MACFEST kicks off with music, poetry, performance and brand new arts awards at The Whitworth

On Sat 2 Mar, MACFEST returns to The Whitworth Art Gallery with a ‘cultural feast’ of creative workshops, spellbinding live performances, mesmerising exhibitions and more, as well as the launch of their first-ever regional Muslim Arts Awards.

Beginning at 11.30am, the official Opening Ceremony marks the start of the festivities with an eclectic programme of poetry, performance and art alongside welcome speeches and greetings from around the world. Promising something for everyone across the afternoon, the ceremony features live performances by a Turkish folk dance group, the Nile Arabic School, poetry by Amir Arshad, singing by Moroccan Gnawa Group and much more, capped off with a welcome address from Diane Hawkins JP, The Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester and Qaisra Shahraz MBE, executive director of MACFEST.

At 1pm, MACFEST also unveils its inaugural Muslim Arts Awards, which showcases and celebrates the finest work by a cohort of North West Muslim artists across a variety of fields, including Calligraphy, Drawing, Painting and Photography, as well as an Overall Prize. Open to all regional Muslim residents over 18, the awards will also exhibit the selected artists at the University of Salford in November. Click here to find out more.

Taking place during the morning, MACFEST invites guests of all artistic tastes and abilities to enjoy a selection of engaging, insightful workshops, including a family-friendly calligraphy session with Farzana Patel, tranquil meditative floral art with Ashfia Ashrif, 3D dry felting with Aysha Yilmaz and a mosaic workshop with Zareena Bano.

Elsewhere, the Whitworth hosts an array of captivating art exhibitions by Aysha Yilmaz, Huda Nagi, Beena Nouri of Sheba Arts, Asmaa Al-Neama, Venture Arts, Ashfia Ashrif, Bradford-based illumination artist Ihssen Berrais and Yaran North West, completely free to visit throughout the day.

Check out the full MACFEST programme via the website, and see the full art workshop programme in our roundup.