2021 Nobel Prize for Literature winner leads global books and debate programme at Brighton Festival
Brighton Festival continues its reputation as an enviable platform for engaging discussion and lively debate with 35 books and debate events for all ages from 7-29 May.
Highlights include one of this year’s Festival Guest Co-Directors, Syrian architect and author Marwa Al-Sabouni, examining the role architecture can play in generating community in a discussion around her latest book, Building for Hope on 14 May. In a joint event with Charleston Festival 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Abdulrazak Gurnah will discuss the inspiration behind his work and childhood in Zanzibar on 19 May; and former Brighton Festival Guest Director Michael Rosen, along with Cressida Cowell and A.M. Dassu are among the authors exploring their latest books and sharing inspiration via our Young Readers programme from 7-29 May.
The online COP Conversations and Global Conversations series offer Brighton Festival audiences new perspectives on nature, identity and new realities for just £5 a ticket. The Change our Planet (COP) series is inspired by references Marwa Al-Sabouni makes to generational differences in Building for Hope. Brighton Festival will explore the potential for finding revolutionary solutions via an inter-generational approach, with conversations including Trafik author Rikki Ducornet and Libia Brenda, literature critic and the first Mexican woman nominated for the prestigious Hugo Award for the anthology A Larger Reality/Una realidad más amplia, which she edited.
This year’s Global Conversations will enable dialogue across borders between some of the most creative minds on the planet, including Ghanaian architect Cecil Abbey in conversation with Asian-British architect, Kieren Majhail about cities of the future on 21 May. In Moving Spaces, UK author Anita Sethi joins celebrated Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng on 15 May to explore ideas of belonging, and how our natural environments shape our life experiences.
The Festival of Ideas returns in partnership with the University of Sussex and the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (ACCA), via a series of thought-provoking screenings and discussions which explore new ways of thinking about the past, present and future. The series includes the untold story of 1990s anarcho-pop band Chumbawamba in I Get Knocked Down on 18 May and Making Space, a panel discussion on 16 May which explores some of the imaginative ways curators, artist and activists have used to address cultural inequality in public art institutions.
Discover the city through the eyes of its youngest inhabitants with The Book of Brighton & Hove on 24 May. A guidebook like no other, this collaborative project written by 200 school children across the city reveals their favourite places, hopes and fears for the city at a time of great uncertainty. The project makes its debut at The Riwaq, a bespoke temporary arts space based at Hove Lawns hosting an eclectic programme of free cultural and community events during the Festival.
In Thrones & Bones on 16 May, Tasha Suri and Samantha Shannon, authors of the popular Burning Kingdoms and Bone Season series respectively, read from their work and discuss how speculative fiction can help us navigate the value of human life, justice, and the fear of the unknown.
On 21 May, acclaimed writer Leone Ross shares from her atmospheric novel This One Sky Day (longlisted for the Ondaatje Prize and the Women's Prize). Its memorable characters live in the pink sunset world of Popisho, held in check by the Fatidique, an incredibly funky council of female visionaries. In conversation with Naana Orleans-Amissah, creative strategist and host of the IG series found, ART, Leone shares from her striking third novel and talks about how place creates reality.
Brighton Festival is pleased to welcome Afrori Books and The Feminist Bookshop as new bookselling partners this year.
Brighton Festival returns to full capacity in 2022, with an extensive international programme of over 150 events taking place across Sussex from 7-29 May.
For the first time, Brighton Festival welcomes two Guest Co-Directors - Marwa Al-Sabouni and Tristan Sharps, Artistic Director of Brighton-based theatre makers dreamthinkspeak. Marwa and Tristan have chosen the theme of Rebuilding as the inspiration for this year’s programme, exploring it from two different yet complementary perspectives.
Additional highlights from this year’s Brighton Festival include:
In Conversation: Marwa Al-Sabouni & Mohamed Hafez (18 May)
Several years ago, Marwa Al-Sabouni came across artist and architect Mohamad Hafez’s work and was struck by its delicacy and sensitivity. As a Guest Co-Director for Brighton Festival 2022, Mohamad was one of the first artists Marwa proposed to stage his exhibition, Journeys From an Absent Present to a Lost Past, as part of this year’s Festival programme at Brighton’s Fabrica gallery. Together for the first time, the pair explore themes central to their lives and work: architecture, home, beauty, and hope in the face of loss.
Explore the full programme at brightonfestival.org
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The full press pack, including images, can be accessed here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cyorixnokqt3k7y/AADgnrYUXywlHK_Leiv73DAxa?dl=0
For press enquiries or interview requests please contact:
Hayley Willis, Head of Communications – [javascript protected email address]
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Key facts about Brighton Festival 2022
- 150 events, exhibitions and installations from 7-29 May 2022
- 124 events or installations will take place indoors across multiple venues
- 36 events are free
- 10 events or digital projects will take place online
- 26 events or installations will take place outdoors across multiple sites or locations
- 101 performances with tickets £10 or less The Pay It Forward scheme will offer free ticket vouchers to community organisations
About Brighton Festival
Established in 1967, Brighton Festival is the largest and most established annual curated multi-arts festival in England. Taking place over three weeks in May, the Festival is a celebration of music, theatre, dance, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and community events in venues and locations across Brighton, Hove and East Sussex.
Since 2009, Brighton Festival has attracted inspiring and internationally significant Guest Directors who bring cohesion to the artistic programme. The inaugural Guest Director was Anish Kapoor (2009) and has subsequently included prominent cultural figures such as Brian Eno (2010), Laurie Anderson (2016), Kae Tempest (2017), David Shrigley (2018), Rokia Traoré (2019) and Lemn Sissay MBE (2020/21).
About Marwa Al-Sabouni
Marwa Al-Sabouni is based in the Syrian city of Homs and was named in the BBC’s 100 Women list 2019. Her acclaimed book, The Battle for Home was chosen by The Guardian as one of the best architectural books of 2016. Her second book, Building for Hope, was published by Thames & Hudson in April 2021.
About Tristan Sharps
Tristan Sharps is Artistic Director of dreamthinkspeak, a multi-disciplinary company, renowned for their site-responsive performances. They create productions that interweave live performance with film and installations that are ambitious in scope and often take place in unusual architectural spaces including a former department store, disused factory, underground abattoir and abandoned office blocks. Previous acclaimed sold-out Brighton Festival performances include Before I Sleep (2010) and The Rest is Silence (2012).