C- T/arab-iscotek

T/arab-iscotek is a series of fiestas born under the impulse of the members of the association ANKH, all LGBTQ+ people exiled in France from Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria or having lived there, to escape the oppression that we suffered.

In a spirit of resilience and in the continuity of what we did in our respective countries, we want to deploy creative and festive energies to defend the independent music scenes of the Arab world and the Mediterranean. We try to highlight rich, complex, and fascinating cultures, far from the orientalist clichés about an "oriental" world that is either totally retrograde or extremely sensual. And above all, we like to give life and live evenings which are spaces of sharing, tolerance, and solidarity, sublimating the party in all its collective dimensions, carrying the voice of the minorities, always in this engaged spirit that characterizes us.

A first event was held in Paris, at Petit Bain, on February 25, then a second one in Marseille, at Molotov, on March 8. A third one was supposed to take place in April in Geneva, at the Usine, but had to be postponed to next season. A special edition also took place on June 18th for the 10th anniversary of Petit Bain. These events allowed to promote the work of: Missy Ness (DJ, Tunisia), Rafi Siin (DJ, Palestine), Hicham Ezzat - Chabana (DJ, Egypt), Aida Salander (DJ, Tunisia), Paloma Colombe (DJ, France/Algeria), Sharouh (DJ, Mediterranean), Hakim (visual artist, Egypt), Aly Negma (oriental dancer, Egypt)

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The t/arab.iscotek evenings were one of the great successes great success of this year for the ANKH association. Gathering artists from different Arab countries, they represented strong moments of reunion and sharing, emotions and joy, between the members of ANKH, the Arab LGBTQI+ community in France, but also a wider public. Discussions are already underway to organize other evenings of this type in the future, in Paris and elsewhere.

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