Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival (LAAF) is a celebration of Arabic arts and culture that offers outdoor music, performance, real life stories, exhibitions and family friendly events. Taking place from 1-10th July, LAAF 2011 invites artists to reflect on the position of the individual within competing discourses of politics, identities, geographies and religions. This year also sees the introduction of the Festival’s first Patron, internationally renowned Composer and Oud Master, Marcel Khalife.

Eckhard Thiemann, Guest Curator of LAAF 2011, said: “This year’s Festival investigates themes of history and change. Conceived before the recent Arab spring revolutions, in a time when political, geographical and cultural certainties are unstable, we investigate how artists create new imaginative spaces, where our histories and future meet. Unfettered from formal strictures, and often highly collaborative in practice, their work encourages us to re-consider what we think we know.”

LAAF was founded by Liverpool Arabic Centre and the Bluecoat, a local arts venue, in 1998. The first festival took place in 2002. Partnerships with most of the major arts institutions in the city, including Picturehouse at FACT, National Museums Liverpool and Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, as well as artists and community organisations, have ensured its popularity. The Festival has run annually since its inception, raising awareness and promoting an understanding and appreciation of Arabic culture for both Arab and non-Arab audiences in Liverpool and beyond. It is the only annual festival of its kind in the UK, and was awarded the Arab British Centre’s Culture & Society Award 2010 for an outstanding contribution to the British public’s knowledge and understanding of the life, society and culture of the Arab people.

LAAF is also involved in numerous Arab cultural events in the UK, including ‘Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture’, which is taking place from 4-24th July. Presented by the Mayor of London, Shubbak (the Arabic word for window) is the first London-wide festival celebrating contemporary Arab culture, offering a unique opportunity to experience Arab arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, architecture and lectures.

For further information, please visit www.arabicartsfestival.co.uk and www.london.gov.uk/shubbak.