London’s Hayward Gallery explores experimental and artistic sound from the Middle East

Magdi Mostafa’s Wisdom Tower: from the series Sound Cells (Fridays), 2009-2012) for Echoes & Reverberations at the Hayward Gallery Project Space (Courtesy: Magdi Mostafa)

It seems that London is the place to be this summer if you are interested in Middle Eastern art. Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture, the festival that runs from July 11-26 is taking over the whole city and looks to be a fabulous event with many really well curated shows. Today’s highlight is the exhibition at the Hayward Gallery Project Space, part of the city’s Southbank Centre that features the work of six contemporary artists from the Middle East and North Africa who all explore the evocative potential of sound, from stories to music and ambient noise, and the role that sound can play in shaping and recalling history.

Echoes & Reverberations features work by Jumana Emil Abboud, who lives and works in Jerusalem, Anas Al-Shaikh from Bahrain, Basma Alsharif who classes herself as a regional nomad, Samah Hijawi, who divides her time between Jordan and Belgium, Magdi Mostafa from Cairo and Joe Namy, from Beirut. The show features film, drawing, sculpture and a key part of the exhibition is also performance - a number of which relating to the artworks will take place on July 18.

* Echoes & Reverberations runs until August 16. For more information visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk