The Al-Qurain Cultural Festival kicked off its 29th edition yesterday, Sunday, in Kuwait, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters. The event included the honoring of several pioneers of the council and a special tribute to Kuwaiti poet Khalifa Al-Wuqayan, who was named the character of this edition.
The opening ceremony took place at the Sheikh Jaber Cultural Centre, attended by Minister of Information Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi. In his speech, he affirmed that the festival has been a cultural, intellectual, and literary beacon in Kuwait since its inception in 1994, presenting contributions and activities annually that enrich cultural and artistic movements across various fields.
The festival will continue until February 22 and includes around thirty different events and activities, such as intellectual seminars, lectures, poetry and music evenings, exhibitions of visual arts and cinema, as well as book and heritage exhibitions and reading workshops.
Al-Mutairi noted that this year's honorees formed the cornerstone of the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters and represent a generation that is aware of the necessity to preserve culture and the arts. The poet Khalifa Al-Wuqayan was born in Kuwait in 1941 and holds a PhD in Arabic Language and Literature from Ain Shams University in Cairo, obtained in 1980. He served as the Secretary-General of the Association of Writers in Kuwait and was awarded the State Appreciation Prize for Poetry by the festival.
Al-Wuqayan has several poetry publications including "Sailing with the Winds," "Transformations of Times," "Exiting the Circle," as well as the poetry collection "Harvest of the Wind." He has also published several books including "The Arab Cause in Kuwaiti Poetry" and "Poetry of Al-Buhturi: An Artistic Study."
This edition of the festival is named after the poet and writer Abdul Aziz Saud Al-Babtain, who passed away in December at the age of 87, in recognition of his contributions to Kuwaiti and Arab culture. This year's list of honorees also includes the late Dr. Ahmad Mashari Al-Adwani (1922-1990) alongside Dr. Suleiman Al-Shetewi, Abdul Aziz Al-Saree, and Dr. Suleiman Al-Akri.
During the ceremony, various pieces of Kuwaiti musical heritage were performed, as well as special pieces related to the Palestinian cause, with performers wearing Palestinian kufi. Kuwaiti artist Jasem Al-Nabhan highlighted selected verses from poems that represent generations of Kuwaiti literature, with Qatari artist Mansour Al-Mahndi participating in singing.
During the festival, the "Third Art: Mural Art" project will be launched to beautify streets, public walls, and electricity substations in the Al-Masayel area of Kuwait with distinctive artworks from volunteer artists. The Palestinian cause will also be present at the festival through a lecture on "Resistance Literature" by writer Adnia Shalabi at the National Library of Kuwait. Other activities include an exhibition of the Al-Arabi magazine, a heritage and Sadu exhibition, and an exhibition of publications from the National Council at Kuwait University.
