Balfour Reparations at Reykjavík Dance Festival 2026
City Hall, Tjarnargata 11, 101 Reykjavík Directions
Thu Nov 12 2026 17:00
Farah Saleh
Balfour Reparations
Thursday 12th November 17:00 - 17:40
Tjarnarsalur – Reykjavik City Hall, Tjarnargata 11
Balfour Reparations (2026-2046) is a compelling performance lecture that examines the UK’s colonial legacy in Palestine, focusing on Arthur James Balfour, Prime Minister (1902-1905) and Foreign Secretary (1916-1919), and his role in denying Palestinian political rights. Utilising Critical Fabulation and Afrofuturism, Saleh intertwines history, fiction, and fantasy, drawing inspiration from archival materials.
Join us in 2046, as a member of the Reparations Committee, reflecting on a fictive apology letter issued by the UK government in 2026, promising reparations to the Palestinian people. What does accountability look like? What might justice mean?
Farah Saleh is a Palestinian dancer, choreographer and scholar based in Scotland. She has studied linguistic and cultural mediation in Italy and in parallel continued her studies in contemporary dance. Since 2010 she took part in local and international projects with Sareyyet Ramallah Dance Company (Palestine), the Royal Flemish Theatre and Les Ballets C de la B (Belgium), Mancopy Dance Company (Denmark/Lebanon), Siljehom/Christophersen (Norway) and Candoco Dance Company (UK). She was an Associate Artist at Dance Base in Edinburgh 2017-2021 and in 2023 she earned her practice-based PhD from Edinburgh College of Art. In 2024, Saleh started a lectureship in Global Majority Performance at Theatre Studies Department at Glasgow University.
Free! Tickets must be booked!
Accessibility information: Elevator from the car park under Ráðhúsið and from the main entrance floor. Accessible WC by the entrance from Tjarnargata.
Not designed for deaf or blind audiences.
Optional audience participation.
