London's Shubbak Festival brings together voices from the Arab world and the South West Asia and North Africa region (SWANA) in a dynamic celebration of contemporary art and culture.
Shubbak is the UK's largest festival of its kind. This year's edition promises a rich tapestry of performances, exhibitions, and events that explore themes of connection, transformation, and cultural resistance.
The festival's opening will feature The People's Catwalk, a revolutionary public fashion show curated by 3EIB and Nafs Space at Southbank Centre. This event reclaims the word "3eib", traditionally used to shame those who challenge societal norms, transforming it into a symbol of pride and defiance. The catwalk will feature models of all ages, shapes, and abilities, alongside a pop-up showcasing 50 independent SWANA fashion brands.
Palestine speaks
In the following days, Palestine sets the tone for this year's Shubbak. Among the highlights is the opening show, Milk (from the Arabic word مِلْك), a visual performance presented by the Haifa-based independent Palestinian theatre company Khashabi Theatre and directed by Bashar Murkus and Khulood Basel.
This production, the largest Palestinian theatre performance in the UK in over 25 years, delves into the fracturing of time in the face of catastrophe, bringing the viewers face to face with the "rippling, time-warping aftermath of disaster," reads the work's synopsis.
On 6 June, Palestine will return with an event titled Sada (Echo): Music from Palestine, featuring Rola Azar, Dana Salah, and DAM. The performance brings together three Palestinian voices, merging their collective backgrounds and memoirs for a special musical collaboration.
Ahmed Masoud's new play Application 39, which will be performed at Theatro Technis (26 May—1 June), propels us into a dystopian future with a darkly comic twist. It imagines Gaza as the unlikely host of the 2084 Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, from 27 May to 3 June, a multimedia exhibition titled Gaza Remains the Story will delve into Gaza's unique identity beyond the headlines. The exhibition highlights the everyday lives of ordinary Gazans and the rich cultural heritage of this historic city, offering a counter-narrative to the mainstream media's focus on violence and devastation.
Marah Haj Hussein's Language: No Broblem (13, 14, 17 June) takes audiences on a surreal and introspective train ride through Belgium, where the protagonist navigates a series of curious encounters. Her journey interlaces with the stories of family members living under occupation, revealing intimate reflections on their connection to Palestinian Arabic—their mother tongue—set against the backdrop of Hebrew, the official language of their homeland.
Multicultural echoes of resistance
Another highlight is Sarah Al-Sarraj's exhibition, Limbs of the Lunar Disk (23 May - 8 June). The show blends large-scale paintings and immersive digital installations to explore deep time, ancestral memory, and the enduring effects of imperial violence.
Rooted in ontologies of land and spirit, the show traces environmental and historical trauma while imagining speculative futures shaped by Arab astronavigation and geolocation. Complementing the exhibition, a book launch event with Al-Sarraj and writer Dalia Al-Dujaili will delve into themes of identity, diaspora, and mythology within the Iraqi-British experience.
In his turn, Franco-Algerian artist Selim Djaferi's Koulounisation (23 and 24 May) uses humour to explore the entangled themes of language and colonisation, offering moments of laughter pierced by grief and glimpses of joy suddenly disrupted.
10 June will offer For Sudan, an evening of performance, expression, and reflection that celebrates Sudan's profound artistic and cultural contributions to the world, while bearing witness to its people and land amid unimaginable violence.
Between 13 and 15 June, Lebanese artist Tania El-Khory will present Memory of Birds, an interactive sound installation set among trees, created in collaboration with a trauma therapist and migrating birds. The show delves into the layers of political violence embedded—literally and metaphorically—in contested landscapes, reflecting the artist's fraught relationship with a land marked by trauma, mass graves, ecological toxicity, and histories of resistance and survival.
Renowned Syrian composer and oud player Naseer Shamma will perform at the Barbican Hall on 15 June, showcasing his mastery and dedication to the art form.
Shubbak: a window on contemporary Arab culture
Known as Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture, the festival's name reflects the Arabic word shubbak (meaning 'window').
Founded in 2011 by the mayor of London, Shubbak is now an independent charity that features visual arts, film, music, theatre, literature, and debate to introduce local audiences to contemporary Arab culture.
"The festival supports and celebrates the diversity of Arab and South West Asian & North African (SWANA) artists' creativity and innovation through its professional, participatory and engagement programmes, national touring, and biennial multi-artform festival," reads the festival's statement.
This year's festival will take place between 23 May and 15 June.
The festival's complete programme can be found on the festival's website.
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