Introduction to 2022 Festival
Building on 4 years of success, culminating in an entirely virtual festival in December 2020, Rethink Rebuild Society persists with its creative mission, showcasing the talent and creativity of Syrian artists in the UK and presenting a truly bright image of Syria and its culture and heritage, an image that has long been neglected amidst the war and the refugee crisis.
The 5th Celebrating Syria Festival will take place from 11-26 March 2022 and will be a hybrid of events held online and in person. It will feature, among other activities, an art exhibition, a theatre performance, live music, films, panel discussions and interactive art workshops, and will end with a family fun day. There will be something for everyone.
The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Distance’, or Masafat مسافات in Arabic, a title that is ‘inspired’ by social distancing measures imposed on us all as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, where isolation and distance became the norm and many people stayed away from loved ones. ‘Distance’ also sums up the experiences of many Syrian and non-Syrian people, forcibly displaced, exiled or refugees around the world as a result of injustice.
With this theme in mind, the festival uses arts and culture to challenge physical, emotional and cultural distance and barriers, bringing people closer to one another, reducing isolation, alienation and marginalisation and reinforcing dialogue and integration in the multicultural society of Manchester and the UK at large.
We are committed to making Celebrating Syria accessible to everyone. For each ticketed event three different prices are available, following the ‘solidarity economy’ approach. The highest price is intended for high waged, the middle price for low and medium waged and the lowest price (always £1) for unwaged. This means you can choose the price that suits you. By choosing a higher price, if you can afford it, you are supporting the festival and enabling lower earners to attend festival events. We base our ticketing structure on trust, so no evidence of income is required. As usual, asylum seekers can attend all events for free. If you require free tickets, please contact info@rrsoc.org or on 0161 222 9779.
This festival has been possible through generous funding from Arts Council England.
2022 Festival Events
Sat, Mar 26Brunswick Parish ChurchMar 26, 2022, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PMBrunswick Parish Church, Brunswick St, Manchester M13 9SX, UKMar 26, 2022, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PMBrunswick Parish Church, Brunswick St, Manchester M13 9SX, UKSave the best for last, we conclude our 2022 festival with a day full of entertainment for the whole family. Whether it is food and drinks, music, dance, art workshops, there is something fun and exciting for everyone!
Wed, Mar 23TriBeCaMar 23, 2022, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM GMTTriBeCa, 50 Sackville St, Manchester M1 3WF, UKMar 23, 2022, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM GMTTriBeCa, 50 Sackville St, Manchester M1 3WF, UKThis inventive duo of brothers from the Golan Heights return with a jammed full of pop hooks and quarter-tone melodic lines, “Migrant Birds” unleashes a disco whirlwind that pays homage to the West Asian dancefloor scenes of the 1980’s.
Tue, Mar 22Online EventMar 22, 2022, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM GMTOnline Event
Mon, Mar 21Chapeltown Picture HouseMar 21, 2022, 7:00 PM – 8:45 PM GMTChapeltown Picture House , 50 Red Bank, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M4 4HF, UKMar 21, 2022, 7:00 PM – 8:45 PM GMTChapeltown Picture House , 50 Red Bank, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M4 4HF, UKIn the last of Hatem Ali’s films, after the bombing of his father's chocolate factory, a young charming Syrian refugee struggles to settle into his new small-town life, caught between following his dream and preserving his family's legacy.
Sun, Mar 20Rethink Rebuild SocietyMar 20, 2022, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM GMTRethink Rebuild Society , Unit 7, Longsight Business Park, Hamilton Rd, Longsight, Manchester M13 0PD, UKMar 20, 2022, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM GMTRethink Rebuild Society , Unit 7, Longsight Business Park, Hamilton Rd, Longsight, Manchester M13 0PD, UKIn this panel discussion Rasha Yousef and Bassel Hariri discuss how people reconstruct a vanishing past after 11 years of mass destruction of the built environment, and radical transformation of their way of living
Sat, Mar 19Contact TheatreMar 19, 2022, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM GMTContact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UK
Sat, Mar 19Contact TheatreMar 19, 2022, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM GMTContact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UKMar 19, 2022, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM GMTContact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UKDabke is a native folk dance performed by people in the Levant region, and of course, on the Island of Crete - think Zorba the Greek!) At this workshop, you will learn the basic steps of the Tayara Dabke, the traditional folk dance from Palestine.
Sat, Mar 19Contact TheatreMar 19, 2022, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PMContact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UK
Fri, Mar 18Contact TheareMar 18, 2022, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM GMTContact Theare, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UKMar 18, 2022, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM GMTContact Theare, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UKReturning to Celebrating Syria Festival and one of its highlights, Fawaz Baker and his colleagues take us on a magical music journey incorporating different areas of Syria celebrating the richness and diversity of various musical modes (maqams).
Tue, Mar 15University of ManchesterMar 15, 2022, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM GMTUniversity of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, UKMar 15, 2022, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM GMTUniversity of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL, UKProfessor Dawn Chatty examines the history of Syria in the late Ottoman Empire and since World War One as it welcomed refugees from across the region, drawing conclusions regarding displaced Syrians' contemporary welcome in neighbouring states.
Mon, Mar 14HOMEMar 14, 2022, 6:00 PM – 8:10 PM GMTHOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester M15 4FN, UKMar 14, 2022, 6:00 PM – 8:10 PM GMTHOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester M15 4FN, UKAn intimate portrait of renowned and loved Syrian actor Fares Helou, who stood on the side of people, calling for freedom of speech, and was therefore forced out of his home country to experience the absurdities of exiled existence.
Sun, Mar 13Rethink Rebuild SocietyMar 13, 2022, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM GMTRethink Rebuild Society , Unit 7, Longsight Business Park, Hamilton Rd, Longsight, Manchester M13 0PD, UKMar 13, 2022, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM GMTRethink Rebuild Society , Unit 7, Longsight Business Park, Hamilton Rd, Longsight, Manchester M13 0PD, UKAlJumhuriya Collective and Celebrating Syria Festival invite you, in this hybrid event, to discuss the work of Mona Rafea, pseudonym, a rare and critical voice that has been telling stories, from inside Homs, of those who have stayed in the city.
Sun, Mar 13Rethink Rebuild SocietyMar 13, 2022, 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM GMTRethink Rebuild Society , Unit 7, Longsight Business Park, Hamilton Rd, Longsight, Manchester M13 0PD, UKMar 13, 2022, 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM GMTRethink Rebuild Society , Unit 7, Longsight Business Park, Hamilton Rd, Longsight, Manchester M13 0PD, UKThrough this amazing film, Marya Zarif wrote a long love letter for her country and her people, creating emotional bonds between Dounia and the young viewers and their families, therefore raising awareness of migrants' cause.
Sun, Mar 13HOMEMar 13, 2022, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM GMTHOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester M15 4FN, UK
Sat, Mar 12HOMEMar 12, 2022, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM GMTHOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester M15 4FN, UK
Sat, Mar 12Contact TheatreMar 12, 2022, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM GMTContact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UKMar 12, 2022, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM GMTContact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UKKhaled Khalifa was our guest at the first Celebrating Syria Festival 2017 on skype from Damascus. Five years on, and he will be with us again, in person this time, to tell us about his experience of writing in the time of war, or writing the war.
Fri, Mar 11HOMEMar 11, 2022, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM GMTHOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester M15 4FN, UKMar 11, 2022, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM GMTHOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester M15 4FN, UKOn this unforgettable evening, we launch the 5th Celebrating Syria festival featuring a great live music performance and we learn more about this year’s festival in an informal and welcoming atmosphere in the amazing Event Space at HOME.
Fri, Mar 11Contact TheatreMar 11, 2022, 10:00 AM GMT – Mar 31, 2022, 10:00 PM GMT+1Contact Theatre, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6JA, UK