The Riwaq
Welcome to our exciting temporary Brighton Festival venue on Hove Seafront, on the lawn next to King Alfred Car Park. Join us for a whole month of FREE music, workshops, dance and more...
Click here for Wed 25–Sun 29 Programme
Download our full calendar of events to stick on your wall/fridge/noticeboard here
Introduction from Marwa Al-Sabouni
Riwaq is the Arabic word for colonnade. Architecturally, the Riwaq is a semi-open space, which juxtaposes the building and frames the surrounding open space. It offers a transitional phase between enclosed spaces and open spaces, becoming a threshold for exchange. That’s why it is often figuratively used in Arabic traditions as a referential space for culture and knowledge: the Riwaq of poetry, the Riwaq of culture, and so on.
In Brighton Festival, the Riwaq is going to represent this transitional space of exchange. It will not only embrace the wonderful performances and events which will take place on its stage, it will also host a wide array of great and exciting activities under its sinuous roof. The Riwaq will be buzzing, filled with people visiting, contributing and transforming it into a beautiful meeting spot on the charming seafront of Hove.
The Riwaq is made possible with the support of major sponsor Moda Living, alongside Timber Development UK. Design and fabrication is by setWorks, design collaboration and structural engineering is by Webb Yates, and additional support has come from DHH Timber and Vanessa Norwood.
Past Programmes can be found here:
Click here for the Opening Weekend (7 & 8 May) programme
Click here for Wed 11–Sun 15 Programme
Click Here for Sat 21 & Sun 22 Little Green Pig Takeover Programme
Special Event: The Book of Brighton & Hove Launch, Tue 24 May
Click here for Wed 18–Fri 20 Programme
The Riwaq will host a number of exciting Takeovers throughout the month from the following organisations:
Best Foot Music Takeover
Sat 7 May & Sun 8 May | 11am-5pm both days
Music is a wonderful way to exchange ideas and culture. We are delighted to be working with Best Foot Music to bring you fresh and exciting music to enjoy on May afternoons. Best Foot Music are programming music from individuals who have moved to the UK from around the world.
Create Music Takeover
Sat 14 May, 11am-6pm, FREE
Come along, discover your new favourite artist and see them in an intimate setting before they go on to headline festival stages of the future!
In-House Records Takeover
Thu 12 May, 5pm–7pm | Sun 15 May, 11am - 5pm | Thu 19 May, 5pm–8pm
Music is a wonderful way to exchange ideas and culture. We are delighted to be working with In-House Records to bring you fresh and exciting music to enjoy on May afternoons. In-House Records is a dangerously positive record label for change and an award winning social initiative, operating in and out of UK prisons across the South East of England.
Little Green Pig's Young Writers Takeover
Sat 21 May & Sun 22 May | 11am-5pm both days
Play with words, create powerful poetry, challenge your imagination, and hear young people’s voices amplified. A weekend celebrating the creativity, imagination and hopes of local children and young people through workshops, performances and writing activities.
Eva Quantica
Sat 21 May & Sun 22 May | Drop-in between 12pm - 6pm | FREE
Adjust your VR headset and step inside a surrealist painting.
A dreamlike, reflective bubble of lock-down Brighton. An open world with hands for hills, a cupcake pavilion, platforms, statues, dancing figures and a glowing lifeforce surging through it all.
The Book of Brighton & Hove
Tue 24 May, 4.30pm | Free
The Book of Brighton & Hove is a guide book unlike any other, an invitation to see the city through the eyes of some of its youngest inhabitants – their favourite streets, the places they love and those they don’t, the myths and rumours about the City they’ve been told or even made up themselves, and their hopes and fears for its future at this time of such great uncertainty.
Carousel Takeover
Fri 27 - Sun 29 May
Award-winning Brighton-based arts organisation Carousel present groundbreaking projects that nurture and celebrate learning disabled artists. They will host a selection of events that showcase their work in radio, spoken word and music.
The Riwaq Timelapse
Supported by
The Riwaq is made possible with the support of major sponsor Moda Living, alongside Timber Development UK. Design and fabrication is by setWorks, design collaboration and structural engineering is by Webb Yates, and additional support has come from DHH Timber and Vanessa Norwood.
