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MACFEST – Muslim Arts & Culture Festival

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

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MACFEST - Muslim Arts & Culture Festival

The Whitworth, Manchester
23 February-15 July 2024

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Free
Turkish dancers performing at MACFEST 2024
Image courtesy of MACFEST/ Qaisa Shahraz
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A celebration of the diversity, beauty and communities involved in Muslim culture, MACFEST is a wide-reaching arts festival that takes place across multiple months, cities, venues and art forms.  For 2024, the festival spans five months, with cultural institutions like the Whitworth and the University of Salford hosting events and launching arts-awards partnerships. Schools and libraries will also team up with artists and communities to share heritage, knowledge and celebrate.

MACFEST is led by the prize-winning author and peace activist Qaisra Shahraz MBE. The festival first launched in 2018 with the aim to unite communities, and fight back against racism and Islamophobia. Art, food, live music and performance are such fertile ground for cultural understanding and breaking down misconceptions, and it’s incredible to see how the festival has grown into an international collection of over 70 events.

MACFEST 2024
MACFEST at the Whitworth (2023). Image courtesy of Karen Hewitt/ MACFEST

For 2024, MACFEST is set to have its biggest year yet by teaming up with several other festivals across the North of England – Muslim Women’s Arts Foundation, Manchester Histories Festival and Liverpool Arab Arts Festival have all joined forces. Almost all of MACFEST’s events are entirely free to attend and take place across the North of England. However, MACFEST also connects viewers and participants from as far away as Afghanistan, Dubai, Hawaii, Canada, Pakistan, Morocco and the USA.

With a super varied and vibrant programme of events, the overarching festival houses nine themed mini-festivals, these are: Youth, Women’s, Ramadan and Eid, International, Museums and Libraries, Words and Books, Environment, Calligraphy and Arts, and North West. You’ll find literature, visual art, music, dance, comedy, debate and heritage events taking place alongside family-friendly fun – so there really is something for everyone.

Perhaps, what makes MACFEST so successful is its focus on culture and people. By setting religion and politics aside, the festival opens up a conversation – an exchange of understanding – that allows people to connect on a human level through art.

Hit the ‘Visit now’ button below to explore the Manchester programme.

What's on at The Whitworth

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