MOSCOW: Kuwait’s National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) is strengthening Kuwait’s cultural presence in Russia through heritage performances, art exhibitions and film screenings. The cultural week organized by NCCAL in collaboration with Kuwait Embassy in Moscow and the Russian ministries of foreign affairs and culture runs between September 17 and 24. The week-long event aims to give the Russian people an insight into the cultural heritage and arts of Kuwait, NCCAL’s Assistant Secretary-General and head of Kuwait delegation to Moscow Mosaed Al-Zamel told KUNA.

NCCAL's Assistant Secretary-General Mosaed Al-Zamel.

Performers from Kuwaiti folklore troupe Al-Ameeri give a heritage performance.

Kuwait Ambassador to Russia Dr Rashed Al-Adwani.

MOSCOW: The audience watches the screening of "Zeri", which is sheds light on traditional embroidery in Kuwait. — KUNA photos

As part of Kuwait Cultural Week in Moscow, Kuwaiti folklore troupe Al-Ameeri gave a heritage performance featuring ‘Al-Nahmah’ (local fishermen’s songs) and poetry at the Maly Theatre on Thursday. Dr Khalaf Al-Khaledi read an Arabic poem titled ‘Bin Al-odabaa Wa Al-olama’ (between men of letters and scientists) during the performance.

The activities of the cultural week continued on Friday evening with the screening of a documentary titled “Zeri” and the opening of “Hiwarat Lawniya” (color dialogues) art exhibition at Poklonka Cinema Hall at the Victory Museum. The art exhibition showcases 17 paintings by Mahmoud Ashkanani while the documentary, directed by Habib Hassan, sheds light on traditional embroidery in Kuwait.

Speaking to KUNA, Ashkanani said the documentary is a tribute to his own mother who used to be an embroiderer, sewing patterns onto cloth to produce amazing traditional Kuwaiti garb. Ashkanani said the art exhibition features the outcome of nearly five decades of documenting the Kuwaiti cultural legacy and his own artistic experience. After the documentary, Kuwaiti Chef Abdullah Al-Hakimy served Kuwaiti dishes to the guests of the embassy in Moscow, including diplomats and prominent figures.

The bilateral ties between Kuwait and Russia have been growing in all areas since the establishment of the diplomatic relations in 1963 and the signing of an agreement on economic and artistic cooperation in the following year, NCCAL’s Al-Zamel noted. He thanked Kuwait’s Ambassador to Russia Dr Rashed Al-Adwani for contributing to the success of the cultural week in Moscow. — KUNA