A Tour of Global and Inclusive Events To Watch Out For in 2022

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We’re finally nearing the end of the year, and looking forward to 2022 being full of (good) surprises. And as we wait for it, we’re preparing ourselves for another round of exciting events around the globe, in arts, culture, and more. 

The inclusive list below looks at exhibitions, concerts, and interactive content you can lose yourself in. This is not your regular list of events, it’s a dive into the unknown with something for everyone. So if this end of the year has been stressful, you may find escape in one of these.

A FIRE IN MY BELLY (Berlin, Germany)

A Fire In My Belly - hosted 06 February 2021 - 30 January 2022 - is a large collection exhibition, featuring over thirty artists from different generations and backgrounds, who examine how experiences of violence and loss are enacted, witnessed, and transformed, through a variety of media and contexts.

Comprising film, video, photography, painting, sculpture, and poetry, the exhibition explores how artists negotiate and transcend these experiences through personal and political gestures of protest and resistance. 

More information on Julia Stoschek Collection’s website.

FACESOUL (London, UK)

Born in Somalia and raised in London, FACESOUL overcame hardships with a powerful determination to find and share life's beauty. A child of the diaspora, 27-year-old FACESOUL - Faisal Salah, of his real name - lives his life in service, exploring his spirituality, and offers his music as a form of medicine. His past releases, "Grow" and "Through The Dark'' via COLORSxSTUDIOS, beautifully display his brilliant artistry and unparalleled ability to create music that connects deeply with the soul. With “Grow”, the artist built from scratch the soundscape with a looped pedal, creating that powerful and poetic rhythm that somehow profoundly connects with you. 

FACESOUL will play at Hoxton Hall in London, UK on February 18, 2022. You can find more information and tickets on dice.fm 

47SOUL (London, UK)

Marsm and Jazz Cafe present the return of the Palestinian powerhouse, 47SOUL. The spearheading musical trio have created global headlines with their no-compromise dance music, pioneering a genre they named Shamstep, in which hip-hop and electronica are fused with Middle Eastern melodies and excellence. Their trademark sound, rooted in shaabi music, pop culture, and tantalising dabke beats, has become incredibly popular both internationally and in the Arabic-speaking world. From their dynamic stage presence to their bilingual lyrics and showstopping visuals, 47SOUL have become one of the leading voices within Palestine’s cultural resistance. 

Catch them at The Jazz Cafe in London, on February 18, 2022, for the exclusive debut of their latest album ‘Semitics. More information on The Jazz Cafe website. 

Ravi Shankar: Ragamala to Rockstar Exhibition (Chicago, USA)

The Asia Institute announced the debut of the art and music exhibition, “Ravi Shankar: Ragamala to Rockstar - A Retrospective of The Maestro's Life in Music”, the first US exhibition of concert poster art, photography, and film celebrating Ravi Shankar, hosted November 6, 2021 – March 5, 2022. 

Legendary sitar pioneer Ravi Shankar, whom The Beatles’ George Harrison called the “Godfather of World Music”, was instrumental in bringing Indian classical music to mainstream audiences in the west. Shankar became a pop culture superstar and a celebrity, unlike anyone who looked or sounded like him before. The exhibition is an opportunity to experience the musician’s groundbreaking career in music through an unprecedented collection of rare concert posters, psychedelic art prints, personal artifacts, and more. Mentoring high-profile artists like Phillip Glass, John Coltrane, and Harrison, Shankar’s musical diplomacy brought Eastern music and cultural ideology to mainstream Western culture. More information on the South Asia Institute’s website, via chicagogallerynews.com

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair (Marrakech, Morocco)

The African Art Fair is back for its 2022 edition at the newly refurbished La Mamounia hotel, welcoming leading galleries from Africa and around the world. This edition will feature what is listed as an ambitious programme including talks and events partnership with local institutions from the Musee Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech, Musee d’Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden (MACAAL), and the Fondation Montresso, among others.

The next edition will happen March 3-6, 2022 in Marrakech, Morocco. 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair is also hosted every year in New York (USA), Paris (France), and London (UK). For more information, go to 1-54.com/marrakech

QUEER (Melbourne, Australia)

Queer shines a light on the NGV Collection, opening 10 March 2022, to examine and reveal the queer stories works of art can tell. This exhibition spans historical eras and diverse media including painting, drawing, photography, decorative arts, fashion, video, sculpture, and design, and explores queerness as an expression of sexuality and gender, a political movement, a sensibility, and as an attitude that defies fixed definition.

Many works in the exhibition are by artists who identify as queer; some are by artists who lived in times when such identification was not possible, while some other works are not by queer artists but have a connection to queer histories. The exhibition highlights that queerness is intersectional and that LGBTQ+ rights are interwoven with other political and equality movements. Go to NGV International’s website for more information ngv.vic.gov.au

Zanzibar International Film Festival (Zanzibar)

The Zanzibar International Film Festival, or Festival of the Dhow Countries, brings in the same location the arts and cultures of several East African countries including those of India, Pakistan, the Gulf States, Iran, and the Indian Ocean islands. Often referred to as East Africa’s largest cultural event, the event attracts a large variety of cultural experiences and screenings, from film competition - being the main event - music, theatre, performing arts, but also workshops, and conferences. 

The festival - hosted every year in July - spans across several beautiful and historical venues near the seafront in Stone Town, with a Village Panorama that extends the festival outwards to the rural communities. The dates of the 2022 event will be communicated at a later date. More information to come on filmmakers.festhome.com