Mark Your Calendars: Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival

Highlights of this year’s Liverpool Arabic Arts Fest (July 6-15, 2012) include poetry by Khaled Mattawa, stand-up comedy from Maysoon Zayid, a glimpse of the new Tunisian anthology Fleeting Words discussed yesterday, a talk with Reem Abdelhadi about the history of political cartooning, a number of fabulous-looking films, and an Alif Ensemble concert.

According to the LAAF brochure:

The Arab world has always given us a rich and wide  spectrum of art, from mosaics and amphitheatres, grand pre-Islamic poetry, to the complex musical scales (maqamat) of the middle ages to the bewildering variety of literature, film, dance, textiles, glass, fine arts and music. However, what has been most remarkable is how Arab arts developed in response to change, migration and turmoil. In Liverpool, a city that can say much about its art and culture coming through change and turmoil, we look beyond reports of riots, war and politics to celebrate the arts, culture and life behind the news. This year LAAF celebrates the triumph of the human spirit and its ability to transform hardship into dance and song, into comedy, into beauty.

PDF: Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival 2012 schedule 

Twitter: @arabicartsfest

Bilingual website: http://www.arabicartsfestival.co.uk/