البرنامج الثقافي ليوم الأربعاء 2 مايو 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

جدول برامج الطفل ليوم الأربعاء 2 مايو 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

البرنامج الثقافي ليوم الثلاثاء 1 مايو 2012 في مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

جدول برامج الطفل ليوم الثلاثاء 1 مايو 2012 في مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

لمشاهدة برنامج الطفل كامل يمكنكم زيارة موقع  Sharjahbookfair.com 

البرنامج الثقافي ليوم الاثنين 30 أبريل 2012- مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

جدول برامج الطفل ليوم الاثنين 30 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

لمشاهدة جدول البرامج كامل يمكنكم زيارة الموقع الإلكتروني sharjahbookfair.com

جدول البرنامج الثقافي ليوم الأحد 29 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

جدول برامج الطفل ليوم الأحد 29 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

لمشاهدة جدول برامج الطفل لمهرجان الشارقة القرائي كاملا بمكنكم زيارة الموقع الإلكتروني sharjahbookfair.com

#Shjibf community Canvas - Sharjah Children's Reading Festival - YouTube

#Shjibf community Canvas - Sharjah Children's Reading Festival - YouTube:

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‫الأطفال في مهرجان الشارقة القرائي 2012‬‎ - YouTube

‫الأطفال في مهرجان الشارقة القرائي 2012‬‎ - YouTube:

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‫لوحات فنية للمبدعين في مهرجان الشارقة القرائي 2012 #shjibf‬‎ - YouTube

‫لوحات فنية للمبدعين في مهرجان الشارقة القرائي 2012 #shjibf‬‎ - YouTube:

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جدول البرنامج الثقافي ليوم السبت 28 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

جدول فعاليات برامج الطفل ليوم السبت 28 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

لمشاهدة جدول برامج المعرض كاملة يمكنكم زيارة الموقع الإلكتروني للمعرض 

Sharjahbookfair.com

جدول فعاليات برامج الطفل ليوم الجمعة 27 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

البرنامج الثقافي ليوم الخميس 26 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

جدول فعاليات برامج الطفل ليوم الخميس 26 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf

جدول البرنامج الثقافي ليوم الأربعاء 25 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #Shjibf

جدول فعاليات برامج الطفل ليوم الأربعاء 25 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي للطفل

جدول البرنامج الثقافي ليوم الثلاثاء 24 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي للطفل #Shjibf

جدول فعاليات برامج الطفل ليوم الثلاثاء 24 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي للطفل #Shjibf

جدول فعاليات برنامج الطفل ليوم الإثنين 23 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي للطفل

Guest Post — Literary Tourism | Liticism

Guest post by @LisaDempster

In November 2010 I landed in Sharjah – a place I had not known existed until two months earlier – and several hours later I was sitting in a grand reception hall watching its International Book Fair being opened by one Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed al Qassimi. The room was opulent and bustling, and I sat at a large table with many strangers, wearing headphones through which the Arabic ceremony was being translated into English and wondering why no one was eating the lavish banquets arranged on each table. Only two things were certain: I was in a room with actual royalty, and I was a long way from home.

Over the past few years I have been lucky enough to visit several international literary festivals through my work as Director of the Emerging Writers’ Festival. I’ve been inspired, had some life-changing moments, made a lot of warm and wise new friends, and felt hopelessly out of my depth on more than one occasion. And I’ve discovered the unique joys of being a literary tourist.

I love the term literary tourism. It’s not a phrase that is used very often – I guess it doesn’t sound particularly sexy on a travel brochure – but it excites me because literature and travel are two of my favourite things. Where some lit types travel to visit settings in a favourite text or make a pilgrimage to an author’s birthplace, my favourite bookish destinations are festivals.

Just like literature expands the mind, travel opens it. For me, the combination of both is intensely rewarding. Liberated from everyday routines, I tend to go into a state of hyper-receptiveness. Free from the usual at-home motions of work and play, there is more time to engage deeply with a literary festival – to listen, to talk, to think. To write.

Last week, I walked the halls of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, once again a literary tourist in a foreign city. Just like shopping, eating or sightseeing abroad can reveal a lot about a place, so too can its literary culture. The reflection of local customs, traditions and character make lit festivals interesting for the bookish traveler. But while the events, protocols and setting are excitingly different, the people there tend to be comfortingly the same – writers, publishers, readers. Book people.

My first international literary jaunt was to Edinburgh International Book Festival two years ago and it was a mind-blowing experience being at a festival in another country, even one I feel culturally at home in. It was so similar yet so different to events in Australia. Same format, different writers. Same topics, different discussions. Same structures yet totally different atmosphere. And while the cultural differences are much wider at book fairs in the Emirates, the similarities are there too. It’s this familiarity that makes these international literary adventures so compelling; feeling secure within the familiar framework that is the literary festival leaves the mind free to wander in exciting new directions.

As a writer and reader, global literary events are just as relevant as the ones back home. Each festival discusses its own local issues while tapping into broader themes in the region and across the globe. For example, themes that arose from Abu Dhabi Book Fair this year included the importance of local writing, how publishing in the Arab world is developing, and how literature can help us understand the world in which we live. While every literary festival is a reflection of the unique culture it is located in, a great festival will facilitate conversations that cross cultural boundaries and appeal to a global audience.

Organisers of literary festivals understand the importance of this global perspective, which is why they bring in writers from around the world to their events. (Good directors will ensure there is cultural diversity as well.) I have been to many festivals in Australia where the interstate and international guests have sparked some remarkable discussions, and through these writers had my eyes opened to global issues and debates.

Leaving your local literary environment and experiencing those conversations through the lens of another country or culture can be both outrageously inspiring and profoundly moving. At the very least, you will discover a wealth of new literature and writers, voices that may not yet have travelled far outside their own countries – and for a literary type, that is worth travelling for.

Lisa Dempster is the Director of the Emerging Writers’ Festival and author of Neon Pilgrim. She blogs at Everyday Adventure.

الشارقة تحدد الـ 23 من أبريل الجاري موعداً لمهرجانها القرائي الرابع للطفل Sharjah Children's Reading Festival scheduled to open on 23 April

gulftoday.ae | Japanese treats for Geekfest visitors

Sharjah: Cool stuff will get a crowd going and at least 100 people, who decided to start their weekend at the Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba, got a dose of cool creations on Thursday evening.

It came by way of simultaneous presentations of the arts, video games, literature and the online platform, among others through the “Geekfest Sharjah.”

A first in the emirate and as a follow through to several similar events held in the region’s principal cities since 2009, the gathering primarily meant for individuals engrossed in digital and social media, proved to be the channel wherein the traditional could be given leeway.

Take the case of ‘manga’ through the eyes and exposure of Emirati Qais Sedki.

The former information communications technology person delves into this late 19th-century Japanese literature, believing that using it to propagate Arab and Emirati cultures in these modern times would be more appealing to other communities.

“The best way to make a change among the youth is to use something they can associate or relate well with, rather than (other forms of literature) forced on them to read,” said the father of two, when interviewed.

Sedki, who had gone to the Philippines years ago, provided his audience with details of what ‘manga’ is all about, starting his lecture by saying it is not ‘mangga’ the Filipino term for mango, and relating it to the kamishibai, the traditional “walking storyteller” in the Land of the Rising Sun. 

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2010-Children’s Literature Category winner also shared with them his journey to the publication of his two-volume ‘mangas’, the plot of which is about the adventures of 15-year-old Emirati Sultan, involved in the fictional sport of the gold ring similar to falconry.

Earlier on, he told The Gulf Today, “This (Manga) is considered cool. If we want to encourage everyone to read, then this is it. The content is our own but the (tool) is imported.”

Saying there are a lot of ‘mangakas’ or ‘manga’ illustrators worldwide, Sedki added he decided to use the talent of the Japanese for his works “since it is in Japan where it (manga) all started.”

“Children will have fun really (reading ‘manga’),” he also said, agreeing that if people want to disseminate information or impact and effect change, the best way is through the most effective form of media, of which one is ‘manga’ whose annual sales alone in Japan reaches billions of dollars.

Talking of another “cool” Japanese import on Thursday evening was another Emirati, Ali Murad.

The graduating interior designing student from Ajman University is one of the eight university members of the JUKI (Japan, UAE, Kizuna Initiative) that promotes the 17th-century art of paper folding.

It was the second time for the group, headed by Saeed Al Suwaidi, to share their skills on origami at the art gallery with adults and children.

Saying he and the seven other members are attracted to the art and craft as it is normal for Emiratis to be oriented toward Japan and its culture by way of its ‘animes’ and cartoons with Arabic translations, Murad said it was last February, when all of them, along with the UAE’s “Green Sheikh,” Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, carried with them 1,000 origami pieces created by Emirati youth who were told to make and write wishes on them.

“There is a legend about the fulfilment of a wish through the creation of 1,000 pieces of origami,” he explained, adding that the 1,000 pieces brought to the March 11, 2011 tsunami sites and to the Hiroshima Memorial were all for the Japanese people “to live in peace.”

Upcoming artists Allan Wazacz and Faisal Hashim said in separate interviews that their introduction to the TripleW.Me website gave them the boost they need in their respective interests.

Musician Wazacz and film director Hashim have both had chances to be seen, through the Arabic-English website introduced in the UAE in July 2010. Hashim said that his first independent film “Perfect Living” had been viewed in Paris, France because of the website.

Wazacz’s joining a competition sponsored by the website had his performance going viral.

The goal is to promote regional talents, said TripleW.Me marketing and content manager Rasha Omer who believes the creation of opportunities in online media will lead to the proper usage of it.

Meanwhile, Romanian photographer Catalin Marin whose travel photography garnered the Best Photo Blog for Asia and Oceania last year held a session on the 10 tips on photoshoot and post-processing.

“Geekfest Sharjah” organiser Alexander McNabb said a second version of the event made possible through the Sharjah International Book Fair is already in the pipeline.

Sharjah International Book Fair Booth at the 2012 Bologna Children’s Book Fair

The Sharjah International Book Fair takes place annually in November while the 4th Sharjah Reading Children’s Festival will take place April 23 – May 2, 2012. Some details on the 4th Sharjah Reading Children’s Festival (SCRF):

More than 200 Arab and foreign publishing houses will take part in the event. 30 invited guests including authors, intellectuals, artists and researchers in the field of children’s literature, will participate in the parallel seminars, workshops and exhibitions.

SCRF will also include a series of art and heritage workshops, as well as theatrical plays, reading sessions, popular games, circus performances, clown shows and many other activities performed by guests from the GCC region, Arab world and Europe. For the first time this year SCRF is organizing awards for Children’s books as well as an illustrators exhibition.

Illustrators 2012

The Sharjah Children Books’ Illustrators Exhibition will display professional drawings of children’s books and stories of Emirati, Arab and International artists. The Exhibition will award the top 3 artworks from the exhibited works valuable prizes.

Sharjah Children Books Awards

Being concerned with encouraging writers and different creators to produce high level artworks in the field of children literature, Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival decided to launch “Sharjah Children Books Awards” which is meant to develop the children’s literary and cultural abilities, create their literary awareness and enrich the library with children’s literary works. The award targets 4 categories in the field of publishing, writing and illustrating.

Sharjah Children Book Award  (Visual Impairments) (Braille)

This award is aimed at people with special needs; precisely people with visual impairments.

For more details visit their website or social media pages. Now here are some pics from the Sharjah International Book Fair booth at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

جيك فيست الشارقة – GeekFest Sharjah

جيك فيست الشارقة – GeekFest Sharjah

يقام في إمارة الشارقة ولأول مرة  GeekFest وهو الحدث الذي إنطلق من دبي منذ 3 سنوات وامتد لعدة بلدان منها لبنان والأردن ومصر.  ويضم GeekFest Sharjah العديد من الفعاليات المختلفة والتي تتضمن الفن والثقافة والإبداع.

ويقام GeekFest Sharjah يوم الخميس الموافق 22 مارس 2012 وذلك في الدور الأول من مركز مرايا للفنون في القصباء

فعاليات GeekFest Sharjah

الحلقات النقاشية

• الموسيقى غذاء الروح

تبدأ الحلقات النقاشية مع رشا عمران مديرة التسويق والمحتوى للموقع الإلكتروني TripleW وهو موقع مخصص لمجتمع المبدعين ويقوم بالتشجيع على تحميل المقاطع الموسيقية والصور والأفلام الموجودة على الموقع بهدف مشاركة المواهب المختلفة وتوفير الفرص لها للإنتشار. وستقوم رشا بالتحدث عن الموقع وفكرته فى اجواء لا تخلو من سماع الموسيقى.

• اعترافات مهوس بفن المانغا

قيس صدقي، إماراتي متزوج واب لطفلين، تخلى عن مهنته في مجال تكنولوجيا المعلومات ليتابع شغفه بفن الرسوم التصويرية. ويهدف صدقي إلى توفير محتوى عربي مبتكر في مجال القصص المصورة متبعا اسلوب فن المانغا الياباني. وقام صدقي بإنشاء شركة نشر مستقلة مقرها دبي لنشر أولى أعماله؛ سوار الذهب، والتي فازت بجائزة الشيخ زايد عن فئة أدب الطفل في عام 2010 مما جعله أول مؤلف إماراتي يفوز بهذه الجائزة.

وسيقوم قيس بالتحدث عن فن المانجا واصوله وعرض تجربته ومحاولاته لإحداث فرق من خلال القراءة.

• الفن بمستوي جديد

اليكساندرا توهما هي المسؤولة عن الإستراتيجية الرقمية في شركة Ogilvy One وتقدم أليكس فكرة مشروع جديد يدور حول الإنتقال بالفن إلى مستوى اخر وذلك باستخدام التقنيات المختلفة مثل الحقيقة المدمجة augmented reality. وتتمنى أليكس من خلال عرض فكرتها الهام الحضور للعمل معها على هذا المشروع الجديد.

• الشارقة عام 1937!

يعد الفيلم الوثائقي Air Outpost واحد من أهم الوثائق الحية التي لا تنسى وتتناول تاريخ إمارة الشارقة في فترة ما قبل النفط. والفيلم من إنتاج أفلام لندن لشركة الخطوط الجوية الملكية عام 1937 ويركز على المطار الصحراوي بالشارقة ولمحات عن الوهابيين المتعصبين. ويعد الفيلم أول فيلم وثائقي حقيقي كما أن هناك مطالبات بإعلانه أول فيلم شركات يتم إنتاجه.

وقام اليكساندر مكناب بالحصول على نسخة من الفيلم عام 1990ودرس طويلا قصة الخطوط الجوية الملكية وسيقوم بعرض الفيلم والتحدث عنه خلال الأمسية.

عروض التكنولوجيا

تقوم شركة نوكيا بحضور أمسية GeekFest Sharjah للتحدث عن الهواتف والخرائط وكل ما يتعلق بتطبيقات الهاتف مع عرض أحدث منتجاتها. وسيقوم فريق نوكيا بالإجابة علي أي أسئلة والتحدث عن خطط الشركة المستقبلية.

احتفالية الألعاب

لمحبى الألعاب الإلكترونية سيقوم كل من  tbreak و  megamers بتحضير مجموعة من الالعاب الشيقة، كل ما عليكم فعله هو إحضار لابتوب معكم للإشتراك في الالعاب والإستمتاع.

ورش العمل

• 10 نصائح للتصوير الرقمي

يقوم المصور المعروف كاتالين مارين صاحب مدونة Momentary Awe بتقديم ورشة عمل لمدة 45 دقيقة لتوضيح كيف يمكن تحسين التصوير الرقمي واستخدام ادوات التصحيح التي يجب علي كل مصور رقمي الحصول عليها. العدد محدود لهذه الورشة لذا يفضل الإتصال بكاتالين على تويتر لحجز مكان. https://twitter.com/#!/momentaryawe

• فن الأوريجامي

يقوم فريق من JUKI، مبادرة Kizuna لليابان والإمارات، بتقديم ورشة عمل عن فن الأوريجامي حيث يمكنك تعلم كيفية صنع اشكال فنية من طي الورق والتعرف على أصول فن الأوريجامي وكذلك التحدث مع فريق JUKI عن مبادرتهم لجمع التبرعات من أجل ضحايا زلزال اليابان وتسونامي.

• ملجأ الكتب – The Book Shelter

يتخذ ملجأ الكتب من مركز مرايا للفنون مكانا له حيث يمكنك إحضار كتبك القديمة لإضافتها لمجموعة ملجأ الكتب وكذلك يمكنك أخذ أي مجموعة من الكتب معك لقراءتها. وسيكون هناك ركن مخصص لمحبي القراءة للإستمتاع بالكتب أثناء الأمسية.

• شرقيات

تقوم كل من فاطمة مشاربك ونور كارموستاجي وأسماء مكرم من إدارة متاحف الشارقة بحضور امسية GeekFest Sharjah مع عرض اعمال من معرض الفنان أوين جونز ومعرض الفنان إبراهيم الصلاحي وكلاهما سيفتتح الأسبوع المقبل

تستضيف متاحف الشارقة بالتنسيق مع متحف فيكتوريا والبرت في لندن معرضا هاما من أعمال المستشرق جونز أوين، المهندس المعماري الفيكتوري والمصمم الذ أدت دراسته لقصر الحمراء إلى إزدهار فن المستشرقين وظهور تاثيرهم علي التصاميم البريطانية في القرن الـ 19.

ولد إبراهيم الصلاحي الملقب بصانع الصور في عام 1930 في أم درمان، السودان وهو رائد الفن الأفريقي الحديث. ويهدف إبراهيم إلى المزج بين عناصر الفن العربي والنوبي والقبطي والأوربي وكان أول الفنانين المعاصرين الذي ضم الخط العربي إلى أعماله واستخدمه كوسيلة إتصال ومن أجل الشكل الجمالي.

• عظيم الدين محمد

الشاعر والكاتب والمصور  محمد عظيم الدين الملقب ايضا بـ Musafirs سيقوم بعرض مجموعة من الصور لإمارة الشارقة.

لا تفوتوا هذه الفرصة النادرة للإستمتاع بأمسية رائعة تتضمن الفن والثقافة والمرح

افتتاح مهرجان طيران الإمارات للآداب 2012 بكل ألق الكلمات والشعر والغناء والعروض الراقص EAFOL#

افتتاح مهرجان طيران الإمارات للآداب 2012

بكل ألق الكلمات والشعر والغناء والعروض الراقصة

بمشاركة جمهرة غفيرة من المؤدين وطلاب المدارس والكتاب الأفذاذ وبحضور لافت لكبار الشخصيات

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature opening ceremony March 6, 2012.

EMIRATES AIRLINE FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE 2012 OPENS WITH

SPECTACULAR DISPLAY OF WORDS, POETRY, SONG AND DANCE

Cast of 500 local performers, school children and festival authors captivate capacity VIP

audience

DUBAI - 6 March 2012 - Guests at today’s Opening Ceremony for the fourth annual Emirates Airline
Festival of Literature 2012 were treated to a breathtaking display of readings, poetry, song and dance at the
spectacular theatre that is part of Cultural & Scientific Association at Al Mamzar. A cast which numbered
close to 500 performers took to the stage including the Emirates Airline Choir, the Combined Primary School Choirs of Dubai, and some of the Festival’s most popular writers, including Mourid Barghouti, David Nicholls and Kate Adie.

The capacity audience was filled with senior Government officials, diplomats, representatives from major
businesses and educational institutions, and leading lights from the local cultural scene as well as many of
the other 120 authors who are participating in this year’s Festival.

‘’I am so delighted to welcome everyone here today. What a fantastic way to launch the Emirates Airline
Festival of Literature 2012. We have five amazing days ahead of us and I for one can’t wait to start enjoying
it all,’’ said Isobel Abulhoul, Festival Director.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2012 is held in Dubai between 6-10 March 2012 under the
patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime
Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage.

Guests were greeted on their arrival by Youla dancers, in recognition of the themes of heritage and identity
running through this year’s Festival. Amidst the splendor of priceless Persian carpets and beautiful fountains
in the Al Mamzar theatre complex , the performance began with flag-carrying Scouts paying tribute to the 30
home countries of this year’s participating authors. The boys and girls were dressed in costumes of all the
represented countries in this truly Olympic moment.

The themes of identity, heritage and multi-culturalism ran through the entire show. Among many other
entertainments, the audience was treated to dance from UAE, Philippines and India, a film about heritage
and national culture, a reflection from British Kate Adie, poetry reading by Palestinian giant Mourid
Barghouthi and a brief talk by Polish ‘Arish' expert Sandra Piesik.

Charles Dickens was honoured with a reading from Great Expectations in Arabic by Emirati actor Ebrahim
Ustadi .He was joined by top selling British author, David Nicholls, who has recently completed a new
screen version of the English classic on the occasion of the 200th of the birth of the great novelist and social
commentator. The Emirates Airline Festival Choir also sang ‘Who Will Buy this Wonderful Morning’ from the musical Oliver Twist.

The Opening Ceremony was brought to a rousing close with the first public performance of this year’s
Festival anthem; Al Bab Al Maftouh (The Open Door).The anthem was composed by Yousef Khan with
the assistance of Salem Belyouha and was performed by local primary school students who make up the
Combined Primary School Choirs of Dubai. This choir of 400 Emirati and expat children, were provided by
five schools that come under the umbrella of MAG (Madares al Gad) a segment of Ministry of Education and other schools in Dubai. All the children looked extra special with the boys dressed in white kandooras, and the girls in bright printed jalabiyas.

Abulhoul concluded by thanking Emirates Airline and Dubai Culture for their partnership as well as all the
other partners, sponsors and friends who have made the Festival possible.

“In only four years together we have built the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature into one of the world’s
significant literary festivals. We are welcoming a power-house of talent from around the globe here today.
And we are also seeing more and more talent emerging from Dubai itself too,” she said. ‘Our 2012 roster of
Emirati and Arab world writers and speakers is formidable and we must all feel proud of this. We are also
delighted with the ever increasing participation from students - who are of course our talent of tomorrow’.

“Emirates is an ardent supporter of the Arts and we are committed to the development of Dubai as a centre
for cultural events” said Sir Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline &Group.”As an
airline which already connects people to more than 120 destinations, we look forward to this week where we
can connect people to new ideas, concepts and cultures through the power of the written word.”

Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, said: “The spectacular
opening ceremony of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature this year shows a true collaboration between
culture and literature. The Authority is committed to underscoring the multicultural diversity of the city of
Dubai and its various cultural expressions. We are honoured to welcome some of the world’s foremost
authors who will engage audiences in a wide range of educational and literary sessions that will spearhead
the growth and evolution of the Festival, driving Dubai’s literary scene further.”

This was the first of two major events for the Opening of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature today.
The evening will see the special Opening Night spectacular starring television and radio supremo Sir
Terry Wogan live on stage at Al Mamzar. Sir Terry will be joined by a line-up of today’s most celebrated
international poets Imtiaz Dharkar, John Agard, Yang Lian and Daljit Nagra.

From tomorrow, Wednesday 7 March through Saturday 10 March the Emirates Airline Festival
of Literature will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel Dubai Festival City.
All details on line at
www.emirateslitfest.com.

gulftoday.ae | On the wings of poesy

DAY 7

Poetic talents unleash imaginative flair in “Magic of Poetry” session; “Twinge SHJ” will reappear in October at the Sharjah International Book Fair and in a kids version, “Twinge KIDZ”, at the Sharjah Reading Festival in April

The UAE’s Cultural Capital of Sharjah throbs and lives up to its name.

This was the impression of the organiser of “Twinge SHJ”, which became the avenue for street life and time-honoured traditions to meld through the eyes of over 50 talents from various ethnic backgrounds and social status.

“Personally, I am overjoyed. I said it before and will say it again, Sharjah has taken me by surprise,” Sherif Abaza told The Gulf Today.

Abaza is the managing partner of Sphere-Events that came up with the idea of putting up the Twinge series of festivals over a year ago in the UAE, so that urban art - the style of art that evokes the city life as seen, observed and heard by artists, as opposed to traditional art - would have the platform in a country which has become the melting pot for over 150 nationalities.

The urban art and cultural festival ran every night from Feb. 25 to March 2 at the Maraya Art Centre of Al Qasba, following its debut in Dubai in December 2011.

For the support Abaza had experienced throughout the event which featured the art forms of literature, music, cuisine, fashion, filmography as well as the other visual arts, he said: “Everything from the hospitality of the venue and hosts at (the gallery), the dedication and collaborative spirit of the team from the Sharjah International Book Fair, the diversity of the participants, the enthusiasm of the attendees and the support of the community has gotten us already thinking about the next Twinge SHJ.”

Observing that there had been more women artists and performers who participated than men, Abaza said it was a “shift” from what “Twinge DXB” had.

“It was a 50-50 participation here for both men and women while it was 80 per cent of male participants in Dubai,” he said, adding that there were also more Emirati talents at “Twinge SHJ.”

To illustrate, he mentioned that for the festival’s “Magic of Poetry” session on Friday evening, there was an equal division between men and women.

They were Yuri Cipriano, Shamma Al Bastaki, Afra Atiq, Farah Chamma, Mujeeb Jaihoon, Asmaa Abdallah, Haneen Assaf, Abdullah Qasem and Mohammad Azimuddin.
Cipriano, a former seminarian in the Philippines, started writing poetry when he was courting his wife, Jhasmin, in 2001.

Saying he was glad that a Filipino had been invited to “Twinge SHJ,” Cipriano claimed that from love poems, he graduated to poems that expressed his compassion for social order and then the lives of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East.

Under his pen name Amos Tarana, he expressed hope that his collection of over 60 poems would soon be published in his home country.

The poems he shared on Friday evening were all in the Filipino language with English translations, one about the angst of a departing OFW, the second about the creativity of an OFW mother being a “transnational mother through the use of modern technology” and the third, about the saying “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

At 15, Emirati Al Bastaki was the youngest poet of the night. Her 74 poems from age seven were rich in the rhyme and rhythm of words which dwell on fantasy and her emotions, among others.

She said being a bookworm helped her in her literary adventure.

Emirati Atiq is Al Bastaki’s classmate at the Untitled Chapters, a creative writing group of Emirati women led by Fatma Al Bannai.

Also involved in theatre which she finds as the avenue for freedom of expression, Atiq is more into poetry, the literary piece “written to be listened to and seen.”

Palestinian Chamma is a veteran of the Twinge festivals.

It was her second occasion to share her poetry to an audience who heard about her thoughts on her decision to wear the hijab and on her being a daughter of Palestine.

Jaihoon began writing poetry 10 years ago and had published books.

It was the second night of participation for Qasem who was among the opening talents when “Twinge SHJ” debuted a week ago through the literature night and read his own version of a poem dedicated to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Records showed the gallery had a total of 412 guests during the week for the festival with the “Passion for Fashion Night” having the highest number at 108, followed by the evenings of literature and film at 66; music at 55; poetry at 54; comedy at 38; and the publishers’ night at 25.

“Twinge SHJ” will reappear in October at the Sharjah International Book Fair and will have a kids version, “Twinge KIDZ”, at the Sharjah Reading Festival in April.

Emirati cuisine showcased to keep traditions alive

By Mariecar Jara-Puyod

Sharjah: Food completes a culture. The manner it is prepared is also an art, said Sherif Abaza.

Hence, at the just concluded “Twinge SHJ,” traditional Emirati cuisine took centre stage as well.

Abaza, whose brainchild is the successful week-long urban and cultural art festival, said, “We want to present an eclectic mix of art.”

Explaining further, he related cuisine to fashion, describing the former as “widespread” and the latter as “mainstream.”

“For us, both are an art and cooking, like fashion, is someone’s creativity,” added Abaza, who agreed that amid all the rapid progress and urbanisation the modern world is interested in, people must always look back to their origins.

For the festival, Shama Eid and several of her friends from Sharjah did the cooking themselves, with pots of mouthwatering haris (a dish made of wheat and meat or chicken), legamat (a deep-friend sweet made of flour, water and sugar), dungaw, marguga, balalit (a dessert made with vermicelli), and kabisa (a dessert made from flour, cashews, sultanas and saffron)– all so filling, especially for someone on a diet.

She said the food of the UAE is easy to cook with preparation timings ranging from 10 minutes to three hours.

“All of my children are already grown-up and are in university, so I have the time to cook for my business,” Eid said.

She feels good about her enterprise, saying that while there are a lot of fast-food outlets sprouting up, people from her own native place of Sharjah, cosmopolitan Dubai and far-off Umm Al Quwain, call her up for “home-made Emirati food.”

“It is good business,” Eid said, taking pride that as a housewife, she shares the role of bringing home the bacon, while carrying on with a tradition.

gulfnews : Twinge Sharjah festival shows off unknown talent

• 
  
• Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News
• Laila Akeel (right), a jewellery designer, displays her jewellery during the Twinge Sharjah Festival in the Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba on Thursday.

Sharjah The number of women participants at the week-long Twinge Sharjah festival that concludes Friday has exceeded organisers' expectations.

The event offers talented individuals in the UAE a platform to showcase their skills.

"This is like the Fringe Festival, but twitterised," said Sharif Abaza, founder of Twinge. "We try to have an interaction with the artists and the audience. We also have interactive shows every night that cover film, poetry and fashion, so that if they were not able to display their work in public before, now they can." Abaza said that the youngest participant is a 15-year-old pupil while the eldest is an 72-year-old Emirati man, who recited poetry.

Twinge-SHJ (SHJ stands for Sharjah) is being held at Maraya Art Centre, Al Qasba, and features 49 artists, including poets, musicians, fashion designers and filmmakers.

October plans

"Arab participation is almost 90 per cent and we certainly have more women participating than in Twinge Dubai," Abaza said, while adding that Twinge Sharjah will be held again this October and then in Dubai in December. One of the main highlights of Twinge features a runway by two Arab women who are alumnae of the American University of Sharjah.

Eman Khattab, who majored in Environmental Science, has set up her own company along with her business partner Nemat Al Shuloh, an architect. Their one-month-old company Eclat, said Khattab, "offers people what is not available in the market, like trendy conservative fashion".

Along the corridor of the Maraya Art Centre, your gaze cannot help but fall upon an attractive collection of endangered animals from the region. The style of the collection is a simple and effective one that focuses on the idea of endangerment. The artwork is ultimately a calendar of 12 animals that were integrated digitally, as well as coloured and printed, by Deema Hatahet, who graduated from the University of Sharjah in 2011.

"The postcards are a reminder to the people of how these animals do not want to be limited, so I want to spread the illustrative postcards around the world. Through the exhibition, I'm hoping to receive enough encouragement from others in order to continue working with awareness topics."