Media Center

Her Excellency Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director General of Culture and Arts at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, has virtually participated in the fourth edition of Misk Art Week webinar, which was organized by the Misk Art Institute on Saturday the 5th of December, 2020, and will be ongoing until the 7th of December, 2020 held at the Prince Faisal bin Fahad Fine Arts Gallery. Misk Art Week is one of the main initiatives of the Misk Art Institute as the organizers hope to engage the creative community through dialogue, exhibitions, workshops and artistic performances.

H.E Shaikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa attended the webinar panel discussions as the main guest speaker, together with Egyptian artist, Ehab al-Labban, Director of Arts Complex, “Aisha Fahmy Palace”. The roundtable discussion themed “What is the future of cultural production? How success and failure challenges can have an impact on the identity of practitioners and their affect their perspectives? Mrs. Sara Al-Omran moderated the session. H.E Shaikha Hala presented some photos of Pearling: Testimony of an Island Economy, a UNESCO World Heritage List since 2012, arguing that the urban landscape has an important historical heritage value and importance, which drives us all to preserve and safeguard as part of our social responsibility roles given the richness of their diversity and historical significance for the whole region. In addition, H.E pointed out that the art exhibition  titled “ Qala’at al Bahrain Through the  Ages”, which was held at Bahrain Fort site in 2014 was  an interactive art installation project, conceived by French artist Marie-Françoise Rouy and French composer and sound designer Luc Martinez, with Guest Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota. The artistic scenography aimed to enhance the visitors’ experience of Qal’at Al Bahrain site and raise awareness about its historical significance. The project consisted of six engraved-glass steles and three art installations. The steles, placed in the lower courtyard of the fort, introduce the visitors to the history of the site and its historical development and the beauty of this UNESCO World Heritage List site.

H.E Shaikha Hala also said that Bahrain Culture Authority’s program of events and activities has never stopped to present the best annual cultural rendez-vous and offering selection of amazing events, such the pioneering cultural calendar of Spring of Culture Festival. Indeed, the festival holds every year a significant live music or cultural events in heritage and urban landscapes locations throughout Bahrain, a county  proud to be channel of international cultural linguae franca, an open window to the world. The exceptional health circumstances dictated by the corona virus pandemic have not hindered or caused the cancellation of culture events and the cultural scene remained vivid and interactive in the virtual world via BACA’s online platforms, keeping touch with the loyal culture enthusiastic public.

In addition, H.E Shaikha Hala shed lights in this regard on Pearling Path-related initiatives, such as " Bench in Muharraq”, which centered around the idea of Designing a bench that would be placed in the park, in public spaces or on the sides of the road the public bench, targeting, thus, designers, architects and artists, we aim to encourage our audience to present their thoughts and ideas and share proposals for designing a public bench. The aim was to engage the participants with the dynamics of the city, having them not only design but also choose a proposed location on the Pearling Path and taking into considering people/place interaction. H.E also highlighted the crucial role played by the civil society in Muharraq and the huge projects spearheaded by Shaikh Ebrahim Center for Culture & Research, a cultural venture established and chaired by H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, the Chairperson of Board of Trustees. H.E Shaikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa added saying that the Center has now become a lighthouse, a citadel of culture and dialogue between different cultures and civilizations, inviting key prominent literary, artistic and intellectual figures from all over the world, in addition to its role as a booster and development driving force behind a pioneering urban landscape revolutionary initiatives carried out in the historical city of Muharraq ; restoration, rehabilitation of historical houses do really reflect the delicious beauty of a diverse cultural historical hub, Al-Muharraq.   
 
Worth mentioning that Misk Art Institute is a new artist-centered cultural organization operating under the auspices of the Misk Foundation, established by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2013. The Institute was established in 2017 to encourage grassroots artistic production in Saudi Arabia, nurture the appreciation of Saudi and Arab art and enable international cultural diplomacy and exchange.