Horizons Festival takes place at HOME from Fri 21 Jun – Sun 23 Jun and includes a whole day of Family Friendly activities on Sat 22 Jun. The festival celebrates stories of migration; bringing together the creative contributions, traditions and talents of refugees and displaced artists of all ages who are now based in Manchester and inviting people to come together, share, connect and learn.

The festival is organised in partnership with Community Arts North West (CAN) and co-curated with HOME’s Arts & Migration Network of displaced local artists. It will creatively explore the theme Our Planet, Our Home as an expansion on Our Home, which is the theme for Refugee Week (17- 23 Jun).

Family Friendly events taking place on Sat 22 Jun include the following:

Join painter and illustrator Tina Ramos Ekongo to do your own colourful tile painting, inspired by her beautiful art mosaics. Have some creative fun with your family and then take your artwork home as a memento. The activity takes place from 12:00 – 16:00 and is suitable for ages 5+. Drop-in Clay Art Painting Workshop with Tina Ramos Ekongo is a drop in session and no booking is required.

Creativity through music is the focal point of the Family Music Workshop with Sanja Govorcin, which will feature musical games and songs that embrace fun and can be enjoyed in a language of your choice. The workshop is suitable for ages 5+, takes place at 14:00 and 16:15 and no previous musical experience is necessary. Tickets are pay what you can and are bookable here.

Bringing the element of dance to the festival is Angelina Abel; choreographer and artistic director of Mulembas d’Africa. Angela invites families to join her in a dance that expresses her Angolan heritage; where ancestral spirituality guides through each movement allowing you to release the energy, expand the soul and embrace the roots. Angolan Dance Workshop with Angelina Abel takes place at 13:00 and 15:15, is suitable for ages 5+ and tickets are pay what you can and can be booked here.

The festival’s high energy continues with a display of live drumming and singing from the Zimbabwean-born Mancunian Godfrey Pambalipe, and a live performance by children new to Manchester The performance will take place in HOME’s café bar at 14:30, is suitable for all ages and no booking is required. This is also the perfect time to see the newly commissioned and co-created Horizons Festival Banner, which uses culturally specific fabrics and patchwork to represent the many nationalities who reside in Manchester. It has been created with refugee and local young people and adults working alongside textile artists, Kate Rothery.

Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo is a Family Friendly film that is presented in partnership with Celebrating Syria. It tells the story of Dounia, a six-year-old Syrian girl who leaves her home town of Aleppo with her grandparents following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. With just a few nigella seeds tucked in the palm of her hand she has some big challenges to face, which she does with the Princess of Aleppo guiding her along the way. It is an animated film in Arabic with English subtitles. The screening is at 13:00, tickets are pay what you can and are bookable here.

In HOME’s Inspire Gallery visitors will be able to see the Our Planet, Our Home exhibition created by refugee and local children and adults in Stockport who have worked alongside Kurdish artist, Amang Mardokhy. The exhibition reflects the festival theme, Our Planet, Our Home and features work in ink, charcoal, and paint. No booking is required and the exhibition will be open until 30 Aug.

For more information on everything featured within the Horizons festival and to book your tickets visit www.homemcr.org/event/horizons-festival-2024 or contact the box office at 0161 200 1500.