MUSCAT: Omani and Kuwaiti cultural relations get closer as the political ties do. Between the two poles of the Gulf there are a lot of cultural ties that date back to many decades ago. They mixed and affected each other and today they are seen in a lot of interaction between the Omani and Kuwaiti writers and innovators, whether through organising events and joint cultural weeks or through visits and invitations, in which each party presents its expertise in the areas of creativity and knowledge.
It is not easy to review and know the details of the cultural landscape in Kuwait because of various considerations, most importantly the early period when the modern cultural institutions flourished in Kuwait, as well as the leading role played by Kuwait in the Gulf region and the Arab world in support of culture and intellectuals, at a time when the area was witnessing a period of transition and polarisation.
Enough to know that the first issue of Al Arabi magazine was released in 1958, which was a very early period in the Gulf region, especially that the magazine was not published as a pamphlet promoting the local culture, but released from the outset to be a magazine for all Arab writers and readers.
Thus not surprising we hear that the culture of thousands of Arab readers was founded on the Kuwaiti Al Arabi magazine.
It is not surprising to read in the magazine indices that senior Arab writers and innovators wrote in the magazine.
Kuwait is interested, by direct attention of Shaikh Sabah al Ahmad al Jaber al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, in the musical arts.
An opera house was recently opened to be a beam of light for the people of Kuwait and the world.
The first official theatrical group (Al Arabi Theatrical group) was formed in Kuwait in October 1961 in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs to begin a new stage in the history of theater in Kuwait under the supervision of Zaki Tulaimat.
In the field of drama, it must be said that Kuwait, was the first Gulf state to establish an official television station.
The Kuwaiti television began broadcast on November 15, 1961, from the eastern district of Kuwait City.
Kuwait in 1969 established a television station in Dubai under the name Kuwait TV from Dubai.
Many years before the official launching of the TV, Kuwait knew a limited special television broadcast.
The Kuwaiti television is considered the most active in the Gulf region, as it has contributed to the development of television drama in Kuwait and the Gulf region.
Therefore, all the classics of the Gulf television drama are today Kuwaiti dramas by Kuwaiti actors, and they are mostly dramas that the people of the Gulf today miss.
Kuwait recently culminated its cultural landscape in the opening of Sheikh Jabir Cultural Center, which includes three theaters, of them one opera theater that is equipped with the latest technologies.
The centre, which carries the name of the late emir of Kuwait Shaikh Jabir al Ahmad al Jabir al Sabah, is a distinctive cultural and art monument located in the Arabian Gulf Street, with an area of 214,000 square metres, featuring an architectural masterpiece, the largest of which is theater building with an area of 10,000 square metres. — ONA
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