Liverpool Arab Arts Festival
12th – 21st July, 2024
Various Venues, Liverpool
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival (LAAF) – the longest running festival of Arab arts and culture in the UK – returns for its 22nd year this July. LAAF exists to support and champion creatives from across the Arab region and its diaspora, in the belief that art and creativity have the power to express a shared humanity.
The festival will celebrate Liverpool’s unique identity; a city, with a global community and brimming with artistry, that looks outwards across the world. Highlighting the importance of this shared humanity, Port Cities, a brand-new visual arts project in partnership with British Council – MENA, will premiere newly commissioned artwork by four internationally renowned Arab artists exploring the social, historical and cultural links between Liverpool and the Arab region.
The first staged performance of Chambers of the Heart will explore the stories of three women as they confront love, desire and memory in stories spanning from East to West. Arabs Are Not Funny, widely acknowledged as one of the hottest comedy nights among the Arab community and beyond, will return to the festival for another hilarious night of laughter.
Closing out the festival’s musical offerings, The Ayoub Sisters – an award-winning instrumental duo – will return also, presenting an evening of live music including songs from their acclaimed album, Arabesque, at the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room.
In difficult times, art and culture serve as beacons of hope and resilience. These powerful forces of creativity provide a platform for voices to be heard, stories to be told, and for other perspectives to be understood. Creativity is a shared language that transcends borders and barriers.
2024 FESTIVAL LINE UP
With more festival events to be announced soon…
Port Cities exhibition
Friday 12th July – Saturday 20th July / 12pm – 4pm
Exhibition launch event: Friday 12th July / 1-4pm
Space Liverpool, 41 Stanhope Street, Liverpool, L8 5RE
FREE / NO TICKETS REQUIRED
Yalla Neحky – Hadi Badi Books workshop for children 4-8 years old
Saturday 13th July / 12pm – 1:30pm
Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EW
FREE / BOOKING REQUIRED
Comedy Workshop with Maria Shehata
Saturday 13th July / 1-2:30pm
Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EW
£6 / TICKETS
Arabs Are Not Funny
Saturday 13th July / 7:30pm
Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG
£15.00 / TICKETS
Arab Film Night: At The Library X LAAF
Sunday 14th July / 4 – 7pm
Plaza Community Cinema, 13 Crosby Road North, Waterloo, Liverpool, L22 0LD
£5 / TICKETS (Free for L20, L21, L22 postcodes)
Port Cities Symposium
Monday 15th July / 10am – 4pm
Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX
£10.00 / PAY WHAT YOU CAN / TICKETS
Fundraising Screening: At Home in Gaza and London
Monday 15th July / 6-8pm
Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX
£10 / TICKETS
Janette Ayachi: Exploring Heritage Through Poetry
Wednesday 17th July / 6pm – 7pm
Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX
£8/£6 / TICKETS
Chambers of the Heart: Hassan Abdulrazzak, Laila Alj & Sepy Baghaei
Friday 19th July and Saturday 20th July / 7:30pm
Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG
£15.00 / TICKETS
The Ayoub Sisters
Saturday 20th July / 8pm
Music Room, Liverpool Philharmonic, Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BP
£15.00 / TICKETS
Family Day
Sunday 21st July / 12pm – 5pm
Sefton Park Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool, L17 1AP
FREE / NO TICKETS REQUIRED
