31 March 2018
Bahrain International Book Fair: more than 30 000 Visitors, Cultural events and different intellectual discussions
For the 4th consecutive day, the 18th Bahrain International Book Fair, held Under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, May God Protect Him, continues to attract students, teachers, scholars, authors, intellectuals, librarians and book lovers to its specially set tent near Arab Fort. Over 30,000 people visited the book fair and enjoyed the cultural program offered and they also discovered the huge number of renowned publishing houses’ intellectual and cultural outputs.
The latest cultural event organized at the fair, celebrating the Guest of Honor, Saudi Arabia, was on (31 March 2018), a lecture titled “The Saudi Film Experiment” by screenwriter and film critic Dr. Fahad Al-Yehya about the bold experiments made in Saudi cinema and its evolution and what the future may hold for it. The lecture reviewed the history of Saudi film developments and challenges, raising many questions with regard to the challenges facing this experiment. This was the lecture series presented by the guest of honor as part of its cultural program. Lebanese journalist and cinema director, Mr. Ibrahim Al-Arees, in cooperation with Shaikh Ibrahim Center for Culture & Research, presented “ Knowledge… One Way to Move from Past to Present” an intellectual discussion in which he went deep into the topic of writing about knowledge and its role in creating and entrenching a bigger consciousness amongst the upcoming generations and the impetus to engage on a cultural level to affect a deeper understanding.
Bahrain Writers Association was also present as part of the book fair events and participated with a Poetry Recital with Dr. Alawi Al-Hashemi, on Saturday 31 March Noted poet Dr. Alawi Al-Hashemi shared with the audience a selection of his unique brand of poetry, well respected and renowned for its tidy and articulate language. At the same time, there was also a music concert performance by Saudi-based Nagham band highlighting Saudi music, an important facet of GCC culture and the Arabian Peninsula that contains within it a colorful multitude of music genres and rhythms at the book fair theater stage for events.
In addition, both Saudi artists, Abdulhadi Al-Farhan and Badr Al-Balawi neded their participation at the book fair by continuing to give live demonstrations of the art of painting on leather and the techniques behind it. Saudi artist Badr Al-Belawi showcased his talent for re-arranging spaces and inanimate items to make wonderful and mesmerizing works of art.
The Children’s Corner at the Bahrain International Book Fair, in cooperation with Shaikh Salman Cultural Center, still welcomes little ones with a series of workshops on creative short story writing, a storytelling session for traditional Bahraini stories, participatory readings with children, a workshop on how to build a home library, and a series of workshops.
Worth to mention that the Bahrain International Book Fair, which coincides with Spring of Culture Festival, hosts a total of 400 local, Arab and international publishing houses, cultural and intellectual institutions representing 26 countries are taking part in the 2018 edition. The fair is organized at a special tent near Arad Fort in the city of Muharraq, celebrated as the “Capital of Islamic Culture 2018". Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities would like to thank all those who helped and contributed to making this book fair a fabulous cultural and historical success, a source of inspiration. BACA extends its thanks to Gold Sponsors, Viva telecommunications company, and Silver Sponsors, Bapco, AA Car Rental. Media support is covered by the Ministry of Information and Al-Bilad and Al Watan newspapers.
