Published
Fri, Feb 12, 2021, 20:10
- Deena Abdelwahed, Liliane Chlela and Makimakkuk are among those playing.
Hiya Live is a new virtual music festival focusing on women artists around Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Deena Abdelwahed, live electronic artist Liliane Chlela, Ramallah-based MC/producer Makimakkuk, Egyptian singer-songwriter Aya Metwali and Armenian-Austrian DJ Lucia Kagramanyan are among those scheduled to play the two-day festival, which runs from March 13th through 14th.
Each act on the line-up makes music that "marks the milestones of recent history, responding to Intifadas, occupation, wars, exile, protests and invasions," the festival described in a press statement.
The event will be broadcast live from artists in their respective cities via platforms such as Radio Alhara, Disco Tehran, Future Female Sounds, Beirut Groove Collective and Mixcloud Live.
Marking the tenth anniversary of the Arab uprisings as well as Women's History Month, Hiya Live describes itself as "a statement against the patriarchy." In addition to live performances and DJ sets, poetry readings and interviews are also on the agenda.
Organised by Lebanese journalist and DJ Shirine Saad, and Beirut Groove Collective co-founder Natalie Shooter, the festival is an offshoot of Saad's podcast series HIYA ("her" in Arabic).
Watch out for updates from Hiya Live over the next few weeks.