Doha: Katara has become a centre for cultural and intellectual development in the region due to the unlimited support it receives from the country’s leadership. Its aim, anchored on Qatar National Vision 2030, is to make Doha an international capital of culture while maintaining its distinct local and Gulf identity, and to offer an ideal model of Arab culture to the world.
With regard to the achievements of Katara, Al Sulaiti said Katara was steadily moving towards accomplishing the remaining components of the project, such as Katara Hills, a health and fitness club, fountains and a commercial and entertainment complex which will feature some renowned names, international brands, cinemas and other entertainment facilities.
“I can say that we are in the final stage of finalising all the project components, which will soon see the light of day according to the schedule, which is by 2017 and 2018. This project will add value to Katara, turning it into an international cultural destination,” Al Sulaiti said.
He said work was under way on a new project that occupies a vast area in Katara. The health and fitness club will be located in the coastal area facing The Pearl Qatar, while the commercial complex is being built in the west and has an open yard with a fountain, in addition to underground parking.
Regarding Katara Hills, he said it will include some of the most stunning projects of Katara, including investment, entertainment and commercial projects.
On upcoming projects, he said, “We are soon going to launch the Katara Cultural Market on the seaside according to plan. It will be an area dedicated to books built according to Qatari architecture. It will comprise a permanent book exhibition where books will be sold at nominal prices, and libraries for Arabic books, foreign titles, periodicals and children’s books.”
Katara will have a centre for Arabic novels which will house a vast collection of Arabic novels and a photo exhibition on famous Arab novelists. It will also depict the history of the Arabic novel. Entry to the centre will be free.
There will also be an exhibition devoted to Arabic calligraphy and paintings, an audiovisual library that will buy and sell audiovisual material, a readers’ club and an open area for free reading events.
He explained that the project will have two phases. During Ramadan, a dialogue will be held on one day every week, and every Friday a storyteller (‘hakawati’) will present a story in Qatari style. After Ramadan, there will be regular heritage events every week, such as a traditional handicraft week, an Arab poetry week, and a week for fine arts and photography. Intellectuals, writers, photographers, artists, craftsmen and hobbyists will be given the opportunity to exhibit their products and innovations in the market.
This project will be under the Katara Cultural Forum because the forum is meant to transform the experience of culture into an enterprise in which there will be meetings between Katara Prize for Arabic Novels and international and regional organisations such as the Arab Publishers Association, Arab Writers Union and Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation.
In an interview with The Peninsula, Dr Al Sulaiti said the launch of multi-cultural events via Katara Cultural Forum was set to enhance cultural and intellectual events in Katara and create a bridge between Katara and society.
The Forum is run by competent Qatari figures in line with Katara’s strategy. He explained that the Forum would play an influential role in enriching the local, Gulf and Arab cultural scene while encouraging talent and innovation.
Katara, he said, had always been keen to keep in touch with intellectuals and Qatari writers to provide them support in their journey and nurture artists and innovative individuals as a way to promote culture in the country. Katara is also keen to promote fine arts in Qatar by helping the artists tackle the difficulties they face.
He added that the traditional heritage forum was a contribution to reviving national heritage and pushing it towards globalisation, and Katara would give priority to handicrafts and traditional professions. Katara will also pay attention to different section of the electronic media due to the influence they wield.
The Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, the largest in the Arab world, recognises innovative work and cultural diversity and is meant to enhance cultural dialogue and openness to different cultures, he said.
Katara Cultural Forum has taken the initiative of launching a number of sub-forums in specific areas. Could you explain that? What are the main forums?
The first initiative was the cultural forum for Qatari writers and authors. This forum is a platform for Qatari writers to discuss their intellectual and creative work and the influence of other cultures on their work. In addition, it is a venue to explore experiences and cultural issues in areas of concern for Qatari writers and Arabs living in Qatar and to discuss to what extent they have been influenced by Qatari culture and environment and how this is reflected in their work.
The forum is also a platform for intellectuals and Qatari writers to get support in their journey of innovation as Katara is keen to keep communicating with them and put all its resources at their service in order to improve the cultural environment in the country and enhance the cultural identity of Qatar.
It is our ambition to build a society of creative individuals, foremost of them the writers, for whom Katara is concerned, and it is showing its appreciation for their efforts.
I want to emphasise that Qatar has become a leading centre for Arab culture due to the key role it is playing in promoting cultural exchange between nations since it was named the Capital of Arab Culture in 2010.
Due to its geographical location, Qatar has historical links with the civilisations of neighbouring countries, influencing and being influenced by other cultures.
Where does traditional heritage figure in the concerns of Katara Cultural Forum?
We did not miss the importance of traditional heritage of our society, that’s why we launched the public heritage forum, which focuses on the land and marine heritage of the Qatari and Gulf societies. This includes art, songs, sayings, customs, folklore, traditional industries and handicraft. This forum was launched in response to efforts to revive the natural heritage of Qatar and carry it to the global level by shedding light on the values, traditions and customs of our ancestors and to pass them on to the new generation using creative methods in line with contemporary life in Qatar and the GCC and Arab countries.
It is of utmost importance to revive and promote traditional culture because it mirrors the society’s cultural identity, which is the accumulation of human interactions with environmental, cultural and social variables which altogether make up cultural heritage.
Heritage is invaluable as it is life’s memory which links the past with the present. This is explained by the fact that understanding historical events would not be possible without studying heritage, therefore I can say history is the memory of the nation and cultural heritage is its spirit.
Are artists being given enough attention in the activities of Katara Cultural Forum?
We have launched the artistes and critics forum with the aim of bringing together actors, singers and drama producers within the Katara Cultural Forum. The launch of the artistes and critics forum is a step towards realising the Katara strategy and we hope this forum achieves its aims and becomes a beacon for people working in this area to develop their innovative works.
As you know, Katara is implementing a promising five-year strategy which seeks to provide support in different areas relevant to culture, arts and heritage and the artistes and critics forum is one of the platforms from which we have high hopes of building cultural, artistic, intellectual and literary movements. It will be a link between different projects sponsored by Katara, to realise its noble aims, and this will benefit all people because literature, culture and art are daily needs of human beings and are no more luxuries.
Katara is trying to convey the message that it is a supporter of different segments of society, including artists and innovators who play a leading role in raising social issues and reflecting the society’s concerns through cinema, theatre, television, radio and other forums. In this regard, I would like to emphasise that Katara is keen to keep in touch with this segment and put all its capacities and facilities at their service to encourage innovative work and artistic endeavours in Qatar to enhance the cultural identity of Qatar. Katara will spare no effort in achieving excellence through cultural, artistic and intellectual programmes it is hosting as part of its vision to build an intellectual and creative society.
What can you say about youth and social media activists?
The new media forum has been launched to deal with the electronic information revolution and to give more attention to various social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Also, the launch of this forum shows how Katara appreciates the role of these activists in different social media, especially the youth, because they are the most active in this area. The forum’s aim is give attention to this segment and improve their vital role, which has notably been seen during the past years in different Arab countries. The forum will focus on the new generation of talented youth by exploring their cultural and artistic potential, and we create for them the platform to showcase their abilities.
Today we are witnessing a wave of change taking place in the electronic media, which is expanding its capacity, penetrating and becoming a part of our daily lives. The search for information is linked to modern media and the way people are connected, and the area of information exchange has become very wide, therefore it is important to give attention to this area.
Katara is highly concerned with new media for their power and influence, which challenges traditional media. Because of new media the world has become one village; they are crossing borders and barriers and establishing new concepts within the limitless electronic space. We are speaking about a virtual world of education and electronic governance because real power lies with those who control knowledge and information.
What distinguishes Katara Prize for Arabic Novel from others and what is its aim?
As of now this is the biggest prize devoted to Arabic novels and it is aimed at all Arab novelists in the GCC and Arab countries because our vision is that as Arabs we have more things in common than differences, and if the political situation has made us disunited for a while, many things will remain common and among these are art and literature, which have common aims.
Our mission is make Arab novels a platform for unity and give a chance to young and professional writers bywhich we want to tell them that we appreciate their work. Our aim is to bring novelists from different Arab countries together and support them in publishing their novels.
The Prize includes translation of the winning novel into English and the selection of the best novel to be turned into a film and drama. The importance of the prize lies not only in the financial value, although it is the largest in the Arab region. It is important that there is an institution which greatly appreciates innovative literary works by Arab writers, telling them we are concerned with your cultural products, we recognise their value and we will take them to the world through translation and by turning them into drama and film.
The Peninsula
