Horizons Festival 2024 at HOME
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Running as part of International Refugee Week is HOME’s annual Horizons Festival 2024, a vibrant weekend-long celebration of newly commissioned theatre, performance, visual art, film, music, plus community events and family-friendly workshops.
Held in association with Community Arts North West (CAN), this year’s edition will respond to the theme ‘Our Planet, Our Home’. The whole festival has been brilliantly co-curated with HOME’s Arts and Migration Group, a collective of Greater Manchester artists, theatre-makers and creatives who have lived experience of migration or the UK asylum system.
Celebrating international arts and global cultures, Horizons Festival 2024 illuminates the creativity, culture and resilience of Greater Manchester’s migrant communities and – through its theme – highlights the need for the planet to be a safe home for everyone.
The festival launches on Friday 21 June with a brand-new performance in HOME’s intimate Theatre 2. Created by Horizons commissioned theatre-maker A.M.M. Noor-Saiyem Khan, Hanimale offers a compelling and profound of the refugee experience. Darkly comedic, the piece highlights that unity and resilience can be found in the most unexpected places. This show is complemented by a special opening dance performance – Women Rising – presented by Afrocats and choreographed by Maisha Kingu.
On Saturday 22 June, the HOME building will burst with colourful, family-friendly creative fun. Expect live music, dance, hands-on workshops, film, stand-up and a special visual arts exhibition created by children, young people and adults who have recently settled in the UK through CAN’s community programme.
Sunday 23 June sees the weekend close with a unique screening of short films exploring themes of asylum, migration and exile, trauma, joy and healing. The screening includes the premiere of HOME’s first-ever Horizons film commission.
Most of the festival’s events are free or Pay-What-You-Can too – show your support, experience something completely new, and celebrate Greater Manchester’s rich and diverse communities.
