NEWS
Writers and artists call for action on the sustainability of Arab culture and innovation College of Arts at University of Bahrain Celebrates the Arabic Language
Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Mansoor Alwanni)
3 January 2024
Several Arabic language professors and fine artists at the University of Bahrain discussed the importance of sustaining the culture of the Arabic language, linking it to the innovation industry and the production of knowledge, within the framework of preserving beliefs, cultural practices, and heritage.
In a seminar organized by the Cultural and Social Committee at the College of Arts, on the occasion of the International Day of the Arabic Language, titled: “The Arabic Language and Cultural Sustainability: Arabic is the Language of Poetry and Arts”, the speakers stressed the importance of consolidating the role of the College of Arts in cultural sustainability, knowledge economy industry, and cultural innovation, by reviewing the most prominent pioneering projects and experiences in this field, and working on achieving interdisciplinary studies between the scientific departments at the College of Arts. In addition to achieving sustainable cultural development, by working on the establishment of institutional cultural projects, in partnership with academic and cultural institutions inside and outside the Kingdom of Bahrain, including regional and international cultural institutions (UNESCO and ALECSO).
Dr. Dheya Abdulla Al-Kaabi, Head of the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, Associate Professor of Narratives and Modern Literary Criticism and Head of the Cultural and Social Committee of the College of Arts, spoke at the seminar organized by the Cultural and Social Committee of the College of Arts on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at the university’s headquarters in Sakhir.
Dr. Al-Kaabi dealt with the book (Chronicles of Majnun Layla) by the Bahraini poet Qassim Haddad and the Iraqi fine artist Diaa Al-Azzawi, and the experience of the Bahraini fine artist Ibrahim Bu Saad in his art exhibition (The Dove Collar) inspired by his book (The Collar of the Dove in Familiarity and Understanding) by Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusi, which are two examples of beautiful intersections, and inspiring creative intertextualities between literature, fine arts and visual formation.
For his part, Dr. Essam Al-Jowder, Assistant Professor of Music Composition, spoke about “The Influence of the Classical Arabic Language on Music”, and his research paper dealt with the relationship of music to language since ancient times, where the Pharaonic civilization originated, through the Greek civilization, until the twentieth century.
For his part, Ayman Jaafar Mohamed, Head of the Artistic Activities Division at the Deanship of Student Affairs, spoke about “Arabic Calligraphy: Paths, Formations and Cultural Sustainability”, and the paper dealt with a brief presentation of the journey of Arabic calligraphy, the diversity of Arabic calligraphy, leading to Arabic letters, and the accompanying change in the concept and artistic and cultural practice.
On the sidelines of the seminar, a number of students from the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies participated in the “Arab Days” festival, by reciting Arabic poems and holding poetry debates. The festival included an exhibition of several paintings of Arabic calligraphy by calligrapher Ayman Jaafar, in addition to an exhibition of a group of calligraphers and calligraphers who were inspired by Islamic Arabic letters.
This seminar is the first activity of the new cultural program of the Cultural and Social Committee at the College of Arts for the academic year 2023/2024, which sheds light on the axis of cultural sustainability, titled “College of Arts, Cultural Sustainability and the Cultural Innovation Industry in the Twenty-first Century”.
