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Liverpool Arab Arts Festival
set to take over the City
10 days, 35 events and 147 UK and international artists
and performers make up this year's Liverpool Arab Arts Festival; the UK's
biggest annual celebration of Arab Arts and Culture (LAAF)
From 15 July to 24 July 2016, Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, will once again be
the UK's biggest annual celebration of Arab arts and culture, as it returns to
Liverpool for its 15th year! This fantastic event bringing with it a series of
35 events over a packed 10 day period, including 147 UK and international
artists and performers.
Organisers have put together an impressive programme of events
and activities, which they describe as:- "something for everyone,"
incorporating:- visual art, music, dance, film, theatre, literature, discussion,
comedy and special free public events in various venues across the City.
Audiences of all ages are well catered for, with 3 key free family friendly Arab
extravaganzas taking place over 2 weekends.
Audiences can soak up the festival atmosphere at:- 'LAAF Big Sunday',
on 17 July 2016, from 12pm to 5pm, at Bluecoat, and enjoy exciting performances
by Arab musicians and dancers including Ruba Shamshoum, Reham Al-Hakimi, Al
Awadhel Band and Watan Trio.
The festival's grand finale celebration LAAF Family Day, on
Sunday, 24 July 2016, from 12pm to 5pm, at Sefton Park Palm House, brings big
name international acts such as:- 47SOUL and Tarabband to the stage, alongside
traditional dance performances and whirling dervish Mahmoud Pharaon. Audiences
can also enjoy storytelling, cultural cuisine, children's crafts and an Arabian
souk. For the 1st time, Family Day takes place alongside Liverpool International
Music Festival Summer Jam, and LAAF will also be presenting music acts on the
Mellowtone Bandstand during the course of the weekend.
LAAF at the World Museum, on Saturday, 16 July 2016, from 1pm to 4pm, celebrates
the traditional arts of the Arab diaspora, including:- storytelling, folkloric
dance and the production of a specially commissioned large scale artwork by
Egyptian calligraphy artist Nazir Tanbouli.
The festival includes 2 extraordinary pieces of theatre over 4
nights. LAAF will launch with a 2 night run of Queens of Syria, on both Friday,
15 July and Saturday, 16 July 2016, at the Everyman. This is a groundbreaking
theatre piece created and performed by female Syrian refugees and an eye opening
experience for British audiences, who will hear first hand the harsh realities
of lives torn apart by conflict. Comic
play Love, Bombs and Apples, will be held on Thursday, 21 July and Friday, 22
July 2016, from 7.30pm, at Liverpool's Bluecoat. It is a 1 man show that has all
the latest work from award winning playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak being preformed
by actor Asif Khan. The plays take audiences on a journey through 4 different
scenarios, laden with cultural comment and explored through humour.
The laughs continue with Arabs Are Not Funny! This show takes place on Saturday,
23 July 2016, from 7.30pm, also at the Bluecoat. It will see stand up comedians
Omar Hamdi, Nabil Abdul Rashid, Bilal Zafar, and Ella Al-Shamahi showcasing
their talents.
Elsewhere in the programme, Egyptian contemporary dance is in the spotlight for
Egypt comes to LAAF on Monday, 18 July 2016, from 7pm, at Bluecoat, with a
double bill of new work by young independent dance artists and choreographers.
FACT plays host to 2 evenings of film and discussion as LAAF
presents a selection of films from BBC Arabic Festival 2015, on Tuesday, 19 July
and Wednesday, 20 July 2016, from 6.30pm... FACT will also screen acclaimed
independent film Speed Sisters on Thursday, 21 July 2016, from 6.30pm, that
tells the tale of the 1st all woman race driving team in the Middle East.
A Day In The Life Of War, on Friday, 22 July, from 6.30pm, also at FACT,
features the screening and discussion of documentaries made by young people in
Yemen and Liverpool. The films capture how the under reported conflict and
humanitarian disaster in Yemen is affecting the daily lives of people, both in
Yemen and from Liverpool's Yemeni community.
At The Djinn in the Skull:- Stories from hidden Morocco, on Sunday, 17 July
2016, from 3.30pm, at Bluecoat. This will see Samantha Herron introduces her new
set of stories based in contemporary Morocco and inspired by her long immersion
in the culture, language, traditions and storytelling of the country.
For Migrant Stories takes place on Saturday, 23 July 2016, from
2.30pm, at Bluecoat. This will see LAAF team up with Liverpool Welcomes to give
audiences the opportunity to hear people who have travelled from the Arab World,
now living in Liverpool, share personal stories in their own words and
recounting their own geographical, cultural and emotional journeys.
For more information and to book tickets go
to:-
ArabartsFestival.com. |
