Ibraaz: New Art Space in London – Arab Voices & Global Dialogue

Ibraaz, a multidisciplinary art space in London funded by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, aims to foster dialogue and explore futures through art. Showcasing voices from North Africa, the Arab world, and beyond.

Ibraaz was launched after the beginning of the Arab Spring–” a time when whatever really felt possible, when new perspectives were opening and voices long silenced found resonance,” Lazaar claims. At first simply a digital venture, the brand-new home is its initial long-term physical room. “We are looking for to develop a time out, a room for experience, for visualizing futures that withstand both despair and rush,” Lazaar claims.

Ibraaz’s Vision: A Space for Dialogue

The building comprises a bookshop, a café, a huge testing area in the basement and a “library in home” produced by the Otolith Team, in addition to spaces for discussions and representation. A different however linked structure might likewise be brought into service in the future.

Currently it is home to Ibraaz– a multi-disciplinary art space completely funded by the Kamel Lazaar Structure, a humanitarian organisation established by the Swiss-Tunisian investment banker Kamel Lazaar. The creator of the room and vice-president of the foundation is his daughter, the dynamic Lina Lazaar, who examined at the London College of Business economics, worked as a professional for Sotheby’s and lived in Saudi Arabia, where she founded Jeddah Art Week.” We are increasing into London’s diasporic community and the wider worldwide bulk, from a North African, Arab and Muslim-adjacent position,” Lazaar states. “We are looking for to produce a pause, an area for experience, for imagining futures that resist both misery and rush,” Lazaar claims.

Kamel Lazaar Foundation & Lina Lazaar’s Role

The very first point that strikes you is the scent of the hemp sacking arrayed on either side of the substantial ballroom at 93 Mortimer Road in the heart of London’s Fitzrovia. This is Ibrahim Mahama’s Parliament of Ghosts, an installment that fills up the area with colonial furniture, paddings and plinths stimulating the musician’s indigenous Ghana and its past.

Parliament of Ghosts Installation

“We are expanding into London’s diasporic area and the broader international majority, from a North African, Arab and Muslim-adjacent position,” Lazaar says. “The objective is to build on common backgrounds and future fondness– creating an area that is friendly, open and warm, but likewise daring in encountering immediate inquiries.

The Mahama installation– an evolving work that was revealed at the Manchester International Celebration in 2019– will continue to be in position until February 2026, when it will be replaced by an additional, yet to be announced.

“There’s a lot that we do not know and will not know until we open our doors,” Lazaar says. “This is why the launch is really interesting, due to the fact that I believe it’s going to enable us to be in conversation with several lead characters, stakeholders, collectives, various other humanitarian organisations that are doing amazing job. I see this space as being a link in between the societies here and societies from other regions.”

Fostering Freedom of Speech

Now it is home to Ibraaz– a multi-disciplinary art space totally moneyed by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, a kind organisation established by the Swiss-Tunisian investment lender Kamel Lazaar. The owner of the room and vice-president of the foundation is his child, the vibrant Lina Lazaar, that researched at the London School of Business economics, functioned as an expert for Sotheby’s and lived in Saudi Arabia, where she established Jeddah Art Week.

“The area is born out of a conviction that freedom of speech is significantly under hazard everywhere,” she claims. “That makes it all the more immediate for private organizations to take duty for creating environments where hard and essential discussions can occur freely.”