London W1W 7SS
United Kingdom
Ibraaz—a new cultural space dedicated to art, culture, and ideas from the Global Majority—opened its doors on Wednesday October 15, 2025 at 93 Mortimer Street, a striking 10,000-square-foot Grade II listed building in the heart of London.
Across six floors, Ibraaz’s programme spans exhibitions, talks, screenings, music, and residencies, activated through its library, café, and bookshop, creating a dynamic hub for encounter and exchange.
Fiften years on, Ibraaz—an initiative of the Kamel Lazaar Foundation—builds on its legacy as a groundbreaking platform for visual culture in and around North Africa and the Middle East. Rooted in London yet globally attuned, it introduces a new kind of institution—underpinned by care, generosity, and joy, and shaped by artists, thinkers, and practitioners from across the Global Majority.
“Born digital in the wake of the Arab Spring, Ibraaz has always believed that ideas rooted in art and culture can gather a community across borders. Today, as it finds a home in London, it embraces hospitality as institutional practice—not as ritual or tradition, but as a way of being open to one another. Amid the noise and velocity of our time, Ibraaz creates a pause—a brave space where urgent questions can be asked, where culture becomes a way of reclaiming our shared humanity, and where to live in plurality is not to be scattered, but to be whole.“ —Lina Lazaar, Founder of Ibraaz and Vice President, Kamel Lazaar Foundation
A building reimagined
The transformation of 93 Mortimer Street has been led by Architect-in-Residence Sumayya Vally, founder of Counterspace, with MSMR Architects. Inspired by London’s diasporic gathering spaces, Vally conceives Ibraaz as a living, evolving structure that adapts over time, situating the institution within a continuum of cultural practices that transcend borders.
The key spaces at Ibraaz take their names and inspiration from communal typologies across Africa and the Arab world: Maktaba (bookshop) and Oula (café) at street level invite the city in; Majlis (assembly space) functions as exhibition hall and gathering place; Minassa (platform) hosts screenings and performances; and, Iqra (library) provides space for reflection and research.
Opening programme
Opening exhibition: Parliament of Ghosts
Ibrahim Mahama, Majlis (Ground Floor), until February 15, 2026
The inaugural exhibition presents Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama’s Parliament of Ghosts, curated by Shumon Basar. Known for politically charged interventions, Mahama transforms the main exhibition space into a site of reflection with installations of reclaimed materials addressing histories of crisis, redemption, and hope.
Library-in-Residence: A Flock of Keen-Eyed and Far Seeing Magpies
The Otolith Group, Iqra (Second Floor), until September 6, 2026
The inaugural Library-in-Residence is presented by The Otolith Group (Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun). Conceived as a live artwork, the Library transforms research into public encounter, gathering books, records, films, and maps across Pan-African and Pan-Asian horizons. Alongside, their platform The Department of Xenogenesis (DXG) hosts The Library Transmissions—a year-long series of talks, screenings, and sonic events. Initial speakers include Adom Getachew (November 2), Shabaka Hutchings (November 20), and David Scott (November 28).
Public programme
Curated by Imed Alibi, Shumon Basar, and Hammad Nasar (Director of Programmes and Content), the multidisciplinary programme unfolds within Mahama’s installation. Highlights this autumn include:
Technology and Power curated by Dr Jaya Klara Brekke (first session on Oct 23): A four-part series on AI, quantum computing, and politics.
Slop Making Sense (November 13): A discussion on generative AI and digital culture with Al Hassan Elwan and Günseli Yalcinkaya.
Book launches: Palestine is Everywhere (November 6) and Trigger 6: Assemblies (November 8).
The music programme, curated by Imed Alibi, spans traditional repertoires and experimental approaches. Upcoming performances include Raed Yassin–Phantom Orchestra (October 25), Nadah El Shazly (November 14), and Samar Haddad King–Losing It (December 6).
Bookshop-in-Residence: Palestine Festival of Literature & Burley Fisher Books
Curated by the Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) and operated by Burley Fisher Books, the bookshop will stock critical theory, literature, and art from around the world, serving as a hub for exchange and dialogue.
Book launches hosted at Ibraaz include: Gaza: The Story of a Genocide (October 18) and Heaven Looks Like Us (October 29).
Café-in-Residence: OULA
Led by French-Tunisian chef and culinary curator Boutheina Ben Salem, OULA brings Tunisian culinary heritage to London. Rooted in matriarchal foodways and storytelling, it celebrates Tunisian terroir, regional diversity, and women’s artisanal labour—drawing on traditions of community and hospitality.
Ibraaz Publishing
Beyond these walls, Ibraaz's editorial life extends further through its online publishing platform, reaching those who may not be able to physically travel to the space but who nevertheless shape its breadth and direction.
The platform, builds on the legacy of Ibraaz 1.0 (2011-17), and has been developed through editorial contributions from Stephanie Bailey (Senior Editor of Ibraaz 1.0), Anthony Downey (former Editor-in-Chief of Ibraaz 1.0) and Lina Lazaar, with further editorial support from Omar Berrada and Shivangi Mariam Raj.
Designed to sustain new writing, interdisciplinary research, artists’ projects, and experimental formats across generations and geographies, the platform lanches with original contributions from Patrick Chamoiseau, Ala Younis, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Hanan Habashi, and Iván Navarro, amongst others.
View Ibraaz's programme online at ibraaz.org and follow us on Instagram.
