‘Many congratulations to the amazing winners. Hosted in the gorgeous Manchester Hall– what a fantastic, inspirational evening -a splendid celebration of Muslim artists. It was thrilling to have the idea become a reality with the Arts Awards Ceremony and the Gala Dinner. Delighted to host over eighteen Muslim communities guests under one roof. Thank you to our sponsors and marvellous MACFEST team for their contributions.’
Qaisra Shahraz MBE founder of Muslim Arts Awards and Director of MACFEST.
'We are proud to partner with MACFEST of the first iteration of the Muslim Arts Awards. It was a privilege to take part in the ceremony and to be able to celebrate the achievements of all the shortlisted artists and acknowledge the 5 winners. The School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology is excited to continue working together and we see the awards grow in its reach as we open the call to artists across the UK and hopeful eventually internationally.'
Sam Ingleson, Associate Dean; Enterprise & Engagement, School of Arts, Media & Creative Technology at University of Salford.
Rabia Avci, Artist
Talat-Farooq Awan BBC Senior Journalist, Producer &Presenter
Sam Ingleson, Associate Dean; Enterprise & Engagement. Unive
MACFEST, Muslim Arts and Culture Festival, celebrates and raises the visibility of Muslim artists with Arts Awards. MACFEST’s first ever Muslim Arts Awards, will exhibit and award prizes to the finest work by North-West artists!
MACFEST, Muslim Arts and Culture Festival, in partnership with the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology at The University of Salford have initiated a new Arts Award programme that celebrates and raises the visibility of Muslim artists through an exhibition and Award Ceremony.
An artists open call was announced in March 2024 and 40 North West Muslim artists submitted up to 3 artworks under one of the following categories, Calligraphy, Drawing, Painting and Photography. From this initial submission 23 artworks have been selected and all Finalists will be featured in a curated exhibition at the University of Salford within the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology. You will have an opportunity to see all the works selected under 4 categories, Calligraphy, Drawing, Painting and Photography.
The first chance to see the works will be at the Private Viewing between 5pm and 7pm on the 14th November in The New Adelphi Atrium exhibition space. Please join us for refreshments, view the selected artworks and meet the artists.
The exhibition runs from the 14th through to the 29th November 2024.
The Award evening celebrates all the artworks submitted and will announce the winners of the 4 categories. The evening will be an opportunity to celebrate the talent across the 4 artforms.
Calligraphy, Drawing, Painting and Photography
MACFEST’s first ever OPEN Arts Exhibition will exhibit and award prizes to the finest work by North-West Muslim practicing artists, age 18 years and above.
Entry is a Two-Stage process. Stage One is a digital submission and online application form. Stage Two invites Artists to submit physical artworks for shortlisting.
Stage One:
Stage Two:
Sam Ingleson: Associate Dean; Enterprise & Engagement. University of Salford
Sam Ingleson has worked in the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology since 2000
and is a Senior Lecturer in the visual arts, working in socially engaged arts practice and
creative education. Sam has previously designed and developed a Masters in Creative
Education, teaching on this course and becoming Programme Leader. Sam has also worked on the BA in Fine Art and is an External Examiner for arts and education programmes in South Wales.
In her current role as Associate Dean for Enterprise and Engagement, she is responsible for the development of external relationships with Industry and the generation of new
commercial income streams into the School of Arts, Media & Creative Technology. Sam has worked closely with MACFEST over a number of years and leads on the new Arts Award collaboration with MACFEST on behalf of the School.
Brendan Fletcher is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Fine Art at the University of Salford. He has exhibited recently in Enough is Definitely Enough: Contemporary Artists Respond to Las Meninas, OA Gallery, Salford, (2020), Fully Awake, Freelands Foundation, London, Inner Landscapes, Hilbertraum, Berlin and Inter-Section, Huddersfield (all 2019). He was long-listed for the Contemporary British Painting Prize in 2019. He has presented papers at Albert Irvin and Abstract Expressionism, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, 2019 and Teaching Painting, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2018. Previous exhibitions include: Prefab at Leeds Mint/Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery 2011, Nice to Meet You, Mark Moore Gallery, Santa Monica, 2005, Terrain: Contemporary British Abstraction, Museum of Non-Conformist Art, St Petersburg, 2004, Chorus, Gorton Monastery, Manchester, 2004, Departure Lounge, Mart’99, 1999, Rising Stars, London Contemporary Art Fair, 1996.
Hasan Essop was born in Cape Town in 1985. He graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art at University of Cape Town in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, majoring in Printmaking; 2009 he completed a Postgraduate diploma in Art, specializing in print media and photography. In 2012 he undertook his post graduate certificate in education, pursuing a career as a visual arts educator. He has featured in several exhibitions and publications to date; he is currently working as an educator and artist.
Award-winning artist Maaida Noor takes inspiration from the incredibly rich and diverse heritage of Islamic arts and the cultural values of the Muslim world. Noor is a student of both the ancient and modern world and she is continuing a tradition of art based on nature, geometrical beauty and the Sacred. She combines art forms from the ‘Maghreb’ (Northwest Africa) region, Medieval Fatimids to the Safavid Persians and the Mughal Indians to create work that she believes calls us back to our Beloved and to our essential oneness with nature.
Paul Vivian is Director of Art and Design within the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology at the University of Salford. A UK based artist Paul studied at Norwich School of Art and Design and Chelsea College of Art and Design his most recent research is focuses on Neolithic Stone Circle structures. Visiting sites across the UK and Europe Vivian makes unique field recordings capturing their internal audio resonance of individual stones . He specifically employs a form of Archaeoacoustics that has not previously been widely investigated.
Paul is a recent winner in the Global Shorts 2024 film competition with his work Avebury Sanctuary Complex (2024) and had previously won the Wells Contemporary Art Prize in 2016. Paul has exhibited and presented projects internationally and recently presented papers at symposiums and conferences on his work capturing the Neolithic sonorous at Tate Liverpool in 2023 and Manchester Metropolitan University stone circle research group and University for the Creative Arts in 2024.
Qaisra Shahraz MBE JP FRSA is a critically-acclaimed novelist, educationist, and a prize-winning gender and peace activist. She is the founder and executive director of MACFEST, Muslim Women’s Arts Foundation, MACFEST Heritage Tours and Muslim Arts Awards. She has judged on many writing competitions including for The Writer’s Guild of Great Britain for ‘Best First Novel’ Category. Qaisra is devoted to the celebration of arts, Muslim Heritage, and showcasing the work Muslim artists and creatives. She is a patron of Manchester Lit and Phil Society and Former Director of Gatehouse Books. She has won several prestigious awards for her multiple careers and achievements. These include National Diversity Lifetime Achiever Award (2016), University of Salford's 'Alumni Achievement Award (2018), MBE for ‘Services to Gender Equality and Cultural Learning’ (2020), Manchester People's Culture Award (2023), and in 2024 was recognised as 1 of '100 Northerners' by Embryo.
Trained in Classical Arabic Calligraphy in Damascus University in Syria, Samir has been producing Islamic Art as well as holding exhibitions and workshops since over two decades at prominent Galleries and Universities globally.
As an Artist, Calligrapher & Graphic Designer he has been commissioned by and worked with international organisations and corporations as well with Embassies, galleries and private clients and businesses across the world including Royalty. His art composes part of the UK National Collection.
He is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of the revival and reinvention of Islamic Calligraphy in the west, and his art, designs and photography have been featured on the web, in periodicals and books along with frequent appearances in television.
Submission process opens in April 2025
Submission process closes in July 2025.
The judging panel reviews the applications and shortlist the artists for stage two selection in each category.
Artists are notified in August 2025 and invited to submit the selected work for Stage Two.
Artists submit physical works at New Adelphi Campus, Reception, School of Arts Media & Creative Technology, New Adelphi Building, University of Salford, Manchester.
The judging panel reviews the submissions and selects the finalists.
All applicants will be notified by September 2025 and finalists will be notified of their place in the exhibition.
All submissions not selected for the exhibition must be collected on the designated collection dates Monday - Friday in September 2025.
Arts Exhibition Opening: November, 2025, University of Salford, Manchester
Exhibition Dates: November, 2025, University of Salford, Manchester
MACFEST Arts Awards Dinner and Prize Giving
Artwork collection after the exhibition closes