Arij Palestine Nights for Music

Arij Palestine Nights for Music is composed of a series of musical and cultural events held open air in culturally deprived communities on AL-JANA’s mobile professional stage; these nights showcase a variety of musical styles and traditions.

The first series of performances were launched in 2012 to celebrate local and regional musical heritage, address the lack of arts and culture in marginalized communities across Lebanon, and boost community cohesion. The event was designed to promote and enhance strong mutual cultural values.

The formula of bringing artists who would otherwise not perform in these disadvantaged communities out there and to give performers in these communities the opportunity to perform in a professional setting, to a home audience, proved to be highly successful.

Arij events indeed have had a consistently great turnout bringing over 700 audience members together on any given night (last three performances in May 2017, each had more than 2000 people on their feet). Audiences gather on town squares or sports fields wherever the mobile stage is set up to provide a professional concert experience. The host communities as well have always benefited from equal opportunities to enjoy professional cultural evenings in close proximity to their homes and free of charge.

Tapping into our shared musical cultural heritage through Arij has effectively allowed us to build bridges and establish common ground and rich connections among audience members and musicians from different backgrounds.