TALES FROM 1001 NIGHTS: Dia al-Azzawi: Excursion Across Time

An intimate afternoon of art, storytelling and music inspired by The Annotated Arabian Nights (translated by Yasmine Seale, published in 2021), to mark the closing of Dia al-Azzawi’s solo exhibition: Excursion Across Time at Richard Saltoun Gallery, London.

 

Syrian-British hakawati (storyteller) Alia Alzougbi will bring one of the tales from One Thousand and One Nights to life within Dia al-Azzawi’s exhibition, which includes several works based on Arabic literature. Alia’s reading will be accompanied by live music by Mario Christofi and Leah Saltoun, drawing on musical traditions from across the Middle East and Mediterranean. The publication, richly illustrated with works by Dia al-Azzawi and other artists, will be available for purchase on the day.

 

 

The Annotated Arabian Nights is a magnificient and richly illustrated volume with a groundbreaking translation framed by illuminating commentary of the most famous story collection of all time. Poet and translator Yasmine Seale's contemporary and lyrical translations  reclaims the vitality and delight of the stories, as she works with equal skill in both Arabic and French. Beautifully illustrated throughout with art from Europe and the Arab and Persian world, the latter often ignored in English-language editions, The Annotated Arabian Nights expands the visual dimensions of the stories, which have always been—and still are—in dialogue with fine artists.

 

Excursion Across Time is a historical overview of the career of British-Iraqi artist Dia al-Azzawi (b. Baghdad, 1939), curated by Louisa Macmillan. This exhibition marks half a century since Azzawi moved to London, although it is only his second solo show in the city he calls home (the first was in 1978). The presentation is centred around recurring themes that shaped his early practice and continue to inspire his work. Marking his first presentation in London in nearly fifty years, it offers a rare and timely opportunity to gain insight into Azzawi's personal journey through the decades, and also peer across the deep history of the Arab world and beyond.

 

Alia is an artist, curator and creative director. As a storyteller, her practice is committed to preserving Arab folklore through contemporary takes on traditional tales. A self-described Professional Dreamer, she is passionate about imagination as both strategy and survival — and as the crucial first step in building the world we all deserve. She is the Artistic Director & CEO of Shubbak Festival -- Europe's largest festival of contemporary Arab arts.

 

Mario Christofi and Leah Saltoun are a London-based contemporary folk duo. Drawing on musical traditions from the Arab world and Mediterranean they employ the evocative textures of their instruments - oud, daf, flutes, riqq with a contemporary sensibility. Together and individually, they have performed across the UK and are frequent collaborators with cultural platforms such as MARSM and Shubbak Festival.