Liverpool Arab Arts Festival returns in July

The Liverpool Arab Arts Festival (LAAF) – the UK’s longest-running Arab arts and culture festival – returns for its 22nd year in July.

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival exists to support and champion creators from across the Arab region and its diaspora, in the belief that art and creativity have the power to express a common humanity.

The festival will celebrate Liverpool’s unique identity; a city with a global and art-filled community that looks outwards around the world. Highlighting the importance of this shared humanity, Port Cities, a new visual arts project in partnership with the British Council – MENA, will premiere recently commissioned artworks by four internationally renowned Arab artists that explore the social, historical and cultural links between Liverpool and the Arabs. region.

The first stage performance of Chambers of the Heart will explore the stories of three women as they grapple with love, desire and memory in stories that stretch from East to West. Arabs Are Not Funny, widely recognized as one of the hottest comedy nights among the Arab community and beyond, will return to the festival for another hilarious night of laughter.

Rounding off the festival’s musical offering, The Ayoub Sisters – an award-winning instrumental duo – will also return, presenting an evening of live music, including songs from their acclaimed album, Arabesque, at the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room.

In difficult times, art and culture serve as beacons of hope and resilience. These powerful forces of creativity provide a platform for voices to be heard, stories to be told and other perspectives to be understood. Creativity is a common language that transcends borders and barriers.

Port cities

In partnership with the British Council – MENA, the festival will proudly launch the international visual arts project Port Cities. The exhibition will feature newly commissioned works by visual artists Mohamed Abdelkarim, Laila Hida, Nadia Kaabi-Linke and Siska.

Located where land meets sea, global port cities have unique characteristics. Their social, economic, political and cultural heritage is deeply linked to their roles as key centers for trade and migration. Each artist visited Liverpool on a research residency in February 2024 to inform the development of their new artworks and critically explore the past and future of port cities in both the Liverpool and Arab regions.

From reflecting on the legacy of Liverpool’s slave trade to the ecological impact of human activities, this exhibition presents new artistic insights into how ports have and continue to shape the character of cities – and how people connect across the seas.

After premiering in Liverpool, the Port Cities exhibition will tour internationally to Tripoli, Lebanon; Alexandria, Egypt; Rabat, Morocco; and Tunis, Tunisia.

Port Cities Symposium

Join Port Cities artists and special guests on Monday 15 July at the Bluecoat for a day-long event of performances, talks and screenings led by the featured artists.

The festival will introduce “Slow Listening” – an online audio project that will act as an invitation to stop and be connected to the sounds of the cities around us.

The identity and culture of a port city creates a distinctive sound. In Liverpool, distant ship horns, seagulls and the sounds of the River Mersey create a backdrop to everyday city life. Each port city has its own unique sound; which helps to give an insight into his character.

Hear the sounds of Liverpool, Alexandria, Tripoli, Casablanca and Tunis from wherever you are. Whether you’re listening in Liverpool or any of the other participating cities, on the East Coast of America or the West Coast of Africa, listen to the sounds of port cities to hear how they shape Liverpool’s culture and identity.

The music

Returning to the festival after last year’s show at Sefton Park Palm House, The Ayoub Sisters will bring their vibrancy, creativity and unique musical style to a performance at the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Hall. Internationally acclaimed and award-winning Scottish Egyptian instrumentalists and composers will present their acclaimed album Arabesque – a celebration and tribute to the music of the Arab world.

The pair – whose album reached number one in the Official Classical Chart – have performed across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with highlights including appearances at the Royal Albert Hall, London Palladium, The Cairo Opera House and Dubai Opera.

Family

Taking place on the last day of the festival, Family Day is a showcase of celebration. A moment of community and community, Palm House in Sefton Park will host a free afternoon of music, performance, authentic Arabic culture, food and drink.

Theater and performance

This year, the Unity Theater will provide the backdrop for a number of amazing theatrical performances.

Debuting as a staged performance, Chambers of the Heart, written by Hassan Abdulrazzak, directed by Sepy Baghaei and performed by Laila Alj, shares the stories of three women dealing with love, desire and memory, from East to West.

And after a sold-out performance in 2023, Arabs Are Not Funny will perform for a stellar night of comedy. This special edition of the show is hosted in Liverpool by Arab comedians Prince Abdi, Fatiha El-Ghouri, Janine Harouini and Maria Shehata. Expect loud laughs and language from this stellar comedy line-up – in association with Arts Canteen.

Literature, workshops and film

Edinburgh-born Scottish-Algerian poet Janette Ayachi will read from her remarkable second collection Quick Fire, Slow Burning, published in May 2024 in partnership with the University of Liverpool’s Center for New and International Writing.

Liverpool Central Library will be hosting two workshops on Saturday 13th July. Hadi Badi Books is back with a storytelling workshop with arts and crafts activity for children aged 4 to 8 years. In addition, award-winning comedian Maria Shehata will hold a comedy workshop for those keen to try their hand at stand-up. Participants will learn how to develop a funny story, generate ideas and make it their own.

The festival will host a special fundraising screening of At Home in Gaza and London at the Bluecoat on Monday 15 July. In 2016, a group of artistic collaborators from Gaza and London started a series of digital workshops as an alternative means of defying the blockade. The show premiered at LAAF in 2018, digitally linking Gaza, Liverpool and London. This special screening of the Liverpool show will include messages from Gaza contributors, with all proceeds going to Gaza project contributors who are trying to survive unimaginable circumstances.

On Sunday, July 14, we’re joining forces with At The Library for a special summer Arab film night at the Plaza Community Cinema in Waterloo, featuring films chosen by The Arab Film Club founder Sarah Agha and the women of The Color of Pomegranates. group.

Find more information on the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival website.

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