Art of Kuwait

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The Kuwaiti modern art movement emerged in the 1930s, Kuwait has the oldest modern arts movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Kuwait is home to more than 20 art galleries.{{cite web|title=Culture of Kuwait|url=http://www.kuwaitembassy.at/index.php/kuwait/kuwait-culture|publisher=Kuwait Embassy in Austria|access-date=2017-04-01|archive-date=2016-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025230857/http://www.kuwaitembassy.at/index.php/kuwait/kuwait-culture|url-status=dead}} In recent years, Kuwait's contemporary art scene has boomed.{{cite web|title=Egyptian Artist Fatma, talks about the gateway to human faces and equality for all|url=https://reconnectingarts.com/2017/01/29/egyptian-artist-fatma-talks-about-the-gateway-to-human-faces-and-equality-for-all/|publisher=Reconnecting Arts}}{{cite web|title=Kuwaiti Artist Rua AlShaheen tells us about recycling existing elements to tell a new narrative|url=https://reconnectingarts.com/2017/04/03/kuwaiti-artist-rua-alshaheen-tells-us-about-recycling-existing-elements-to-tell-a-new-narrative/|publisher=Reconnecting Arts}}{{cite web|title=Farah Behbehani & the Story of the letter Haa '|url=https://eng.alostouramagazine.com/2017/05/04/farah-behbehani-the-story-of-the-letter-haa/|publisher=Al Ostoura Magazine|access-date=2017-09-03|archive-date=2017-08-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822094804/https://eng.alostouramagazine.com/2017/05/04/farah-behbehani-the-story-of-the-letter-haa/|url-status=dead}} Kuwait has the second most lively gallery scene in the GCC (after Dubai).{{cite web|title=Kuwait City's 10 Stunning Contemporary Art Galleries|url=http://theculturetrip.com/middle-east/kuwait/articles/kuwait-city-s-10-stunning-contemporary-art-galleries/|publisher=The Culture Trip}}{{cite web|url=https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/doing-business-in-the-gulf-region/other-sectors-in-the-gulf-region/creative-industries/relevant-countries|title=Creative Industries in Kuwait|work=Government of Netherlands}}{{cite web|title=Kuwait|url=http://gulfartguide.eu/kuwait/|publisher=Gulf Art Guide|access-date=2017-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304120814/http://gulfartguide.eu/kuwait/|archive-date=2017-03-04|url-status=dead}}

The Amiri Diwan recently inaugurated the new Kuwait National Cultural District (KNCD), which comprises Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre, Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre, Al Shaheed Park, and Al Salam Palace.{{cite web|title=Kuwait National Cultural District|url=https://alshaheedparkmuseums.com/kuwait-national-cultural-district/|access-date=2021-04-02|archive-date=2021-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417122527/https://alshaheedparkmuseums.com/kuwait-national-cultural-district/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://aeminternational.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Director-JACC-Candidate-Briefing-Document.pdf|title=Kuwait National Cultural District Museums Director|date=28 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015530/http://aeminternational.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Director-JACC-Candidate-Briefing-Document.pdf|archive-date=2018-01-25}} With a capital cost of more than US$1 billion, the project is one of the largest cultural investments in the world. In November 2016, the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre opened.{{cite web|url=http://www.albawaba.com/business/kuwait-unveils-775m-sheikh-jaber-al-ahmad-cultural-centre-912430|title=Kuwait unveils $775M Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre|date=7 December 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227165043/http://www.albawaba.com/business/kuwait-unveils-775m-sheikh-jaber-al-ahmad-cultural-centre-912430|archive-date=27 December 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://inbusiness.ae/2016/12/06/opening-sheikh-jaber-al-ahmad-cultural-centre-milestone-illustrious-companys-history/|title=Opening of the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre a milestone in the illustrious company's history|date=7 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227165255/http://inbusiness.ae/2016/12/06/opening-sheikh-jaber-al-ahmad-cultural-centre-milestone-illustrious-companys-history/|archive-date=2016-12-27}} It is the largest cultural centre in the Middle East.{{cite web|url=http://2016.omandaily.om/?p=402914|title=أمير الكويت يدشن أكبر مركز ثقافي في الشرق الأوسط.. و4 جواهر تضيء شاطئ الخليج|work=Oman Daily|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829034751/http://2016.omandaily.om/?p=402914|archive-date=2017-08-29|language=ar}}{{cite news|title=UK Trade & Investment|url=https://events.scottish-enterprise.com/events/uploads/files/93b40d99-a19e-445a-920c-993fc1ee8b8d.PDF|agency=UK Trade & Investment|page=3|date=June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221161313/https://events.scottish-enterprise.com/events/uploads/files/93b40d99-a19e-445a-920c-993fc1ee8b8d.PDF|archive-date=2016-12-21}} The Kuwait National Cultural District is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.{{cite web|title=Current Members – Global Cultural Districts Network|url=https://gcdn.net/member/the-kuwait-national-cultural-district-test/|publisher=Global Cultural Districts Network}}

History

Kuwait has the oldest modern arts movement in the Arabian Peninsula.{{cite book|title=Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=RA1-PA405|page=405|isbn = 978-0-19-530991-1|last1 = Bloom|first1 = Jonathan|last2 = Blair|first2 = Sheila S.|last3 = Blair|first3 = Sheila|date = 14 May 2009}} Beginning in 1936, Kuwait was the first Gulf country to grant scholarships in the arts. Ghazi and Najat Sultan launched Kuwait’s first art gallery in 1969 .

The Sultan Gallery was the first professional Arab art gallery in the Persian Gulf region.{{cite web|author=Kristine Khouri |title=Mapping Arab Art through the Sultan Gallery |url=http://arteeast.org/quarterly/mapping-arab-art-through-the-sultan-gallery/|publisher=ArteEast}}{{cite web|title=The Sultan Gallery – Kristine Khouri|website = YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsr5SSWKfPQ}} Khalifa Al-Qattan was the first Kuwaiti artist to hold a solo artist exhibition in Kuwait. He founded a new art theory in the early 1960s known as "circulism".{{cite thesis |first=Hussain |last=Muayad H. |type=PhD thesis |url=http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/3909/1/Hussain_12_PhD_v1.pdf |title=Modern Art from Kuwait: Khalifa Qattan and Circulism|publisher=University of Birmingham|date=2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.khalifaqattan.com/about-khalifa-qattan/|title=Khalifa Qattan, Founder of Circulism}} Other notable Kuwaiti artists include Sami Mohammad, Thuraya Al-Baqsami and Suzan Bushnaq.

Art galleries

List of art galleries in Kuwait:

  • Dar Al Funoon{{cite web|title=Dar Al Funoon|url=http://www.daralfunoon-kw.com/|access-date=2016-08-20|archive-date=2019-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509215332/https://www.daralfunoon-kw.com/|url-status=dead}}
  • Contemporary Art Platform (CAP){{cite web|title=CAP Kuwait|url=http://capkuwait.com/}}
  • Boushahri Gallery{{cite web|title=Boushahri Gallery|url=https://www.instagram.com/boushahri.gallery/?hl=en}}
  • Sultan Gallery{{cite web|title=Sultan Gallery|url=http://www.sultangallery.com/}}
  • Free Art Atelier{{cite web|title=Grand Re-Opening of Free Art Atelier|url=http://www.artkuwait.org/2011/06/grand-re-opening-of-free-art-atelier.html}}
  • Den Gallery{{cite web|title=Den Gallery|url=http://www.den-gallery.com/|access-date=2016-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831221845/http://den-gallery.com/|archive-date=2019-08-31|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Den Gallery in Kuwait|website=Red Bull|url=http://www.redbull.com/mea/en/stories/1331721570711/den-gallery-in-kuwait}}{{cite web|title=Den Gallery Instagram|url=https://instagram.com/den_gallery/}}
  • The Hub{{cite web|title=The Hub|url=http://www.thehubkuwait.com}}
  • Al Mashreq Gallery{{cite web|title=Al Mashreq Gallery|url= https://www.instagram.com/almashreqgallery}}
  • Ghadir Gallery{{cite web|title=Art Galleries and Museums in Kuwait|url=http://www.artkuwait.org/art-galleries-art-museums-art-institutions-exhibition-halls-in-kuwait}}
  • Al Othman Gallery
  • Dahiya Abdullah Al-Salim Art Gallery
  • AM Art & Design Gallery{{cite web|title=AM Art & Design Gallery|url=http://www.artkuwait.org/art-galleries-art-museums-art-institutions-exhibition-halls-in-kuwait}}
  • Al Adwani Art Gallery
  • Visual Therapy Gallery
  • The Print Room
  • Art Space{{cite web|title=Art Space: Kuwait's Latest Community Art Centre and Cafe|url=http://www.khaleejesque.com/2014/07/art-design/art-space-kuwait/}}{{cite web|title=Art Space|url=https://instagram.com/artspaceQ8/}}
  • Museum of Modern Art{{cite web|title=Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) Kuwait|url=http://thekulturefiles.com/kf/?page_id=614|access-date=2016-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914151043/http://thekulturefiles.com/kf/?page_id=614|archive-date=2016-09-14|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Kuwait Art Museum Succeeds Where Others Have Failed|website=HuffPost|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sultan-sooud-alqassemi/kuwait-art-museum-succeed_b_2996769.html}}{{cite web|title=Kuwait's Hidden Jewel: The Modern Art Museum|website=HuffPost|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sultan-sooud-alqassemi/kuwaits-hidden-jewel-the_b_666001.html}}
  • Al-Makan{{cite web|title=Al-Makan|url=http://www.almakan-kw.com/cubeintro|access-date=2016-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816130159/http://www.almakan-kw.com/cubeintro/|archive-date=2018-08-16|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Al-Makan|url=http://www.almakan-kw.com/studiointro|access-date=2016-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816125647/http://www.almakan-kw.com/studiointro/|archive-date=2018-08-16|url-status=dead}}
  • Masaha 13{{cite web|title=Masaha 13|url=http://www.masaha13.com/|access-date=2017-01-13|archive-date=2016-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010122751/http://www.masaha13.com/|url-status=dead}}
  • Center of the Arts{{cite web|title=Center of the Arts|url=http://www.artkuwait.com.kw/|access-date=2016-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902102212/https://www.artkuwait.com.kw/|archive-date=2018-09-02|url-status=dead}}
  • Sadu House
  • Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah at Yarmouk Cultural Centre{{cite web |title=Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah at Yarmouk Cultural Centre |url=http://darmuseum.org.kw/dar-al-athar-al-islamiyyah-at-yarmouk-cultural-centre/ |access-date=2016-08-20 |archive-date=2015-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005010635/http://darmuseum.org.kw/dar-al-athar-al-islamiyyah-at-yarmouk-cultural-centre/ |url-status=dead }}
  • Dar El Cid
  • Manifesto 13{{cite web|title=Manifesto 13|url=http://manifesto13.com/}}
  • Promenade Culture Center{{cite web|title=Promenade Culture Centre unveils 'Our Story: Expressions of Cultural Identity' Art Exhibition|url=http://news.kuwaittimes.net/pdf/2016/jun/04/p05.pdf}}
  • Wejha{{cite web|title=Wejha|url=http://wejha.com}}
  • Fann Way Gallery{{cite web|title=Fann Way Gallery|url=https://www.instagram.com/fann_way/}}
  • Fine Arts Centre, Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre{{cite web|title=ASCC|url=https://www.ascckw.com/about-fac}}

References

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