A Joyful Noise with Faisal Hussain

The first time qawwali master Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan performed outside Pakistan or India was in Balsall Heath in 1979, at the now-demolished Luxor Cinema. The event was promoted by local record shop and label Oriental Star, and began an enduring connection between the singer and the city which led to further concerts at Moseley School of Art and in Small Heath Park. This music had a massive impact on artist Faisal Hussain when growing up, and his company True Form Projects recently embarked on a project to catalogue and illuminate Oriental Star’s archives.

For this conversation event Faisal Hussain reflects on music and faith, and Balsall Heath as a cultural hot spot, whilst sharing archive footage.

Following this there will be another free talk with artist Osman Yousefzada and founding director of Flatpack Projects, Ian Francis.

Presented in association with Balsall Heath Film Festival (16-31 July). See www.flatpackfestival.org.uk for more details. 

This event is part of The Migrant Festival 2022 and Ikon’s Arrivals programme for Summer 2022, concerned with the international movement of people and ideas and organised to coincide with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

About the artist  

Graduating from Falmouth University in 1999, Faisal Hussain creates work that questions perceptions, undermines lazy stereotypes and highlights missing histories and overlooked facts. Whether in music, in a gallery or a sign outside a kebab shop, his cross-disciplinary practice is often presented in varied environments to engage with diverse audiences. Using archive and personal memory as starting points, his work explores the representation and understanding of South Asian culture and identity through the media, government, communities and individuals.