Despite the challenges posed by global COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions associated with it, Qatar’s cultural activities remain colourful with the organisation of a number of cultural events strictly following the public health measures and guidelines.
A number of events are also being organised virtually to provide people an opportunity to come out of stressful effects of social distancing and isolation which are required to curb the spread of outbreak.
With COVID-19 safety precautions in place, the fourth edition of Katara International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition (S’hail 2020) opened its doors on October 20 to an enthusiastic response from falconers and hunting aficionados alike. Some 112 leading companies dealing in falconry and hunting supplies and equipment from Qatar, Kuwait, Spain, Lebanon, the United States, the UK, Turkey, Pakistan, Romania, Belgium, Portugal, France, and Hungary gathered at the exhibition.
Inside the massive white tent erected specially for the event at Katara’s Wisdom Square are stalls offering customised off-road vehicles, hunting and camping equipment and supplies, and tracking and training devices and other supplies for falcons, among others. Safety measures such as checking of Ehteraz and body temperature at the entrance and social distancing are being implemented at the venue where hand sanitizers are available at all entrances and at strategic places around the area.
Earlier highly skilled artisans from eight countries - Qatar, Ethiopia, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, and Iran - gathered at the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara to showcase their indigenous products at the third edition of Traditional Handicrafts Exhibition which opened on October 14. The Qatari handicraft industry took the spotlight with a showcase of wide-ranging handcrafted local products at the Handicraft Gallery, including miniature dhows, batoola, boxes, dolls, falcon hoods and products made from sadu weaving, among others.
On October 13, the Cultural Village Foundation, Katara, announced the winners of the 6th Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, which was held remotely under the supervision of the Arab League Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO). In recent months, Katara also organised dozens of arts exhibitions virtually of the works of leading artists from around the world.
On October 1, the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) also reopened its permanent galleries and unveiled the landmark exhibition, “Splendours of the Ancient East: Antiquities from The al-Sabah Collection”, in its Temporary Exhibition Gallery. Drawn from the extraordinary holdings assembled in Kuwait by Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Sheikha Hussa Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah, more than 170 objects provide a sweeping overview of the artistic and material culture of the ancient world, while also revealing new insights into the roots of Islamic art.
