Shubbak Festival 2023: A guide to the event's concerts, theatre shows and art exhibitions

Guests can expect another thought-provoking and eclectic line-up

Lebanese singer Hamed Sinno will debut his latest project at the 2023 Shubbak Festival in London. Victor Besa for The National

Thought-provoking music, drama and films, as well as immersive art exhibitions, will feature as part of this year's Shubbak Festival.

Running from June 23 to July 9 at various venues across the UK, the event will return with another detailed programme showcasing the dynamism of the modern Arab arts and cultural scenes.

With so many events scheduled and more to be announced, it is recommended that you keep checking the festival's official website for all the latest updates.

That said, below is a guide to the essential Shubbak Festival events not to be missed.

The concerts

Electronic, folk and ambient music inspired by Arab pop culture and recent turmoil feature in this year's series of concerts.

The marquee show for 2023 is Hamed Sinno's concert at London's Barbican on July 8.

This will be the first time the Lebanese-American singer and frontman of influential Lebanese indie group Mashrou' Leila will present songs from his coming solo project Poems of Consumption.

Co-commissioned by Shubbak Festival and the Barbican, the work is described as "a literary song cycle that explores the resonances between Amazon-era consumerism, mental illness, unrequited love and environmental collapse".

On June 29 at the contemporary art and music space Ikletic in London, Lebanese artist Sandy Chamoun will also present her new solo project Fata 17, a series of songs built around field recordings and sounds taken from the protest that gripped Beirut on October 17, 2019.

She will be joined by Palestinian folk singer Maya Al Khaldi who will perform songs from her debut album Other World.

Community arts hub Rich Mix, also in the capital, will be the venue that hosts the UK return of Love and Revenge on July 1. The electronic music duo made up of Wael Koudiah and Randa Mirza will bring their immersive DJ set featuring remixed vintage Arabic pop songs played against a backdrop of visuals taken from Egypt's golden era of cinema in the 1970s and 1980s.

Also worth checking out is Ghalia Benali's gig at Kings Place, London, on July 6. The Tunisian singer will showcase her versatility as she touches upon various genres ranging from Levant folk to Spanish flamenco and South-East Asian rhythms.

The films

Expect more than 30 films to be shown as part of the festival's in-house music programme titled Safar.

While the line-up is yet to be announced, the official site reveals a part of the programme will focus on contemporary Moroccan filmmakers in addition to sessions and talks centring on Palestinian filmmakers.

Documentaries by influential directors such as Egypt's Youssef Chahine, Lebanon's Borhane Alaouie and Syria's Mohammed Malas will also be shown.

Tickets and screening locations will be announced soon.

The exhibitions

A new exhibition by Bahraini-British artist Reem Acason will be on show throughout the festival.

Running until July 15 at Rochester Art Gallery in Kent, Two Seas is a collection of oil paintings inspired by Acason's experience of living in Bahrain and the UK.

Some of these works incorporate materials obtained from these journeys, such as paper made from Bahraini date palm fronds and fishing nets from the British coastal country of Sussex.

In the Sound of Silence, being held at The Coronet Theatre, London, from June 23 to July 9, visual artist Soraya Sayed will break down some of the elements of her practice through a series of images and artworks forming connections between calligraphy and the contours of the human body.

Saudi-Palestinian experimental artist Tamara Al Mashouk will also present I'd Search Forever, I Want to Remember at The Citadel in Kent on June 24.

Co-produced with the festival, the one-off exhibition is described as "an exploration of sites of solace and memory, and spaces of collective healing against the backdrop of the refugee crisis".

The multi-genre spectacle features a wave machine containing water from the English Channel, film footage and a dance performance by Syrian choreographer Fadi Giha.

The discussions

The festival is also home to a number of cultural conversations.

On June 24, an online discussion will take place under the title Art and Disability Under Siege. Artists from Jordan and Palestine will discuss their challenges of working and living with a disability in tumultuous societies.

The event will be held in Arabic with English subtitles provided.

On June 29, artists Bushra El Turk and Hannah Khalil will moderate a session at London's Royal Opera House probing art's role in perpetuating and repelling stereotypes.

Dubbed The Stereotype is The Story – A Long Table Followed by Aftercare, the discussion will be held in a "domestic dinner table" format to allow the­­­ free-flowing exchange of ideas between moderators and participants.

The event will conclude with a follow-up session with art therapist Sara Al Saraf.

The dramas

Theatre performances remain a pillar of Shubbak Festival. This year's programme features a number of provocative works.

Iraqi-Syrian actress Yasmeen Audisho Ghrawi will present her new one-person show From The Daughter of a Dictator, taking place at The Lowry in Manchester on June 30 and July 3-4.

Exploring the trials and insights gleaned from the migrant experience, the play questions the notions of safety and identity that arise from resettlement.

Issues surrounding identity will further be explored in Dreamer at the Battersea Arts Centre, London, on June 30 and July 1.

Kuwaiti-Cameroonian actress Colette Dalal Tchantcho inhabits the role of three black women residing in Arabic societies as they reconcile the misogyny and xenophobia of daily life with finding their place in a rapidly transforming region.

More information is at shubbak.co.uk