Lily Middleton heads to the River Stage on the Southbank to find out more about the Shubbak Festival and to enjoy a small taste of what it has to offer.
The Shubbak Festival comes to London every two years, and this summer it returns for its seventh edition, with 80 events, and over 200 artists, taking place across 40 locations. On a beautiful summer’s evening, the festival launches on the River Stage outside the National Theatre. Anyone can come, and they do. The small auditorium is packed. Shubbak means ‘window’ in Arabic, and the Shubbak Festival launches its celebration of contemporary Arab culture with its panes wide open.
Alia Alzougbi and Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso are this year’s joint CEO’s, the first time such a role has been taken on by women. They take to the stage to tell us what the festival means to them, and it’s empowering to hear their passion shine through. For many of their artists, the message is of how “when home is impossible, we land here”, and that “with your support we dare to hope”. The theme of this year’s festival is confronting the role of the arts when we’re faced with so much difficulty, widening inequality and the climate crisis. Despite such worldwide, terrifying challenges, Alia and Taghrid believe that “our artists have stood squarely, offering hope and raising siren calls”.
One of the most beautiful aspects of the festival is that they really are launching Shubbak beyond an enclosed space: “We want to extend invitation beyond our own circles. We want our borders to remain porous, as all borders across the world should be”. Not only is the opening weekend free for all on the Southbank, but at every single event anyone on a low or no income who wants to come along can do so for free. It’s a system based on trust; it’s a direct confrontation of the role of the arts in a cost-of-living crisis. You can’t help but be moved by and admire Alia and Taghrid’s passion for the festival, and their true belief that it can drive and cause meaningful change.
As part of the opening night, Lisa Minerva Luxx has written a poem about the event which she performs on stage. To perform to a space mixed with keen listeners and the Friday night revellers you’ll always find on the Southbank is quite the skill, but she easily captures the minds and hearts of those that want to be caught. It’s a beautiful moment.
If the opening evening on the River Stage is a taste of what’s to come, this festival is sure to be a treat. The first act of the evening is Taroo, and at first it seems that a bin man has just decided to work up the crowd. It’s clumsy and seems unskilled. Oh, how wrong we were. What follows is extraordinary, funny, and gasp-inducing! Adults and children alike are enchanted by the performance, which will be performed in multiple public squares and neighbourhoods during the festival.
Once we’ve calmed our nerves, the Gnawa Blues All Stars take to the stage in a burst of noise and colour. The group are led by Songlines Music Award nominee Simo Lagnawi, and fuse music from Gnawa, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, India, Japan, and Venezuela! It’s a joyful performance, and a quick look around the crowd shows people beaming and itching to dance – but who’s going to be first on their feet?
There’s plenty more on offer at the River Stage this weekend, until 25 June, and an overwhelming amount to try and catch for the rest of this wonderful festival. As the CEO’s said, “Shubbak opens hearts” and mine is bursting with excitement after a beautiful evening in our city.
Shubbak Festival runs until Sunday 9 July 2023 in venues across London. More information is available here.
