The Horizons Festival is a partnership between CAN and HOME as part of Refugee Week. Horizons Festival is a contemporary, family-friendly festival, diverse in its programming, bringing together work created with communities and artists as well as international, national, and regional projects of excellence. The festival creates a northern platform for Refugee Week, celebrating the huge contribution refugees make to the cultural, political, social, and economic life of the UK.
The festival ran between Saturday 15 June – Friday 21 June 2019, at Manchester’s HOME.
“Outstanding. There was a connection in the whole room between the band, the audience, and the people beside me.”
“The atmosphere was electric.”
“This concert highlighted the humanity of people who have had to leave their homes for a variety of reasons. They shared their sorrow through music, but also their joy, their love and their fun.”
“Fascinating to watch, thank you.”
“Fun and something different.”
“This looks amazing! If I was up in Manchester, I would definitely be there.”
“A powerful show tonight by PSYCHEdelight. Thank you for sharing with us and challenging us. And great work by CAN supporting Lift the Ban.”
“I especially loved MIRO – music for the heart and soul.”
“So many great events coming up through the Horizons Festival for Refugee Week here in Manchester!”
“What a brilliant programme opening.”
Audience feedback from the festival.
CAN’s 2020 Refugee Week Festival was delivered digitally because of the social distancing required by the COVID pandemic.
Photos from 2019’s Horizons Festival:
View the full photo album of Day One here. Photos by Shirlaine Forrest.
Horizons Festival 2019 – Programme At A Glance:
Sat 15 Jun – Welcome to the UK
13:00 – 17:00 Sanctuary Souk Global Marketplace, FREE
13:00 – 14:00 Storytelling Workshop with Emmanuel Bajiiji, FREE
13:00 – 14:00 Cultural Dance Class with Magdalen Bartlett, FREE
13:00 – 15:00 Horizons Short Films
14:00 – 15:00 Circus Skills with Masresha Wondmu, FREE
15:00 – 16:00 Sub-Saharan African Singing and Percussion Workshop, FREE
15:00 – 16:00 Incredible Week for the Banks Theatre Performance by RAPAR, FREE
16:00 – 17:00 The Free Association Discussion Group, FREE
17:00 – 18:00 Lift the Ban Creative Workshop, FREE
18:00 – 18.20 Public Launch with speeches by Mustafa Alachkar, Ana Lucia Cuevas, Katherine Rogers, and Anne Louise Kershaw, FREE
18:20 – 19:30 Music performance by Kurdish duo, Afrinis, FREE
18:30 – 19:45 Manchester International Roots Orchestra (MIRO) & Amani Choir Double Bill
19:30 – 22:30 DJ Mayeva, FREE
20:00 – 21:00 A Story of a Place – Book Signing and Talk, FREE
20:00 – 21:30 Welcome to the UK Theatre Production
Sun 16 Jun – Crossing Borders
12:20 – 12:50 An Enduring Struggle For Justice – Exhibition Tour, FREE
13:00 – 14:00 Creative Memory of the Syrian Revolution: Exhibition Tour, FREE
14:30 – 15:45 The Travelling Heritage Bureau Film Screening
16:30 – 20:00 Cohere Installation, FREE
17:00 – 18:00 Cohere Performance, FREE
18:00 – 19:00 Abstract is the Wind; Art and Music Installation, FREE
Mon 17 Jun – Free to Dance
19:00 – 20:00 Sir Pe Talwar Dance Production
20:00 – 21:00 Mulembas D’Africa Dance Performance and Workshop, FREE
Tue 18 Jun – DECLARATION
10:00 – 16:00 Shared Space: A Learning Lab
18:00 Island of Hungry Ghosts Film
19:00 – 20:00 DECLARATION! Performance
20:00 – 21:00 Displacing the Displaced: Human Rights, Refugees and Migrant Justice Discussion, FREE
20:45 – 21:30 Young Amani Music Performance, FREE
Wed 19 Jun – Female Resistance
18:00 – 19:45 The Echo of Pain of The Many Screening and Discussion
20:45 – 21:30 WAST Nightingales Choir, FREE
Thu 20 Jun – Love is my Religion
19:00 – 20:00 Seyed Ali Jaberi and the Hamdel Ensemble Musical Performance
20:45 – 21:45 Sarah Yaseen Musical Performance, FREE
Fri 21 Jun – Global Rave
19:00 – 23:00 DJ Irfan Rainy, FREE
20:00 – 22:30 Global Rave (Blanchard De Plaizir & Psyfunktions)
