our creative community, helping us further shape our artist development initiatives for the future.

Read below for more information about the upcoming Creative Exchange Days and apply to take part by Tuesday 2 June!

*As We Are centres people with a connection to the ‘Arab world’, a region geographically defined by the 22 member states 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. Applications from people with connections to these countries will be prioritised.

The Multi-Hyphen – Building your creative career on the side while having another job

Saturday 20 June | 1-4pm | Longsight Art Space

The Multi-Hyphen: Building your creative career while having another job is the first of our Creative Exchange Days, specifically for people who are already working on creative projects for the love of it, not necessarily for pay, or have no formal arts education, often due to pressure from families to pursue a more quote “sensible” career (we’ve all been there!). From our research and development phase, we found that multi-hyphens came to The Arab British Centre with goals of getting ideas off the ground, getting projects or ideas funded, building network and making creative passions economically viable. So that’s exactly what our first Creative Exchange on Saturday 20 June is offering. 

With a talk from Bahraini British artist Ali Al-Jamri to gain insight on how he switched from poet to visual artist through working on his first film commission with us, while also holding down a full time job, group crit sessions to gain valuable feedback and a ‘getting your idea of the ground’ workshop, the day will equip you with practical tools and new ideas to think about, as well as connecting you to a network of local, like-minded individuals. 

To apply to take part, please fill in this form by 11pm on Tuesday 2nd June. 

The Comeback: Pursuing your creative goals after taking time off for caring responsibilities. 

Tuesday 23 June | 10:00am – 2:45pm | Longsight Art Space

The Comeback is specifically for people who have had a creative passion or career, but have had to take some time away due to caring responsibilities. From our research and development phase, the comebackers spoke to us with goals of gaining confidence, building community, getting ideas off the ground and getting back into work. So that’s exactly what our second creative exchange on Tuesday 23rd April provides you with! 

With an artist workshop from Karema Munassar, a lovely vegetarian lunch provided by Sips and Dips, and a creative goal setting workshop from The Arab British Centre’s director, Nadia El Sabai, the day will be relaxed and fun and leave you with a network of supportive people and new inspiration. 

To apply to take part fill in this form by 11pm on Tuesday 2nd June.