Author: Jack Welsh

Welcoming our new team members

We’re thrilled to welcome several new team members who have recently joined the LAAF family:

Toufik Douib – Creative Producer (International)

Toufik Douib is an Algerian curator and event director who will be developing LAAF’s international programming. His multidisciplinary practice focuses on the question of Maghreb identities through eclectic contemporary lenses, bridging with Diaspora artists and across the eastern and western creative scene.

After completing a Masters in cultural events management, Toufik curated in 2015 his first exhibition ‘Algerianism’. This followed distinct collaborations in the UK (The P21 Gallery, The RichMix or Shubbak Festival) and beyond (Casa Arabe – Spain, Ateliers Sauvages – Algiers, Out of the Circle – Cairo).

Other cultural ventures include artistic research projects, namely with Portsmouth and Aberdeen Universities. He is currently the coordinator of ‘DIGI-MENA’ online mapping research platform, which was supported by the AFAC (Arab Fund for Arts and Culture) in the category Trainings and Regional Events.

Mo Aziz – Operations Assistant 

Mo Aziz (Shabaka) is a Sudanese artist, social activist, and singer-vocalist. Mo graduated from the University of Khartoum where he studied Economics and Social Studies in 2002. He studied Music Production and Film Visual Culture, and MA in Creative Industry at Liverpool Hope University. 

Lin Dabbous – British Council ARTIVATOR Fellow in Art Curation 

Lin Dabbous is the ARTIVATOR Fellow in Art Curation working on our ‘Port Cities’ visual arts project, in partnership with the British Council. The exhibition will be launching at this year’s festival before touring internationally in the MENA region.

Lin is an architect by training and a current MA candidate in Art History and Curatorial Studies at the American University of Beirut. Her multidisciplinary practice focuses on modern and contemporary Arab art with commitment to challenge and reshape stereotypical narratives surrounding the history of Arab artistic production. In 2023, Lin curated the collective exhibition “Moments of Being,”centered around the memory of Syria, both known and departed, featuring 12 emerging and established Syrian artists.

Her collaborative efforts extend to exhibitions such as “Traces of Utopia” and “The Marine School of Beirut-A Repressed Art History” at AUB Art Galleries. Lin’s contributions are not confined to exhibitions alone; she was also a part of the research team for the exhibition “Partisans of the Nude: An Arab Art Genre in an Era of Contest, 1920-1950” which took place at the Wallach Gallery in Columbia University.

ARTIVATOR is an innovative Art Management Incubator from the British Council focused on enhancing the capabilities of cultural practitioners from the MENA region. This initiative aims to provide comprehensive training, mentoring, and networking opportunities to empower participants with the necessary skills and knowledge for success in the arts industry. ARTIVATOR offers a personalised experience tailored to each participant’s needs, leveraging a network of arts professionals, resources, and support from our esteemed partners.

By supporting emerging arts managers, the incubator strives to foster a vibrant and sustainable arts sector in the MENA region. The goal is to cultivate a new generation of leaders capable of navigating industry challenges while driving growth and innovation. 

British Council logo in purple

 

Changemakers for Peace – Abdelfattah Abusrour

Venue: VideOdyssey, Toxteth TV, 37-45 Windsor Street, L8 1XE
Date: 6-7pm, Wednesday 6 December 2023
Join us for a conversation and short screenings with Abdelfattah Abusrour, founder of the Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society.


Abdelfattah set up Alrowwad in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem in 1998. The centre uses performance, visual arts, culture and education to support children whose daily reality is oppression and trauma. His inspirational work is based on the concept of ‘Beautiful Resistance’, a form of creative and peaceful self-expression that aims to save lives, empower young people, inspire hope and build peace within individuals.

It pushes young Palestinians to be peace builders in their communities and beyond through creative and non-violent means.

Abdelfattah will be speaking about his work and the importance of creativity in inspiring hope within young people.

In partnership with Bethlehem Cultural Festival.

About Abdelfattah Abusrour

Abdelfattah Abusrour is founder and director of Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society, established in 1998 in Aida refugee camp-Bethlehem.

His concept and philosophy of ‘Beautiful Resistance’, using performing and visual arts, culture and education, is a creative and peaceful expression in situations of oppression and trauma to provide possibilities to save lives and inspire hope and build peace within individuals to be peace builders in their communities and beyond.

The Mobile Beautiful Resistance programme has used theatre, dance, photography, filming and a games library. It has toured across the West Bank and Palestine and has trained cultural leads to help connect with other Palestinian communities and marginalised areas.

www.alrowwad.org/en/

About Bethlehem Cultural Festival

Bethlehem Cultural Festival is an independent platform for artists and cultural practitioners from Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean.

www.bethlehemculturalfestival.com

Statement from LAAF

For the past 25 years, Liverpool Arab Arts Festival (LAAF) has existed to support and champion creatives from across the Arab region and its diaspora. Art and culture has the power to express our shared humanity and we believe, as a cultural organisation, we have a role in how we exist together. 

As we watch in horror amid the ongoing and deeply distressing bombardment of Gaza, LAAF steadily recognises the equal worth of every human life and their indisputable right to protection. 

We stand in firm solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and across the region, passionately denouncing the tragic loss of civilian lives and the relentless suffering of individuals, regardless of their location. 

LAAF reiterates its enduring commitment to the fundamental principle that all people, irrespective of their origins, should be shielded from collective punishment. 

We urgently call for the protection of human rights in Gaza, and a move toward a more sustainable and peaceful resolution, infusing hope and justice into a region that has borne excessive suffering.

MENA Beats free DJ workshops

Are you aged 12 – 25 and have an interest in Arabic music and learning to DJ?

Our MENA BEATS is an exciting new programme where you can learn DJing skills and techniques from professional DJs. Free sessions are run in partnership with Liverpool Arabic Centre.

WHEN: Drop-in to our weekly taster sessions and workshops held 6-8pm each Wednesday. No booking required.

WHERE: Harthill Youth Centre, Wellington Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 4JN.

For more details, please contact: Email: admin@arabicartsfestival.co.uk

Telephone: 0151 727 2855

 

Two new job opportunities at LAAF

Do you want a new challenge and to work on an international arts festival? We are recruiting for two part-time positions:

Creative Producer (International)

Job Title: Creative Producer (International)
Hours: Part-time 20 hours per week (inclusive of unpaid breaks and equivalent to 2.5 days per week)
Duration: Post is funded through Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status until 31st March 2026.
Salary: £15.39 per hour, annual salary £14,000 (Full-time equivalent £28,000.)
Responsible to: Head of Programming / Deputy Director.
Responsible for: Freelance staff and volunteers connected to specific events, including creatives working remotely overseas.
Based: Based in the LAAF Office at Bluecoat, Liverpool. This post can be also be remote from within the UK, with agreed working days in Liverpool.
Holiday entitlement: 25 days plus bank holidays pro rata.
Pension: Employee enrolled into the Nest Pension Scheme with employer’s contributions.

The new Creative Producer (International) position will play a key role within Liverpool Arab Arts Festival’s creative team. This is a great opportunity for a creative producer to develop LAAF’s international artistic programming.

Find out more information about the Creative Producer (International) post and download the job pack.

Operations Assistant 

Post: Operations Assistant
Hours: 30 hours per week flexible working hours over 4 or 5 days. Occasional weekend and evening work to support the delivery of projects and festival events. 
Salary: £21,000 per annum.
Reporting to: Director.
Responsible for: Office management and administrative volunteers.
Location: Based at the company office at Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX. Offsite working is required to support delivery of events and projects.
Holiday entitlement: 25 days plus bank holidays pro rata.
Pension: Employee enrolled into the Nest Pension Scheme with employer’s statutory contributions.

We are looking to appoint an Operations Assistant to support the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation. This position is the perfect opportunity for a positive, motivated and well-organised individual looking to develop a career in artist management.

Find out more information about the Operations Assistant post and download the job pack.

Application closing date for both posts: 9am, Monday 18 September 2023.

Interviews held w/c 2 October 2023 at a fully accessible location.

Work With Us: Operations Assistant

Download the Operations Assistant – Job Pack

Post: Operations Assistant
Hours: 30 hours per week flexible working hours over 4 or 5 days. Occasional weekend and evening work to support the delivery of projects and festival events. 
Salary: £21,000 per annum.
Reporting to: Director.
Responsible for: Office management and administrative volunteers.
Location: Based at the company office at Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX. Offsite working is required to support delivery of events and projects.
Holiday entitlement: 25 days plus bank holidays pro rata.
Pension: Employee enrolled into the Nest Pension Scheme with employer’s statutory contributions.

We are looking to appoint an Operations Assistant to support the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation.

Working individually and as part of a team, the Operations Assistant will support our ambitious growth plans through effective administration, financial recording and monitoring procedures. The postholder will undertake a wide range of tasks, including working closely with the creative team to support the delivery of artistic events and projects.

This position is the perfect opportunity for a positive, motivated and well-organised individual looking to develop a career in artist management.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply, please email the following to admin@arabicartsfestival.co.uk with the subject line ‘Operations Assistant application’:

  • A covering letter (maximum 2 sides of A4) demonstrating your suitability to the role, directly addressing how you meet the Responsibilities, Skills, Knowledge, and Experience stated in the Job Description.
  • Your CV
  • Contact details of 2 referees, one of whom should be a current employer.
  • Completed Equal Opportunities form.

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival is committed to building the diversity of its core team to be more representative of the communities it serves, and to increase opportunities for people who are currently underrepresented in our industry.

We encourage applications from candidates of Arab and SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) backgrounds, those who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour), d/Deaf and disabled applicants and individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 18 September 2023.
Interviews held w/c 2 October 2023 at a fully accessible location.

An Arab man is crouched in a sandy coloured desert landscape. He is wearing a black turban

‘And still, it remains’ at LUX

Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah’s film And still, it remains will be exhibited at LUX in London next month.

If you missed the film at our festival in July, it’s a great opportunity to see the film in London.

Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah: ‘And still, it remains’

8 September – 14 October, 2023
Thursday – Sunday, 12 – 5pm
LUX
Waterlow Park Centre, Dartmouth Park Hill, London N19 7JF

Breakfast Opening: Friday 8 September 9am-11am

‘LUX is pleased to announce the first London solo exhibition by artists Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah in collaboration with Open City Documentary Festival.

‘And still, it remains’ is a new artists’ film that examines time, toxic colonialism and how we survive the end of our world. In 2021, radioactive sand resulting from French nuclear bombs travelled in the winds all the way from the Algerian Sahara back to France. The bombs had been detonated in Algeria back in the 1960s. These returning winds were a reminder that the environmental legacies of colonialism cannot be forgotten or contained; it also raised the more pertinent question of how people live with the afterlife of toxic colonialism.

‘And still, it remains’ spends time with the residents of a village in the Hoggar Mountains of Algeria who live surrounded by ancient rock art and the legacy of France’s nuclear bombs. Exploring their migration to the area, faith, their way of life, colonialism and the nuclear bombs, the film asks: What does it mean to live in such intimacy with toxic colonialism? What understanding is gained from this proximity? The feminist thinker bell hooks talks about a particular way of knowing that comes from experience – “it’s a deep understanding that is often expressed through the body, as what they know has been deeply inscribed on it.” How do people make sense of what happened to them? What are their ideas of justice? And finally, how do they find a way to carry on?

‘And still, it remains’ is presented in collaboration with Open City Documentary Festival (6-12 September 2023) and was commissioned by Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, supported using funds from Arts Council England and The Elephant Trust.

For more information visit: https://lux.org.uk/event/arwa-aburawa-and-turab-shah-and-still-it-remains/