Ramadan Streets
This was an exciting cultural event that interlinked faith, culture, and community in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan. Working alongside partners and the team at Soul City Arts, Birmingham City Council was delighted to support the delivery of this event through the UK Government Community Recovery Small Grant Fund. This week-long programme of…
An Evening With – Ustad Hanif Khan
It is a privilege to be hosting world renowned flautist Ustad Muhammad Hanif Khan into our Port Hope venue for an evening of spiritual Hindustani classical music. Ustad Muhammad Hanif Khan is a leading classical musician in Pakistan who honed his skills at numerous national music festivals, conferences and musical academies. Starting his musical career…
SCA Iftar 2025
In the Islamic month of Ramadan, inviting family and friends to your home for ‘Iftar’ to break the fast, share food and pray together is all part of the experience. We look forward to bringing the spirit of Ramadan back into our Port Hope warehouse for our annual iftar. Our resident Chef Munayam Khan of…
Freestyle Sessions
Port Hope opened its doors to a new night of live music and performance—an open, experimental space where musicians, vocalists, storytellers, and poets came together to create without boundaries. There were no rules, no pressure to ‘perform’—just a unique opportunity to collaborate, improvise, and push creative limits alongside other artists. Musicians brought their instruments, voices,…
Quran on Vinyl – Listening Sessions
On Saturday, the 8th of March, during the month of Ramadan, the Listening Sessions invited guests to turn their ears inwards for a suspended moment of spiritual reflection. This exclusive edition of our regular session featured the iconic voice of Abdul Basit ‘Abd us-Samad, the renowned Egyptian qari, reciting the Surah Al-Kahf chapter of the…
Cinema Club
SCA Cinema Club At Soul City Arts we are heavily inspired by the aesthetic of cinema. We want audiences to be able to come into our venue and escape from their everyday lives when entering our spaces and be able to reflect on themselves and society. So we are introducing a new cinema club. SCA…
SCA Cinema Club – Blade Runner
Picking a film to launch our SCA Cinema Club was always going to be difficult. However, those of you who have stepped into our spaces will know that we attempt to transport audiences to beautiful, almost cinematic landscapes which are informed by dystopian sci-fi movies. Blade Runner felt like a great film to compliment the…
SCA Cinema Club – No Other Land
Friday 24th January – No Other Land No Other Land is a raw and urgent documentary by a Palestinian-Israeli filmmaking collective. The film exposes the destruction of the Masafer Yatta villages in the occupied West Bank, capturing the human cost as Israeli forces demolish homes to make way for a military training zone. The story unfolds…
Sleepers Responses
We left with such joyful memories, and it’s something we will cherish for a long time ?Taking the time out to just think with strangers in a cave was extremely powerful. The Installation itself was transformativeThis was one amazing experience I had in my life, from facing my fears to feeling spiritually awakened in those…
How To Find Us
You’ll find us just three miles south from Birmingham City Centre. Unit 1 Port Hope Industrial Estate, Port Hope rd, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, B11 1JS Car We are located just of the A34 – Stratford rd . From the city centre approach from the Camp Hill Circus roundabout on to the Stratford rd. Bus There are…
Worcester Film Festival
We are proud to be supporting Worcester Film Festival this year and have two short films screening at the Odeon in Worcester as part of their South Asian stories season. https://wffschedule.worcesterfilmfestival.co.uk/schedule/66c21513434d1e002ca1c5c9
Sleepers FAQ
What is The Sleepers? The Sleepers is a once in a lifetime experience. It is an intimate immersive cultural experience, for up to seven people at a time. It involves an overnight stay in a specially designed performance space at Soul City Arts venue in Port Hope. The performance will last for approximately 12 hours…
Listening Sessions
The Listening Sessions is an immersive and engaging experience, focusing on the sounds and albums that shaped not only culture but also personal lives. In a world full of noise and daily distractions, Soul City Arts collaborates with Tanzeel Ur-Rehman and his Primrose Avenue Sound System to deliver an intense, meticulously crafted listening environment. Using…
Sparkbrook Film Festival
Soul City Arts presented the Sparkbrook Film Festival, showcasing alternative narratives, classic storytelling, and blockbuster entertainment. Housed in a reclaimed warehouse space in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, it invited audiences into an intimate experience to share a love for local cinema. The aim was to recreate the look, feel, and…
Sleepers
This is the latest project from Soul City Arts where the public were invited to enter an immersive arts installation, guided by a host. They experienced a cave setting along with soundscapes replicating the feeling of being isolated away from modern city life. Taking place at ‘Port Hope’ – an arts centre in the heart…
Halal Food Festival
Halal Food Festival The weekend of the 25th and 26th, we had a presence at the Halal Food Festival, at the NEC Birmingham. We took our classic Soul City style of retro future too the masses. We took this opportunity to spread to word of our mission of using art for social. Having very interesting…
Panjabi tales of willenhall
Panjabi Tales of Willenhall Panjabi tales of Willenhall, a striking photographic exhibition curated by Mohammed Ali MBE of Soul City Arts. It was initiated by Sucha Mela, namely Manpreet Darroch, Ramitirth Uppal and Genesis media with photography by Safwan Chowdhury of Soul City Arts. This project shines a spotlight on the remarkable stories of the…
SCA Academy
An arts organisation with real purpose Soul City Arts (SCA) is committed to developing innovative work with a vision of ‘transforming society through creativity’. We create high quality programmes that bring people together to explore commonalities and shared narratives. Our work is characterised by deep visual spectacles often set within an immersive environment. Founder of…
Qur’an In The City
Ensemble Safaa UK performance at the IKON gallery Birmingham The Birmingham Qur’an manuscript is said to be one of the oldest in the world, held at the Cadbury Research Library, part of the University of Birmingham. Soul City Arts has previously worked with University in bringing out the manuscript for various exhibitions and installations. We…
Eid In Kings Heath
Watch a video from our Second Eid In Kings Heath in 2024: Watch a video from our very First eid In Kings Heath 2023: Eid in Kings Heath is our annual Eid event, returning for a spectacular second year in 2024, in which we transform All Saints Square into a vibrant celebration of culture. “Our…
Gaza: Exploring ‘Resistence’
BOYCOTTS | STREET PROTEST | EDUCATION | CAMPUS TAKEOVER | GRAFFITI On the 11th of May 2024, amidst the rise of resistance around the world. We gathered to discuss the concept of ‘Resistance’ that exists today, in particularly in reference to the crisis in Gaza. We convened at Port Hope for a dialogue and discussion,…
Dining Exchange – Magic Table
We at Soul City Arts wanted to work some magic. Opening a portal, a window into the lives of others. As if distance was no object. Working with our US collaborator Asad Ali Jafri (Space Shift Collective), as well as Mohammed Ali (Soul City Arts) and James Hodkinson (Warwick University), we brought together two communities…
Soul City Arts Iftar 2024
This years event was in support of the Gaza emergency appeal, with the help of Islamic Relief. In response to the current situation we showcased a live art performance by Street Artist Mohammed Ali. On stage before breaking the fast, Ali created a painting inspired by the current situation within the middle east, paired with…
Nomad – A Space to Reflect
What is Nomad Nomad is a space for refuge and an escape from the daily grind. The public are guided through a series of thought-provoking questions surrounding ‘faith’. People’s prayers are a personal and sacred thing, but we bring them into a very visual and public form, providing a fascinating insight into the minds of…
The Sound of an Empire – the roots and power of Qawwali
Sounds of an Empire – The Roots & Power of Qawwali A multi-disciplinary project by Mustafa Chaudhry in collaboration with Soul City Arts. A ‘work in progress’ piece exploring the heritage of Qawwali and the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and its roots within the city of Birmingham. Capturing the essence of a unique…
The story of a Soul City Arts work placement – an insight into the workings of our community based events.
from a second year University of Birmingham student
Soul Fire Sundays
Soul Fire Sundays is our signature live-art, food and music event. For each of these regular events, three guest visual artists from across the UK and beyond, are brought together and invited to paint on bespoke stages against a backdrop of DJ’d soundscapes and food from guest caterers. The venue, a former-industrial unit…
Grit and Soul | 2023 | Barber Institue | An evening of Digital art and live performances, celebrating the Grit and Soul of our city.
Birmingham street-artist and curator Mohammed Ali tells the story of the city, celebrating the graft that is embedded in its DNA. Ali says, ‘Birmingham is no Paris, Tokyo or Milan, it is gritty, but it has soul and that’s how we like it’. Digital visuals are presented alongside performances from celebrated storyteller and author Polarbear…
Bangla Cinema Screening: transformation of Port Hope – a unique take on the nostalgic, local cinema experience.
Soul City Arts’ warehouse space is multifunctional; from hosting school students, film crews to immersive dining events and workshops. Our Port Hope warehouse is a 4000 sqft industrial space in the heart of Sparkbrook that has been described as an ‘Oasis of Creativity’. We recently reimagined the space by transforming it into a unique cinema…
Soul City Arts hosts Salaam ‘O’ Salaam – Breakin’ Jam Birmingham
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’…
Nomad: A Tent for Reflection – Culture Forward | Festival 23
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 flock to #EidinKingsHeath – an alternative Eid celebration
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…
Soul City Arts at Hay Festival: Fear of Faith in the Arts
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…
Ramadan Iftar brings together art, food and faith raising money for charity
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…
Waswasa: Sharing & Reflections Event | Fri 21st October
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…
A sell out show! Waswasa: Whispers in Prayer
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.…
Waswasa: Whispers in Prayer opens to a full-house
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…
Waswasa in the media: features
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…
Waswasa Q&A with Mohammed Ali
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…
Waswasa: Introducing our actors
We are excited to announce our two performers for Waswasa, Hamza Ali, and Mustafa Chaudhry, both physical theatre and movement-based performers who have joined our team. The two actors are currently filming many of the film sequences that will be featured in Waswasa, our biggest and most ambitious theatre show to date as part of…
Waswasa and filming in extended reality: XR
Mohammed Ali has been working with Guidhall Live Events on our latest theatrical production entitled “Waswasa” that will be presented at the Birmingham 2022 Festival. Filming was led by Mohammed who directed the Guidhall Live Events team and Guildhall students to record film sequences shot against an extended reality (XR) set for use as part…
Waswasa community prayer mat events wrap up a month of deep connections for the show
With the fight to get our new space now won late in May 2022, the SCA Team had to move quickly to transform a functional warehouse into a hybrid working and arts space. The new premises had to serve as a making space for us to build the set for Waswasa over the coming summer.…
Waswasa show community launches in new Soul City Arts project base
On June 30th 2022, we welcomed creatives from across the country to our new project base and the new home of Soul City Arts. It was an epic moment of gathering and sharing for a major new commission called ‘Waswasa’ part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival for the Commonwealth Games. It has been quite a…
Waswasa – An Immersive Show (PR)
PRESS RELEASE Unique multi-disciplinary theatrical experience from awarding winning Birmingham artist Mohammed Ali – Waswasa his biggest production to-date Cutting edge and authentic exploration of Islamic Faith Part of Birmingham 2022 Festival of the Commonwealth Games At the Birmingham Hippodrome, 25 August- 03 September 2022 CELEBRATING CREATIVITY IN BIRMINGHAM AS PART OF…
Quiet Rebels – Dervish Productions
Stories of white working-class women who crossed the colour line to marry men of the Windrush generation. Julie McNamara and Hassan Mahamdallie’s extensive research gives voice to the stories of these unsung women, who faced hostility, battled discrimination and showed courage in the face of racism, class and gender prejudice and, who lay the foundations…
The Value of Art – supported by Amal
Soul City Arts delivered the regular Soul Fire Sundays where visual artists were hosted to paint along with food being served. We created this series of films where we ask them all the same question: ‘What is the value of art in their lives and the world today”. Through these films we wish to strip…
A Night of Immigrant Stories: 4 Short Films
An international celebration of the joys and struggles of the immigrant experience. 4 Short Films. 4 Independent Filmmakers. 1 Night Only DREAMER directed by Vergi Rodriguez THE JOURNEY directed by Ben Briand THE POWER OF LEGACY directed by Mohammed Ali A-N-D-R-E-A directed by Armando Valdes-Kennedy Talking about the event Mohammed Ali said, The…
Mateer Tan – “Land is Calling” mural on Brick Lane
The idea of being caught in between two lands and the duality as an immigrant generation is explored in this mural ‘Mateer Tan’ (Land is calling) now complete on Brick Lane. Too often street-art murals fail to engage and resonate with the people that live amongst those walls. It’s always baffled me. This community steeped…
Community Prayer mat events
Soul City Arts is delivering a compelling immersive theatrical show, that explores the Muslim experience of prayer and how it is perceived in British society. The ‘Waswasa’ show is part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival and takes place in August at the Birmingham Hippodrome. We are building towards the show by capturing thoughts and prayers…
The Art of Visual Storytelling: Voices of Faith and Migration
An immersive performance which blends film screening and viewing, ambient sound, live digital art and artist-audience conversation. This immersive, multi-media event, blends film screening and viewing, live digital art and bespoke soundtracks with interactive conversation. Drawing on Mohammed Ali’s projects of recent years, and his collaboration with Warwick’s Dr James Hodkinson, it showcases how this…
Bangladeshi Tales from Kings Cross
Artist Mohammed Ali celebrated the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh at the Bloomsbury Festival, bringing life to the frontages of Holy Cross Church and the British Library. Film projections told the stories of early Bangladeshi migrants, capturing their struggles, hardships, and joys as they built new lives in a foreign land. The interviews highlighted the journeys…
Congregate 3.0 live stream from BMAG
Reconnecting and Reactivating | A post-eid hybrid live stream We’ve had over a year of lockdown amidst the global pandemic. It’s also been a year since Congregate first began responding to that experience. Now, with the holy month of Ramadan just behind us, the Soul City Arts team invited guest artists from the UK and…
Same Boat – an artistic response
‘The Same Boat’ is an artistic response to the life of St Wulfram, inspired by the ‘Stations of the Cross’. Father Stuart has done a series of short films offering a reflection on each of the art installations for ‘The Same Boat’. Father Stuart said: “St Wulfram’s is so proud to be hosting this amazing…
Meet Soul City Arts’ Executive Director – Rajpal Pardesi
Enhancing the foundations of a global arts organisation with Birmingham roots: Soul City Arts hires Executive Director Rajpal Pardesi As an arts organisation, Soul City Arts has a track record of delivering groundbreaking artistic programming on all continents of the world, from festivals in Malaysia to youth conferences in Sweden, a multi-artist led mural with…
Happy New Year 2021 from Soul City Arts
Happy New Year 2021 We at Soul City Arts wish you a happy new year. 2020 was a tough year, a real test for us all. We want to remind our friends and supporters that it is through hardships that we grow stronger… Life will always throw obstacles at us, but it’s down to us…
Live Streaming with Soul City Arts: World Day of Remembrance with WHO
xfcomments A live stream collaboration with the World Health Organization Friday, 13th November saw a multi-faceted live stream come to life as part of a Global Online Commemoration for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The event takes place on the third Sunday of every November to remember those lost on the…
Live streaming with Soul City Arts: Genocide Summit
A live stream collaboration on historical injustices Soul City Arts recently collaborated with the Sycamore Foundation and the Srebrenica Memorial Centre. Global Summit: Genocide, We Said, Never Again Supported by the office of President Izetbegović of Bosnia, comes this timely international, digital summit exploring the atrocities of genocide. With a particular focus on the…
Live streaming with Soul City Arts: Eid-in-Place
A live stream collaboration with the Zakat Foundation of America As the world evolves through an unprecedented time, in a global pandemic, we started to feel the void as we considered what Eid 2020 would look like. Knowing we had to serve our communities with love, inspiration and humor, we strategized with close friends and…
White Pariah: Quiet Rebels
White Pariahs: Quiet Rebels brings to our stages stories of the white working-class women who crossed the colour line to marry the men of the Windrush generation who emigrated to Britain after WWII. Th development of this show took place during the lockdown period, so all rehearsals and performances had to be delivered online. Soul…
From the archives: 2014 – True to Life at Birmingham Museum with Mark Gonzales
Soul City Arts were asked to curate a performance in response to the True To Life photographic exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Artists Mark Gonzales, Amerah Salah and Andy Mason responded to the exhibition on display and performed in the gallery space. Mohammed Ali curated the final performance.
From the archives: 2018 – Barber on the Streets.
Soul City Arts curates live-art performances: Three Artists respond to masterpieces from the collection at Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Barber on the Streets was first showcased during Birmingham Weekender 2017 festival. Artist & Curator Mohammed Ali MBE and co-curator Matt Reeves work together to design and construct a compelling street-structure for each artist to…
From the archives: 2001 – White Table Dinner, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London
Mohammed Ali along with Tshaka Campbell and hang percussionist Daniel Waples is invited by the White Table Dinner to deliver at the Foreign Commonwealth Office in Westminster, London back in 2011. Tshaka Campbell is a highly accomplished performer, a Hollywood Slam Champion in 2007, with appearances from the legendary Apollo Theatre to the poetry Cafe…
Soul City Arts celebrates Elevate Grant with immersive Zoom session
Soul City Arts celebrates Elevate Grant with immersive Zoom session Just before COVID-19 hit the world, we at Soul City Arts had shared the news of our ‘Elevate’ award from the Arts Council England. Elevate focuses on organisational development and resilience and as recipients, will see Soul City Arts grow its oraganizational capacities. We were…
Prayer Project – Why do we pray?
We are excited to share our new concept which explores the concept of prayer through visual-art, installation, performance and discussion. Over the coming 2 years we are developing this program which will dissect, demystify and decode the muslim prayer. We are supported by the University of Warwick and are currently exploring new partners to join…
Our latest Congregate Live Show
Born in the dark days of lockdown, Congregate has evolved into a layered, immersive broadcast that reaches beyond conventional live streaming. It translates both the characteristic social engagement and the artistic feel of many of Soul City Arts other projects. We weave live and pre-recorded contributions from artists, musicians, academics and activists from around the…
From the Archives: Community tours
Bus tours from the past10 years ago Soul City Arts was regularly delivering street-art tours in the Sparbbrook and Small Heath area. A range of people such as Interfaith leaders, school groups and professional leadership groups were taken on our unique guided tours on a bus. These groups wanted to learn about the actual people…