We are excited to be hosting an evening of performance and discussion as part of this year’s Scottish Mental Health and Arts Festival, shining a light on the invisibilised experience of being displaced.

We are delighted to collaborate with the Scottish Mental Health and Arts Festival to host a bold evening of performances and discussion responding to this year’s theme of In/Visible. Through a queer lens, the programme shines a light on the invisibilized experience of being displaced and the unfathomable challenges of rebuilding life anew. Ultimately, as we bear witness to the incredible human capacity to resist the violence of discriminatory immigration systems, we are reminded that mental health is inherently political. 

7th Solicitor is a solo performance by HUSS that exposes the hostility inflicted by the government’s hostile environment policy on people seeking refuge in the UK. Over the course of 7 phone calls, HUSS offers a personal retelling of his experience navigating the Home Office, shining a light on the reality of the visa process in all its frustration, monotony and dehumanisation. 

Dissent is a solo dance performance by Fadi Giha. The piece casts an intimate light on the irretrievable and hidden parts of ourselves, as an unexpected confrontation leaves a man forced to face his darkest depths. Complicit in this encounter, we witness a soul dancing on the brink of madness, governed by the immortal desire to belong, and above all, to be accepted. 

The performances will be followed by a panel conversation with Esraa Hussein, Riah Naief and HUSS reflecting on queer identities, experiences of displacement and the capacity of art to speak to the unspeakable. 

About the Artists & Panellists

HUSS is a queer Arab multidisciplinary artist based in Glasgow. Tackling personal and political themes, his discipline involves experimenting and combining elements such as installation, sculpture, visuals and audio to culminate in immersive performance and moving image pieces. Huss uses his work to raise issues facing the Arab world that lack acknowledgment in western society, especially topics of displacement, queer laws and how much it has always censored and endangered artists like himself.

Fadi Giha is a trained choreographer and performer. Drawn to the physicality of the human body his choreographies tend to the interdependency of body, space, and society. Moving between the real and the fantastical, he combines boldness and simplicity to explore the intricacies of life.

Fadi’s latest solo piece ‘Dissent’ was commissioned by SACF in 2023 and debuted at Chelsea Theater, London. He was invited to choreograph and perform at Frieze London 2023, as part of Tamara Al-Mashouk’s ‘I’d Search Forever, I Want to Remember’ at Cork St., London. In 2018, Fadi choreographed a dance piece titled ‘Siege II’ at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, Damascus.

Fadi received his BA in Dance from The Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, and his Choreomundus MA as an Erasmus Joint Master’s Degree scholarship holder.

Book Tickets

This is a ticketed, pay what you can event (£7 / £5 / £5 / FREE). You can book your tickets here.

This event is produced by Counterpoints Arts in partnership with The Scottish Mental Health and Arts Festival.

Photo Credits: Ashtar Alahmad