Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) hosts third community Iftar celebrating neighbourliness and unity

5 Mar 2026

News Story

An evening of community cohesion through art, creativity and celebration of faith

Image shows a softly lit restaurant filled with people sat at long rows of tables eating.
Iftar at Midlands Arts Centre. Credit: Will Pace 2026

To mark the start of Ramadan 2026, Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) hosted its third annual Iftar on Mon 23 February to share food, prayer and joy with local community members and friends from across Birmingham.  

Since 2024, MAC has been the only mainstream Birmingham arts venue to host a community Iftar as part of its regular programming. Led by Charity Trustee Dr Haseena Lockhat with MAC's Learning & Participation department, these events are designed to foster shared reflection, mutual respect and understanding between Birmingham communities. With many of the arts centre’s closest neighbours in the city being of Muslim faith, these annual Iftars represent MAC’s commitment to reflecting and celebrating the breadth of the West Midlands’ cultural landscape. 

This year’s themes were the importance of unity and what it means to be neighbourly towards one another. Following the Adhan (call to prayer) by Kamran Shezad and Maghrib (sunset prayer) led by Hafiz Emad Choudhury, our invited speakers reflected on these points from different perspectives. Danyal Azmi, a young Muslim man from Birmingham, offered some thoughts about the personal significance of neighbourliness. While he spoke about Ramadan as an important time for personal challenges and spirituality, he said that being conscientious and neighbourly should not just be confined to one month but reflected on throughout the year. Kathleen Roche Nagi – CEO of Approachable Parenting CIC, which offers culturally sensitive parenting programmes to families of Muslim faith – encouraged everyone to be neighbourly during the month of Ramadan by forging new connections, such as by greeting people on the street with a smile. 

Image gallery

Community Iftar at Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), 2026

Image shows a young South Asian man with a beard and wearing a navy hoodie standing in front of a microphine. He is in the middle of singing the call to prayer, and hold his hands in front of him with palms facing up. Behind him is a crowded restaurant space.
Kamran Shezad leads the call to prayer at Midlands Arts Centre's community Iftar. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows samosas and chicken pakoras on a blue patterned table, along with plates, napkins, cutlery, a bottle of water and fresh fruit.
Iftar at Midlands Arts Centre. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows a softly lit restaurant filled with people sat at long rows of tables eating.
Iftar at Midlands Arts Centre. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows a small South Asian girl with a short bob cut and fringe in a denim dress. She is sitting in a restaurant space eating a slice of watermelon,
Iftar at Midlands Arts Centre. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows a group of South Asian women talking in a restaurant space.
Dr Haseena Lockhat (trustee) and guests at Midlands Arts Centre's community Iftar. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Midlands Arts Centre's Chair of the Board, Ros Robins, at the community Iftar. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace

To tie these themes in with MAC’s artistic mission, artist Farwa Moledina (currently exhibiting in both the First Floor Gallery and Community Gallery) led a textiles workshop throughout the evening. Together, Iftar attendees made colourful, eye-catching bunting to reflect the importance of community and neighbourliness. In addition to the creative activity on the night, a specially commissioned textile mural by Haseebah Ali, Garden of Paradise (2025) was re-displayed in MAC’s foyer and will remain in place for visitors to enjoy throughout the month.  

Lynsey Rutter, Head of Learning & Participation, said:

“At our community Iftar this year, it was wonderful seeing so many of MAC’s friends, neighbours and supporters coming together to share food and conversation. As a valued part of MAC’s regular programming, these Iftar events are an annual highlight. After hearing our speakers' words on togetherness and neighbourly support, we remain inspired to continue upholding these values throughout the year.”

 

The catering for MAC’s community Iftar was kindly provided by Roti & Curry Bazaar, 664 Alum Rock Road. 

Image gallery

Community Iftar at Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), 2026

Image shows a group of people standing in a line in front of a textile mural.
Left to right: Ros Robins, Michelle Williams, Sally Pennington, Rubina Chaudary, Lynsey Rutter, Iftkhar Ahmed, Danyal Azmi, Dr Haseena Lockhat, Asefa Begum, Kathleen Roche Nagi. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows a South Asian woman in a black hijab and purple dress speaking at a microphone. She holds a piece of A4 paper with a speech written on it in her hand. In the background is a restaurant space where multiple people are seated.
Dr Haseena Lockhat introduces speakers at Midlands Arts Centre's community Iftar. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows a softly lit restaurant space where two people (a young South Asian man and a South Asian woman) are making a speech at a microphone.
Danyal Azmi and Dr Haseena Lockhat at Midlands Arts Centre's community Iftar. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows a white woman wearing a pale pink hijab, burgandy top and black skirt making a speech in front of a microphone and lecturn. Behind her is a restaurant space where people are seated.
Kathleen Roche Nagi speaks at Midlands Arts Centre's community Iftar. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows a group of people sitting at a table doing various textile crafts. In the centre of the image is a small South Asian boy in a green, white, yellow and red stripey jumper. Behind him is a small South Asian girl with mid-length black hair and a fringe, wearing a purple top.
Iftar guests taking part in an artistic activity with Farwa Moledina. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace
Image shows colourful triangular bunting being displayed against a plain black background.
Colourful bunting made by guests at Midlands Arts Centre's community Iftar. © 2026 Credit : Will Pace