Hidden Gems 2019
An afternoon celebrating Lincoln’s Arabic and Anatolian Cultures
by Daniel Barnes (3rd year BA music student)
Illustrated with photos by Sophie Hillman
On the 12th of January at Lincoln’s Performing Arts Centre, the second edition of Hidden Gems took place. Hidden Gems is an event focusing on the vast array of culture available in Lincoln, bringing it into the spotlight at University of Lincoln for all to experience. This year the Arabic and Anatolian community went all out, creating a truly memorable event.
Hidden Gems 2019 – Performance in LPAC auditorium. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
The afternoon started off with an arts and crafts workshop where attendees sat down and created colorful paper items and produced beautiful calligraphy. After the workshop had concluded, everyone moved to the cafe, where food and drink was made available.
Hidden Gems 2019 – Tasty baklava sold by the Arabic School for All. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
Curry Jack’s provided amazing tajine, which many were claiming to be the best they ever had. The various Arabic teas available were a perfect accompaniment to the melt in the mouth baklavas provided by the Arabic School For All (ASFA). And for 50p a slice, who could resist just a single try?
Hidden Gems 2019 – White and Gold Arabic tea set. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
To access to the main performance space, the audience was required to walkthough an interactive experience. Varying screens displayed traditional dances, food and weddings, accompanied by cookbooks, wedding garments and headscarves, all of which one could admire in detail. Displayed on various tables were decorated tea sets, jewelry and date plates, arranged in a home style environment, giving an insight into some of the home furnishings of an Arabic household.
Hidden Gems 2019 – Home decorations. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
Once people had made their way through the walkthrough display and into the auditorium, the main evening event began, opened by ASFA’s Children’s Choir who performed a lively song in Arabic and followed up by Liam and Jordan, poets from the University of lincoln.
Hidden Gems 2019 – Woman’s headscarf. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
We were lucky to have the amazing Çiğdem Aslan Trio performing for us, with a range of music from Turkey and its surrounding countries. The dress that Çiğdem wore, was made by the Universities own fashion department especially for the night!
Hidden Gems 2019 – Cigdem Aslan Trio at LPAC. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
Manal Rawaeh and Amjad Batous graced us with some songs from Syria, playing a brilliant set which was thoroughly enjoyed.
Hidden Gems 2019 – Manal Rawaeh and Amjad Batous at LPAC. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
Charlie Gualitieri and Jane Simmons from the Outspoken Poets performed some of their original poems.
Dr. Taghread Hudaib performed beautiful poetry in its original language of Arabic, accompanied by the translation so that we could understand as well as appreciate the music of the language.
Hidden Gems 2019 – The Moroccan guembri. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
Fouad B. performed a short set on the guembri, a Moroccan bass instrument. He announced “I will show you how to play it”, before launching into amazing bass riffs which captivated the audience.
The evening closed with a second set by Çiğdem Aslan, who were applauded into playing an encore.
We would like to give a special thank you to the Arabic School For All for making the event possible, without their input it would not have been half the event it was.
We would also like to thank the University of Lincoln staff and students who made the event possible including the LPAC technicians, the LPAC front of house staff, the fashion department, the music department, the drama department and Rowan Gatfield from the design department who created this year’s magical graphics.
Hidden Gems 2019 – Graphics by Rowan Gatfield. Photo credit: Sophie Hillman
And finally, a huge thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a special evening, it was a joy to be a part of.
All photos by Sophie Hillman.
For more photos of the event please visit her flickr page.