The IMA is hosting its own festival: a vibrant cultural program to experience in Paris in December.

Published by Cécile de Sortiraparis · Photos by Cécile de Sortiraparis · Updated on December 1, 2025 at 03:34 p.m.
The Arab World Institute celebrates all forms of art, from music to cinema, photography, and fashion. From December 2 to 14, 2025, immerse yourself in contemporary artistic creation from the Arab world in Paris.

It's back for a third edition: get your fill of culture and art with L'IMA fait son festival! From December 2 to 14, 2025, the Arab World Institute will showcase artists of all generations and from all creative fields, offering us a comprehensive overview ofcontemporary art in the Arab world.

Music, photography, painting, cinema, fashion, poets and writers, dance, shows... The artistic field is wide and varied. The creators who await you atthe IMA this December are no exception! More than 30 creators from a dozen different countries immerse us in their world through shows and performances, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, and more.

With this festival,the IMA showcases the richness and diversity of voices in the Arab world. These artists, who come from different backgrounds, represent both their culture and their own identity, with their joys, fears, and hopes reflected in their work. 

Culture also lives on—of course—through the audience, who are invited to experience each event. Dance during the electro evening, admire the photographs on display, or applaud the dancers and musicians performing in the IMA's halls: this festival celebrates a lively and vibrant culture.

Check out the program for the 2025 edition now and reserve your tickets for individual events at the Arab World Institutebox office . Prices vary depending on the event.

The IMA's festival program: 

Tuesday, December 2

  • 6:30–8 p.m. - Dabkeh workshop
    With Souraya Baghdadi 
     
  • 7:00 p.m. - Performance
    NOUR, a poetic and musical celebration of the Arabic language

Wednesday, December 3

  • 6:30–8 p.m. - Dabkeh workshop
    With Souraya Baghdadi 

  • 7:00 p.m. - Concert
    Parallel universe, Natacha Atlas & Samy Bishai

Thursday, December 4 

  • 6:30–8 p.m. - Dabkeh workshop
    With Dabke Tania 

  • 7:00 p.m. - Concert
    Family, Meryem Aboulouafa

Friday, December 5

  • 6:30–8 p.m. - Dabkeh workshop
    With Dabke Tania 19:00 - Concert Roseraie, Jules Chahine and Merly El Haddad with Raphaël Sévère 

  • 7:00 p.m. - Concert
    Roseraie, Jules Chahine, and Merly El Haddad with Raphaël Sévère

Saturday, December 6

  • 6:30–8 p.m. - Dabkeh workshop
    With Dabke Tania, Souraya Baghdadi & Mohammed Alaloul  

  • 10:00 p.m.–5:00 a.m. - Electro night
    With Musique de Fëte & Kasbah

Sunday, December 7

  • 2pm–6pm - Performance
    La nuit se souvient de nous (The Night Remembers Us), Nassim Baddag x Lilian Damango 

  • 2:00–3:30 p.m. - Dabkeh workshop
    With Dabke Tania, Souraya Baghdadi & Mohammed Alaloul 

  • 3:30–4:30 p.m. - Public presentation of the dabkeh workshops  

  • 5 p.m. - Concert
    Malouf World Music, Kamel Benani

Tuesday, December 9

  • 6 p.m. - Public rehearsal of
    Le Livre des Processions, Walid Ben Selim 

  • 7 p.m. - Screening
    Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, and meeting with director Sepideh Farsi

Wednesday, December 10

  • 4 p.m. - Public rehearsal
    Le Livre des Processions, Walid Ben Selim 
     
  • 8 p.m. - Concert
    Mahraganat, from Alaa Fifty to the younger generation

Thursday, December 11

  • 6 p.m. - Public rehearsal of
    Le Livre des Processions, Walid Ben Selim 

  • 8 p.m. - Radio show
    Radio Live: Our Future Lives, Aurélie Charon

Friday, December 12

  • 7 p.m. - Concert
    Il était une fois dans mon chœur (Once Upon a Time in My Choir), Nawel Ben Kraïem 

  • 7 p.m. - Book presentation
    Le pays blanc (The White Country), and meeting with the authors of the collective book

Saturday, December 13

  • 3 p.m. - Reading of
    Les contes de Mohammed Dib with Lila Borsali and Mouna Soualem 
     
  • 7:00 p.m. - Concert
    Elie Maalouf Quartet, Echoes of Ziad Rahbani

Sunday, December 14

  • 3 p.m. - Performance
    Le corps don (The Gift of the Body), Nawel Ben Kraïem
     
  • 4 p.m. - Public rehearsal
    Le Livre des Processions, Walid Ben Selim 

  • 5 p.m. - Screening
    Cairo Streets, and meeting with director Abdellah Taïa

And throughout the festival

  • Photography exhibition by Fatma Hassona 
  • Listening sessions of IMA podcasts, December 9 to 14

Don't miss this multicultural festival at the IMA: you'll have to wait a whole year for it to return for a fourth edition!

Practical information

Dates and Opening Time
From December 2, 2025 to December 14, 2025

× Approximate opening times: to confirm opening times, please contact the establishment.

    Location

    1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard
    75005 Paris 5

    Route planner

    Accessibility info

    Access
    Metro Jussieu line 7, line 10

    Official website
    www.imarabe.org

    Booking
    Book your tickets with Paris je t'aime here

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