Still We Rise
Sheba Festival 2026
Longsight Arts Space
A celebration of culture, creativity, and community, co-created with artists and local residents to amplify diverse voices and stories. Building on themes of healing, unity, and recognition, the festival aims to create a joyful, inclusive space that honours heritage, storytelling, and resilience within migrant and diaspora communities.
Taking place at Longsight Art Space, the festival will offer a blend of live performances, workshops, exhibitions, and communal activities that connect generations and cultures through art, food, and collective storytelling.
We are seeking artwork that reflects the festival’s theme of unity, healing, and recognition.
If your work explores these ideas, celebrates community, and tells a meaningful story,
we would love to hear from you.
Please send images of your work and a short description to [email protected] by 31 March
If your work explores these ideas, celebrates community, and tells a meaningful story,
we would love to hear from you.
Please send images of your work and a short description to [email protected] by 31 March
The Theme of the festival: what you have told us:
Through our consultancy sessions and online surveys, we asked what you would like to see at the next Sheba Festival. Here’s what you told us:
Through our consultancy sessions and online surveys, we asked what you would like to see at the next Sheba Festival. Here’s what you told us:
- Storytelling is vital for preserving history and identity, a way for generations to remember their experiences and culture. Storytelling and political consciousness are deeply connected. Sharing stories from different cultures and exploring decolonisation through narratives and history help us understand the links between cultures.
- We need stories to express issues such as the hostile rhetoric towards the refugee and migrant people.
- Transphobia is a product of colonialism rather than an inherent part of any society. Colonial empires and their imposed moral frameworks have shaped how trans people are treated in some places today. Storytelling can reveal the diversity of human experience and show that trans people have always existed across cultures, rejecting the idea that being trans is ‘new’ or ‘unnatural’.
- You want the festival to be a celebration of joy and togetherness, not sadness: a space that focuses on hope, courage, and collective strength rather than trauma. As one participant said: “Let’s celebrate our stories. Even if it’s about migration, let’s make it a story of creativity and learning.”
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Community Consultation Group
The Community Consultation Group came together in October 2025 to help us shape the festival. They are active community members, artists, members of our boards who shared their ideas, experiences, and creative visions for the Sheba Festival 2026. Their insights have been central to shaping the festival’s themes of storytelling, healing, and collective strength. Each member brings a unique cultural and professional perspective, from music and poetry to theatre and community engagement.
We are expanding this group to include more members. They will help us evaluate the festival’s development, ensuring it remains community-led, inclusive, and truly reflective of the voices it represents. |
Members present at the meeting; Ahmed Elzber, Evelyn Mbuluku, Oluwatobi Alapelode, Ibrahim Alimamy, Cansu Han
Online participants: Malini Sachdeva-Masson, Iman Javaid |
Connecting with Longsight Communities
Our team have been visiting and connecting with several organisations and communities in Longsight and Levenshulme. It has been lovely to meet so many vibrant and rich communities across the area. We especially loved being part of 'Our Longsight Festival' and 422 Community day.
