The Horizons Festival from HOME and Community Arts North West will return to Manchester 21–23 June 2024 with the theme "Our Planet, Our Home", co-curated with the Arts & Migration Network of displaced local artists.
Horizons will showcase work by locally based artists from a commission programme designed to support artists from refugee backgrounds to develop their creative practice.
On 21 June, there will be a new theatre piece from A M M Noor-Saiyem Khan and a dance piece by sanctuary-seeking women from the voluntary organisation Afrocats, choreographed by Maisha Kungu along with a panel discussion curated by national advocacy organisations Refugee Action and Asylum Matters about the national Communities Not Camps campaign, which advocates for the right for asylum seekers to continue living within communities.
On 22 June, there will be music and dance performances, plus a visual art exhibition and textiles created by children, young people and adults recently settled in the UK through CAN’s community programme, which has been developed in association with Afrocats, Culture Bridge and Global Grooves. Artists included Godfrey Pambalipe, Amang Mardokhy, Magdalen Bartlett, Masresha Wondu, Kate Rothery and Vicky Richards. There will also be creative workshops and a family friendly film screening in association with Celebrating Syria.
Counterpoints Arts’ No Direction Home comedy show will feature stand-up comedians from refugee and migrant backgrounds, headlined by Tadiwa Mahlunge. Tebu Muziki will perform their mix of African Jazz and Afro-fusion in HOME’s Ground Floor Café Bar.
On 23 June, there will be a series of films, including a newly commissioned short film by Valeriia Lukianets, who came to the UK from Ukraine in 2022, plus visual art commissions across the building, including an installation by Deeqa Ismail and a commission by Nisa Chisipochinyi, throughout June and the beginning of July.