LONDON is to get its first Arab arts festival this summer when Shubbak – ‘Window’ in English – comes to town.
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Featuring work by artists living both in the Arab world and in the UK and beyond, at 30 venues across London, Shubbak takes in a wide range of cultural pursuits, from architecture and dance to writing, theatre and the visual arts.
Among the highlights are: A Night in Tahrir Square, featuring acts which entertained the crowds during the recent mass demonstrations in Cairo; a showcase of Egyptian contemporary art at the ICA gallery and, at the Young Vic, a performance by a Palestinian theatre company of Franz Kafka’s gruesome In the Penal Colony, the latter inviting obvious modern-day allusions.
“This festival is a unique chance for Londoners to glimpse the breadth and excellence of contemporary Arab culture and its influence on London’s cultural scene today,” said London Mayor Boris Johnson, whose office helped organise the festival.
“At a time of remarkable political and social change, Shubbak marks an exciting moment between artists in the capital and across the Arab world.”
The Mayor also had an interesting QI-style fact to impart: he pointed out that one of London’s most famous landmark’s has an Arabic-origin name.
“The word ‘Trafalgar’ even originates from the Arabic language,” he said.
Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture runs from 4-24 July.
