Shubbak Festival
28 June – 14 July

Shubbak has become a key moment in the arts calendar of the UK and the Arab world, bringing new and unexpected voices alongside established artists to audiences every two years. Amal is pleased to partner with Shubbak for the festival’s finale at the National Theatre’s outdoor River Stage from 12 – 14 July for a weekend of music, performance, workshops and installations.

We’re also supporting Halka, an acrobatic display performed by Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger who have travelled the world with their contemporary shows. In Halka, the 14 acrobats and musicians create an energetic spectacle which hums with the sights and sounds of Moroccan street life.

Art at the Lake
29 – 30 June

Back for its 11th year, MKIAC’s Art at the Lake returns with an exciting opportunity to see the works of international, national and local artists. This year, supported by Amal, the festival welcomes the newly created MK Multi-Cultural Youth Orchestra which has collaborated with the London Syrian Ensemble, a collective of Syria’s finest musicians in the UK. The project aims to train young people from local schools in classical and traditional music from Syria, bringing them together with local Syrian families for a showcase of Syrian music at the festival.

BE Festival – BE Next
2 – 6 July

BE Festival turns the notion of conventional theatre upside down. Taking place annually at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the festival crosses borders and creative disciplines and blurs the boundary between audience and artist. Inclusivity is at the heart of BE Festival’s manifesto and BE Next is testament to their ongoing commitment to provide opportunities for young people to learn life skills through performing arts. Supported by Amal, BE Next offers young people in Birmingham aged 14-19 the opportunity to develop their performance skills, work with international artists and perform on stages across Birmingham. Alongside two other workshops in the Spring and Autumn, the annual festival performance is the culmination of a week-long Summer workshop. The performance can take any shape and any form but is always a key highlight of the festival.

Amal at Greenbelt
23 – 26 August

After the success of our 2017 pilot year project with Greenbelt, Amal returns to the festival with a series of events showcasing Muslim artistic talent and content across the four days. Working with global arts curator Asad Ali Jafri, the programme includes comedy by Bilal Zafar, contemporary music with Iranian roots from the band Ajam and Sufi music from Hamza Akram Qawwal. Look out for the full line-up coming soon.

You can find a full schedule of Amal events here.