After a year-long refurbishment, Mosaic Rooms returns on 18 February with expanded facilities, a new charitable status and an ambitious programme spotlighting artists from the Arab world and its diasporas.
Mosaic Rooms in Kensington has officially relaunched, reopening on 18 February following a comprehensive makeover of its 19th-century home. Long recognised for championing arts and culture connected to the Middle East and North Africa, the space returns with the same community-first ethos, while sharpening its international lens on resistance, solidarity and the lived realities of the Arab region and its diasporic communities.
The year-long refurbishment has been keenly anticipated across London’s Arab creative diaspora, and the changes are immediately tangible. Mosaic Rooms has expanded and reworked its footprint to support more ambitious programming, with upgraded access to the galleries and a series of new facilities designed to welcome a broader range of visitors. Among the additions is a recording suite for audio projects and collaborations, a dedicated salon for workshops and lectures, a playroom aimed at local families, and an expanded bookshop that strengthens the venue’s role as both a cultural hub and a resource for readers.
The relaunch also brings new curatorial highlights. Visitors can look forward to a permanent commission by artist and designer Dima Srouji, titled Four Moons from Home (2026), presented as stained-glass windows. Elsewhere, a solo presentation by French-Moroccan artist Bouchra Khalili will feature three video installations exploring the Arab Workers’ Movement (MTA). The new recording suite will also play a key role in upcoming podcasts and sound collaborations, including a forthcoming project with the iconic Bethlehem-based broadcaster Radio Alhara.
The renovation was fully funded by the Al-Qattan Charitable Trust, a UK- and Palestine-based organisation that promotes culture and education in Palestine and the wider Arab world. Mosaic Rooms also returns with a new charitable status and a new director, Pip Day, who outlined an intention to deepen engagement with artists and audiences across London and beyond.
On the reopening, Day said: “I look forward to strengthening connections with artists and communities whose work confronts the inequalities of our contemporary world, speaks to urgent histories and presents, and holds space – in London – for the lived experiences of the Arab region and diasporic communities. In today’s challenging times, I want to listen closely to our communities, their histories and strategies of cultural resistance, resilience and international solidarity. A lot of work has been done by movements that came before us. Our task is to carry it forward.”
Founded in 2008, Mosaic Rooms has become a vital platform in the capital for pioneering voices from the Arab world, including Heba Y. Amin, Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, and Mohammed Omar Khalil. With its refreshed facilities and renewed direction, it aims to build on that legacy while responding to the cultural conversations shaping London right now.
GO: Visit https://mosaicrooms.org for more information.