In solidarity with Palestine, and in reflection of the rich and diverse cultural scene of the region, Bethlehem Cultural Festival is to return to Glasgow for a special one-off event.
First launched in 2020, the festival is an independent platform that spotlights the artists, arts and culture of Palestine and Bethlehem.
The forthcoming event, BCF x Habibti presents: Watermelon Womxn: a musical journey through Palestine, presents a programme that was scheduled to take place during last December’s festival, which was subsequently cancelled.
With net proceeds from the event being donated to support the work of Médecins Sans Frontières in Gaza, BCF x Habibti presents: Watermelon Womxn: a musical journey through Palestine will feature performances from Hiba Salameh, Nada Shawa and Hiba Abdullah.
Palestinian DJ and filmmaker Hiba Salameh will present an artist talk consisting of a musical journey through a history of Palestinian music, while Palestinian human rights activist, poet and dancer Nada Shawa, who is based in Edinburgh, and Lebanese DJ and selector Hiba Abdullah, who is based in Glasgow, will also be performing.
READ MORE: Brits-nominated Scottish DJ on his 'surreal' rise to fame
Following the performances, a Q&A with the artists will be hosted by LUMA, a London-based DJ and founder of party and DJ workshop initiative Habibti Nation.
Cairsti Russell, Glasgow Programme, said: "This event was originally planned to take place in December but with the ongoing situation and continued devastating loss of life it did not feel appropriate to continue as planned. This postponed event will now take a different format and instead of being a celebration it will be a space to learn. Bethlehem Cultural Festival offers an independent platform for Palestinian artists, and we believe freedom of expression is crucial, particularly at this time.”
LUMA, DJ and Habibti Nation founder, said: “Music and the arts are a form of beautiful resistance and it is important to shine a light on Palestine right now by spotlighting these Palestinian female artists. Habibti Nation is happy to co-host with the Bethlehem Cultural Festival two nights of performances by a line-up of all-female Palestinian artists, Hiba Salameh from Palestine, and come together with our community in these difficult times.”
BCF x Habibti presents: Watermelon Womxn: a musical journey through Palestine will take place on Saturday, March 9, from 7-9pm at Civic House.
Tickets are available here
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here