National Day / Katara Hosts Local, International Events and Festivals

Doha, December 12 (QNA) - The Cultural Village Foundation Katara has organized over the year various public events and activities including programs, exhibitions, workshops as well as international concerts and plays while the local aspect was an important factor in attracting visitors, citizens and residents through festivals. Katara has developed a calendar according to the international events and made outstanding achievements by gaining the German ISO quality system certification as a step confirming the depth of its commitment to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030. Katara has hosted important and various forums relating to Qatar's Popular Heritage, the Maritime Heritage in Qatar and the Gulf region, the arts, songs and popular traditions, customs, traditions, crafts and popular culture. This year also witnessed the launching of and Artists and Critics Forum, the third initiative being launched following the Cultural Forum for Writers and the Forum of Plastic Art including painting, sculpture, ceramics and mosaics. The hosting of the fourth Traditional Dhow Festival 2014 which saw a record-breaking participation from Qatar and other GCC countries was among the most eminent events marking this year's achievements, during which KATARA announced the restoration of the Burj Al Mafras archaeological site. Katara also launched the annual Prize for Arabic Novel, Our Qatar" a Community Photography Installation project coordinated by the Katara Art Studios, as well other activities, competitions, events and programs. Katara has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Organization of Folk Art - the Regional Office of Bahrain and renewed its agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the development of cooperation, supporting the common cultural movement, and opportunities for cultural, intellectual and creative exchange, and promoting cultural programs and dialogue between cultures. Katara also hosted several festivals, including the Fourth Qatar International Falcons and Hunting Festival 2014 with the attendance of a large group of participants and the Festival "Halal Hal Qatar" which include activities and events, as well as a display of crafts, traditional foods, pictures, popular games and old songs, shepherds will also participate in the festival to provide explanation on the sheep & goats and their types. As art and art galleries paly a n important role in attracting visitors among citizens and residents the Qatar Photographic Society, the Department of Visual Arts and the Katara Art Centre (KAC) and Katara Art Studios (KAS) with the participation of a large group of skilled Qatari, GCC and foreigners artists as well as photographers. In the framework of monitoring an enriching art movement, a number of events were organized mainly Yousef Ahmad: Story of ingenuity exhibition, Woven Relations by Mohamed Abou El Naga, arts exhibition titled "See my culture," Qatar Brazil: A Journey from the Amazon to the Desert a photography exhibition to showcase the best works of Qatari and Brazilian photographers Aref Hussein, Abdullah Al Tamimi, Andre Joaquim and Leonardo Wen. Katara also hosted the 'Champion of Sands', a photographic exhibition on Arabian horses organised by the Qatar Photographic Society (QPS), together with World Arabian Horse Organisation and Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, an exhibition of the paintings of Iraqi artist Omar al-Shihabi titled "My Reality" as well as a photo exhibition of the late Qatari photographer Rashid Safar displaying archive photos from the late artist's works. Among the most eminent exhibitions hosted by Katara was the Exhibition Islamic Monuments of India by Benoy K Behl, Prodigious values of the "Fath El-Kheir" journey to the Gulf harbors by Ahmed bin Yousef Al - Khulaifi, Finding History in the Present Aisha Al Suwaidi Design Exhibition, Selam Mekan, an exhibition by Turkish artist Canan Dagdelen, Plants of Quranic Botanic Garden Exhibition, solo exhibition 'Message to a man' by Qatari artist Iman Abdullah Al Haidoos, a photography Exhibition entitled "Hope of the hunter" by Qatari artist Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Khulaifi along with the 4th exhibition of "The Gulf, Civilization & History" Series. Amid the contests that Katara was keen to organize was the third edition of the pearl diving and fishing contest (Senyar) and has released its latest book Qatar and its Maritime Heritage within its strategy to revive this ancient maritime tradition and promote its importance and cultural value to Qatar’s history. The Opera House in Katara hosted series of concerts including the Italian band, celebrations of the National Days of a number of embassies in Qatar, namely the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova, a musical performance of the Embassy of Belgium and world-renowned maestro Simon Shaheen's "Arabi Gharbi" concert, "One Thousand and One nights" Ballet, Cinderella Ballet, classic ballet "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs," the Acrobat Ballet, the international acrobatic ballet "The Nutcracker", the Spanish architecture expo entitled 'On a Journey: Spanish Architecture in the Arab World,'the Chinese Celebration, the Iranian Celebration along with the Moroccan Handicraft Week, Polish art expo and the Palestinian Heritage Week. (QNA)