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Horizons Festival returns to Manchester for Refugee Week - showing unity through art

  • Writer: Helen Clarke
    Helen Clarke
  • Jun 4
  • 2 min read

MCRJourno



Horizons Festival returns to HOME from Thursday 12th June to Sunday 15th June bringing a bold, multi-arts celebration of community, creativity, and connection as part of Refugee Week 2025.


Presented in collaboration with Community Arts North West (CAN), Horizons 2025 embraces this year’s Refugee Week theme 'More in Common'.


The theme seeks to build understanding and break down divisions caused by fear and misinformation.


Audiences are invited to experience a dynamic programme of visual art, film, live music, theatre, and family-friendly workshops - all designed to celebrate the cultural richness of Manchester’s communities, especially those shaped by migration.


Festival highlights begin on Friday 13th June with the 6pm preview of Between the Lines - a new photography exhibition by Pinar Yildiz in HOME’s café bar.



The work reimagines her 2019 project Self Portraits, this time captured in Manchester’s night-lit streets.


A live music performance by Horizons musicians will accompany the opening.


Later that evening at 8:30pm the Arts & Migration Group hosts the Horizons Festival After Party and Networking Event, featuring a special live set from Refugee Action’s band.


On Saturday 14th June families can enjoy a day packed with interactive workshops, including paper mosaics with Ahmed Elzber, Dabke dance with Fares Farraj, printmaking with Linda Wachaga, and craft sessions with Valeria Leonova and Deepa Parmar, exploring Petrykivka painting and Diwali clay lights.



At 3pm Global Youth Takeover takes the stage in Theatre 2 highlighting performances by young people from Afrocats, Band on the Wall, and Culture Bridge.


Horizons Festival is more than a cultural event - it’s a call for unity and celebration through art.


As Anna Vu Thompson, CAN’s Creative Director, said: "Horizons is a space where unheard voices are amplified. We don’t just witness change, we make it happen, together."


Tickets are now available at HOME's website.

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