London’s Shubbak Festival: 7 Things To See This Summer
A window on contemporary Arab cultures, Bazaar Arabia speaks with co-CEO Alia Alzougbi as she explains the importance of breaking the frameworks set for female leaders…
Coming into its seventh year, Shubbak Festival is an array of SWANA (South West Asian/ North African) creativity and innovation. As the UK’s largest biennial multi-art form festival of Arab culture, it aims to bring together new and established artists to showcase the depth and beauty of art across the Arab peninsula. And for the first time in its history, this year’s festival has been programmed by two women from the community. Harper’s Bazaar Arabia sat down with co-founder Alia Alzougbi as she explains the importance of breaking the frameworks set for female leaders and introduces what she describes as “dispersed leadership” with her co-CEO Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso.
“Primarily, what we would love to achieve is for arts in the region to connect us all,” Alia explains. “We want people, no matter [their] beliefs or background, to come together and commune over art from the entire region.”
It’s evident from her passion that the team’s mission is to help people from the region feel seen and heard, with a hope that the festival will attract new fans so they can experience the richness, subversive nature and playfulness of Arab productions. Along with this, Alia and Taghrid have set out to break stereotypical patriarchal structures by gathering an (almost) completely female team. “We’re going through a deep learning process in asking ourselves what happens when a woman’s perspective is brought into running an organisation such as this,” the educator and noted speaker continues. “There is a curiosity, a humility, and a criticality that is urging us to really do things differently.”
It’s important to both co-founders that they reshuffle the status quo. Alia insists, “Transformative changes occur when we women use our marginalised experiences to interrogate these structures and unlearn the values, behaviours and ideals that uphold them.”
It’s clear that this year’s Shubbak Festival is just that – a captivating and fascinating programme of the UK’s finest SWANA artists, taking up space with powerhouse women at the forefront. As Alia succinctly says, “We hope that our programme for Shubbak Festival 2023 reflects this joyful rebellion of the imagination.”
London’s Shubbak Festival : 7 Things To See This Summer
River Stage takeover Weekend
23-25 June at the National Theatre
“This takeover of the National Theatre River Stage features an exciting range of free concerts and activities for all ages,” explains Alia about the free weekend event.
Totalitarian Props
24 June-19 July at The Africa Centre
“We’re incredibly humbled to be foregrounding this transdisciplinary exhibition exploring acts of tyranny, particularly within the context of the Pan-Africanist ideal and Pan-Arabic dream. It investigates how state, government and utopian dictatorships developed modalities of population mass-control and utilised surveillance mechanisms,” says Alia. Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Totalitarian Props shows how truth can be perverted, manipulated, and disguised under authoritarian power structures.
Aya Haidar
Aya’s Playspace explores the notion of borders through her large-scale installations, bringing together people of all ages to stitch a monumental tapestry and produce origami herons that echo the notion of journeys.
Ghalia Benali
6 July, Kings Place
“We’re thrilled to feature the legendary Tunisian songstress in this electrifying live concert. Known for her versatility across genres, Ghalia’s remarkable voice and stage presence have become a defining contribution to the contemporary Arab music scene,” pronounces Alia. The singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and visual artist is also synonymous with storytelling.
Poems of Consumption, Hamed Sinno
8 July, The Barbican
He’s known as the face of famous indie-rock band Mashrou’ Leila, but now Lebanese-American Hamed Sinno will be debuting his much-anticipated solo literary song cycle co-commissioned by Shubbak Festival and the Barbican. Intriguingly the artist blends in sounds of consumerism into his work – listen out for ripping plastic, popping bubble wrap and unboxing noises.
Bad Diaspora Poems, Momtaza Mehri
29 June, Grand Junction
Young Poet Laureate Momtaza Mehri discusses displacement to and from the Horn of Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries, confronting the ambivalent nature of speaking for those who have been left behind. “We meet the poet, the immigrant, the exile, the refugee, the runaway, the working-class artist, the translator, and the diaspora kid attempting to transcend their clichéd angst, these are many-tongued poems defined by the aches and joys of our diasporic age,” explains Alia.
Woman at Point Zero
28-30 June, The Royal Opera House
Egyptian writer and feminist Nawal El Saadawi will showcase this multi-media opera that follows two women: Fatma, a self-made feminist and activist imprisoned for manslaughter and Sama, an ambitious filmmaker who wants to tell her story. Expect to be moved by this tale of female solidarity and strength, enhanced by east-meets-west music led by conductor Kanako Abe.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s June 2023 issue.
Images Courtesy of Shubbak Festival