Initiated by the Mayor of London in 2011, Shubbak (‘window’ in Arabic) is London’s premier festival of Contemporary Arab Culture. Shubbak is positioning London as a global destination of international world culture. The 2013 festival showcased 52 events in 15 days, reaching an audience of over 55,500 people.
Partners include prestige cultural institutions like British Museum, Tate Modern, Barbican, ICA, Cinema Lumiere as well as corporate partners. The extensive media coverage, includes more than 130 editorial pieces including articles in The Guardian, Financial Times, Observer, The Independent and The Times, and broadcasts in BBC World Service, BBC Radio 3 and BBC London.
Shubbak 2013 was launched with partners at a reception at the Victoria and Albert Museum by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Minister Alistair Burt, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Shubbak is an independent charity, chaired by Omar Al Qattan