A series of activities have been launched by Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research to promote and highlight Arab art, music and literature.
The 22nd edition of the cultural season is being held under the theme, ‘It is our destiny to be optimistic’, and will run until January.
It will feature lectures and exhibitions that appeal to diverse audiences.
“Since its opening in 2002, the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research in Muharraq has hosted more than 500 speakers, philosophers, poets and thinkers, who have presented their thoughts in the weekly lecture programmes,” the centre said.
On Monday, the centre will host a lecture entitled From Sociology to Novel, which will discuss ‘the relation between novel and knowledge’. It will be presented by Tunisian writer, translator, and sociologist Tahar Labib, who has also contributed to laying the foundations for the study of sociology in the Arab World. The event will be held at 8pm.
Popular poet and writer Aisha AlSaifi will showcase her latest poetry collection Dreams of the Tenth Girl, on December 4, 8pm, at the Ebrahim Al Arrayed House of Poetry. She was the first Omani woman to win the Poetry Festival, and has published eight books, with many of her works translated into different languages.
A lecture entitled Nizar Qabbani’s crutch, Taha Hussein’s glasses, and the memories of Dr AlAnsari will be presented by Saudi journalist Mohammed Nasrallah, on December 6, at 8pm. The writer, who has taken part in many cultural and political talk shows, has published his articles in different newspapers.
A one-of-a-kind exhibition entitled ‘And I Keep Demarcating’ by Camille Zakharia, will run from December 8 to 18, from 9am to 7pm, at Memory of the Place – Bin Mattar House. The event explores the artist’s interconnectivity as he combines documentary photography, photo montage and collage in his work.
On December 25, the centre will host Egyptian novelist Rasha Adli, who will deliver a lecture on ‘Painting as Pretext for Writing Historical Novel’. The art history researcher has published 10 novels, and the English version of her novel Passion won the Banipal International Prize for Translation in 2021. The event will be held at 8pm.
The first Omani poet and novelist to win the International Arabic Booker Award in 2023, Zahran AlQasimi, will present a lecture on January 1, 8pm, at the Ebrahim Al Arrayed House of Poetry.
Music lovers can look forward to an exciting performance of Jordanian band ‘East Road Group’ on January 8. The concert entitled ‘A Trip in the Levant’ will be held at the centre at 8pm.
It will host another concert, ‘Aroma Night’, by talented Egyptian singer and actress Nesma Mahjoub on January 12. Ms Mahjoub rose to fame after winning the eighth edition of the pan-Arab reality television show Star Academy – MENA in 2011. She is also known for her role in the Arabic version of the Disney film The Snow Queen.
All the events are open for the public.
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