The Mosaic Rooms is a cultural centre in West London showcasing the most exciting, progressive and creative voices from the Arab world. As the UK arm of the A.M. Qattan Foundation, it aims to reveal aspects of Arab society that are often not covered by the media, with the view that culture, in its widest and most generous definition, plays a vital role in facilitating cross-cultural dialogue and understanding.
Situated in a beautifully refurbished Victorian townhouse in Kensington, the Mosaic Rooms offers a rich and varied public programme including art and design exhibitions, film screenings, literary readings, lectures and live events, aimed at promoting Arabic culture internationally and stimulating reflection and open debate on that region’s most pressing issues. Leading artists, writers, cultural commentators and filmmakers from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have been profiled to date, including Adonis, Hanaa’ Malallah, Michel Khleifi, Mona Saudi, Fadi Yazigi, Hisham Matar, Raja Shehadeh, Eyal Sivan, Pankaj Mishra Ariella Azoulay and Ahdaf Souief among others. It also presents a platform for emerging contemporary artists from the region and offers a residency programme for artists to develop work in London. Recent residents have included Shahira Fahmy and Lucien Bourjeily.
The Mosaic Rooms works in partnership with local, national and international organisations to disseminate its combined arts programme to the widest audience. Successful partnerships have been established with The British Museum, The Delfina Foundation, The New Statesman Magazine, Shubbak Festival of Contemporary Arab Culture in London, Dubai International Film Festival, London Design Festival, London Festival of Architecture, London Fashion Week, Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts and Bloomsbury and Penguin book publishers, among others.
A resource centre for those interested in Arab culture is also accessible through our specialist bookshop and archive.