A night in Andalusia with Lila BORSALI

At the Royal Academy of Music, London

In video

Ahead of the show "A night in Andalusia" New Arab speaks to Lila Borsali to delve into the rich history of Al-Andalus, its music and its enduring North African legacy

A night in Andalusia with Lila BORSALI

At the Royal Academy of Music, London

In video covered by ARABS IN UK

A video covering our rehearsals in London.

A weekly music gathering in central London is helping to preserve Algerian Andalusian music within the UK diaspora, offering a welcoming space for learning, performance and cultural connection.

 DZ Fest brings Algerian culture centre stage in the UK

 With more than two million Algerians and people of Algerian heritage living in France – a smaller community of roughly 35,000 has made its home in the United Kingdom. In 2022, Rachida Lamri founded the DZ Fest, a cultural festival designed to celebrate and showcase Algerian traditions in English. RFI was present at this year's event. 

  Un hommage sera rendu à la défunte artiste Hasna El Becharia (1950-2024) à l’occasion de la 3e édition du festival algérien des arts et culture «Dz Fest'», prévu du 14 au 27 septembre 2025, à Londres et à Nottingham, en Grande-Bretagne 

    Deuxième édition du DzFest : La culture algérienne contemporaine célébrée au Royaume-Uni

Le festival algérien des arts et de la culture DzFest revient cette année avec un riche programme célébrant la culture algérienne contemporaine. Après une première édition organisée en 2022, le festival revient cette année pour présenter, au cœur du Royaume-Uni, de nouvelles facettes de la culturelle algérienne.  

  Algerians in the UK: Challenging stereotypes and coming together for the love culture!

 Algerian culture reflects the rich history of the country. Rachida Lamri, host of DzFest, explains why even in exile its diaspora craves to be close to it and celebrate the array of food, music, literature, and fashion linked to the land.

 In 2022, with years of dedicated cultural and artistic work – admittedly not sufficient to neuter the long-lasting echoes of our tragic past– Algerian culture remains largely absent on the international cultural scene, ever haunted by the tragic 1990s and the resulting stereotypes which remain mostly unchallenged and, frankly, exhausting.  

 Why new British-Algerian Festival is crucial in improving the visibility of the community 

Ethnic minorities are well aware of the lack of positive representation in UK media. I grew up in a town in the suburb of Paris with a large concentration of Arabs mostly from North Africa and it is often seen as the perfect place to learn about our culture through art and food which is not necessarily the case in England. And the ‘Dz Fest’, the first British-Algerian festival being organised in London couldn’t have come at a better time.

 Organization, in London, of Algerian Cultural Festival for Arts, Culture “Dz Fest” 

  The Algerian Cultural Festival for the Arts and Culture (Dz Fest), to be held from 30 September to 8 October in London, will be marked by the organization of several exhibitions and activities meant to introduce the richness and diversity of the Algerian culture to London’s inhabitants, according to the event’s organizers.