Do you want to feed your cultural appetite with an Arab arts event in London this summer? The Serpentine Gallery and Qatar Museums Authority will collaborate on an Arab Arts season in London with a free event called Ehtifal. The event will be from July 4-6, and will include several activities revolving around Arab literature, debate, music and art.
Artists included in this three-day event are internationally acclaimed novelist, Hisham Matar, Sudanese artist, Ibrahim El-Salahi, and Egyptian violinist, Waeil Abo Bakr. Ehtifal, which is presented by The Serpentine Gallery in collaboration with Qatar Museums Authority, is part of Shubbak, London’s Arab contemporary arts festival.
The first two days of the Festival will be hosted jointly by the Serpentine with Mathaf, the Middle East’s first museum of modern and contemporary art, based in Doha, in a special Pop-Up program. The first day will include “Pop-Up Mathaf: Mapping Arab Literature in London” which will be on Thursday, July 4, 7-9 pm, and will feature contributions from Hisham Matar, Ma’n Abu Taleb, artist and poet Etel Adnan, young novelist Sophie Al-Maria, publisher Margaret Obank and Serpentine Co-Director, Hans Ulrich Obrist.
On Friday, July 5, “Pop-Up Mathaf: Tashweesh and Waeil Abo Bakr” will take place from 8-10 pm. Appearing in this event is expert Egyptian violinist Waeil Abo Bakr, presenting a set with five musicians. Waeil is famous for his work with Led Zeppelin and Peter Gabriel.
Ending the event, Ehtifal will host a family day titled “Ehtifal Family Day: Celebrating Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture” which will take place on Saturday, July 6, from 12-5 pm.
This free open-air family day will include Artists and designers from London and Qatar, who will come together to present a cross-cultural adventure in English and Arabic for children and families.
For more information visit www.qataruk2013.com
