Shubbak Festival Returns for 2013

Written by Joobin Bekhrad on June 25, 2012.

LONDON’S FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY ARAB ARTS & CULTURE SET TO BECOME A BIENNIAL EVENT

In 2011, London mayor Boris Johnson presented Shubbak, a three week-long celebration of contemporary Arab art & culture in the city, and the first-ever event of its kind.

Featuring works by contemporary Arab visual artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, as well as artists working in other fields, the festival showcased over 70 events in more than 30 venues across the city.

As Boris Johnson quoted at the time,

‘At a time of immense change, Shubbak is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen relations between artists and also gives Londoners, visitors, and the local Arab community a chance to better understand the richness of contemporary Arab culture and ideas. As the most cosmopolitan capital in the world, London is the ideal city to host this festival and I wish it every success in future years’.

For all those who had the chance to enjoy the richness and diversity of the debut festival, there’s excellent news. In the spring of this year, the Mayor’s office announced that not only would Shubbak return in 2013, but that it would also become a biennial event, as a testament to its initial success. Needless to say, the bar has been set high, and the 2013 edition is expected to be ‘unprecedented’.

The programme for the 2013 edition is currently in the works, and as such, the festival board is accepting submissions from Arab and British-Arab visual artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, designers, and architects. All enquires can be sent to the Acting Festival Director, Sue Davies.

Don’t forget to mark down the weeks between June 22 and July 6 for another incredible festival!
 
 

 

About Joobin Bekhrad: Joobin is the Founder and Editor of REORIENT, and the Co-Founder of art clvb