Hip hop celebrates its 50th anniversary, and in 2024, breakdancing – officially named ‘breaking’ – will be at the Olympics for the first time at the Summer Games in Paris. To mark this moment, Bboy Bobak Champion is brought Birmingham-based Muslim young men together to develop their breaking skills and showcase their skills. Salaam ‘O’…
As part of the University of Birmingham’s Culture Forward initiative, Soul City Arts created an installation entitled ‘NOMAD’ for Festival ’23. The event took place on Thursday 3rd August 2023 from 11-4pm at the Exchange Building in Birmingham, Artistic Director Mohammed Ali brought a specially made ‘nomadic reflection booth’ for the public to step inside…
Thousands turn out for #EidinKingsHeath ‘Eid in Kings Heath’ was an unprecedented celebration event for everyone of all faiths and backgrounds. Thousands joined throughout the day to join in with the Islamic festival of Eid that took place at All Saints Square on Sunday 2nd July 2023 between 12pm-6pm. Neighbours and residents gathered to experienced…
On Tuesday 30 May 2023 on Hwyl Stage at the Hay Festival performers and directors from two ground-breaking acclaimed productions, Peaceophobia and Waswasa – which explore faith, systemic racism and the lived experience of young Muslim men in Bradford and Birmingham – discussed why the arts are so secular and if audiences are scared of…
Millions of Muslims around the world begin fasting as the holy month of Ramadan starts. During this time, the spirit of community and togetherness is at the core of every Iftar, the opening of the fast, bringing blessings. In this spirit, Soul City Arts invited people from all communities whether they fast or not, to…
Our show Waswasa was drawn to a close in September to packed audiences at the Birmingham Hippodrome. We are now inviting you to join us in the new home of Soul City Arts – a 4000 square-foot warehouse space in the heart of Sparkbrook, Birmingham.We are hosting a special Waswasa Reflection & Sharing event on…
On Thursday 25th August 2022, our new show Waswasa: Whispers in Prayer opened its doors at the Patrick Studio of the Birmingham Hippodrome to a packed audience. In our first major production since the pandemic, droves of the community, including those who have never visited a theatre before, joined us in our truly immersive show.…
On Thursday 25th August 2022, our new show Waswasa: Whispers in Prayer opened its doors at the Patrick Studio of the Birmingham Hippodrome to a packed audience. In our first major production since the pandemic, droves of the community, including those who have never visited a theatre before, joined us as we began our 9-day…
As we geared up towards our biggest show yet, Waswasa: Whispers in Prayer as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, a number of media outlets featured the show and undertook interviews with our Artistic Director Mohammed Ali and the Soul City Arts team. Waswasa: Whispers in Prayers ran from Thu 25 Aug – Sat 3…
What first connected you to creativity? Since a child, I’ve always been into art. Many Asian families would encourage their children to become Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, I knew early on that I was destined for the creative sector. I’ve tried my best to shake it out of my system but it never worked. Here I…