The Kuwaiti modern art movement emerged in the 1930s,

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

has the oldest modern arts movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Kuwait is home to more than 20 art galleries. In recent years, Kuwait's contemporary art scene has boomed. Kuwait has the second most lively gallery scene in the GCC (after Dubai). The Amiri Diwan recently inaugurated the new

Kuwait National Cultural District The Kuwait National Cultural District (also known as the KNCD) is multi billion dollar development project that focuses on the arts and culture in Kuwait. With a capital cost of more than US$1 billion, the project is one of the largest cultural inve ...

(KNCD), which comprises

Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre The Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Cultural Centre () is a Cultural center, cultural complex located in Kuwait City Kuwait, owned by the Amiri Diwan of Kuwait, Amiri Diwan. It consists of six main components; The Natural History Museum, Science Museum, ...

Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre (JACC), informally known as the Kuwait Opera House, is a cultural center in Kuwait, located on the Gulf Road in the capital Kuwait City. It is the largest cultural center and opera house in the Middle Ea ...

Al Shaheed Park Al Shaheed Park is the largest urban park in Kuwait. Al Shaheed Park is considered the most significant green infrastructure project in Kuwait and has one of the largest overstructure greenroofs in the world. Al Shaheed Park is the largest green ro ...

, and Al Salam Palace. With a capital cost of more than US$1 billion, the project is one of the largest cultural investments in the world. In November 2016, the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre opened. It is the largest cultural centre in the Middle East. The Kuwait National Cultural District is a member of the

Global Cultural Districts Network ThGlobal Cultural Districts Network (GCDN)is a federation of global centers of arts and culture. Its members represent cities, cultural districts, and cultural institutions from around the world, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, ...

History

Kuwait has the oldest modern arts movement in the Arabian Peninsula. Beginning in 1936, Kuwait was the first Gulf country to grant scholarships in the arts. The Kuwaiti artist Mojeb al-Dousari was the earliest recognized

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

in the Persian Gulf region. He is regarded as the founder of

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

art in the region. In 1943, al-Dousari launched Kuwait's first art gallery. The Sultan Gallery was the first professional Arab art gallery in the Persian Gulf region. Khalifa Al-Qattan was the first Kuwaiti artist to hold a solo artist exhibition in Kuwait. He founded a new art theory in the early 1960s known as "circulism". Other notable Kuwaiti artists include Sami Mohammad, Thuraya Al-Baqsami and Suzan Bushnaq.

Art galleries

List of art galleries in Kuwait: * Dar Al Funoon * Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) * Boushahri Gallery * Sultan Gallery * Free Art Atelier * Den Gallery * The Hub * Al Mashreq Gallery * Ghadir Gallery * Al Othman Gallery * Dahiya Abdullah Al-Salim Art Gallery * AM Art & Design Gallery * Al Adwani Art Gallery * Visual Therapy Gallery * The Print Room * Art Space * Museum of Modern Art * Al-Makan * Masaha 13 * Center of the Arts * Sadu House * Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah at Yarmouk Cultural Centre * Dar El Cid * Manifesto 13 * Promenade Culture Center * Wejha * Fann Way Gallery * Fine Arts Centre,

References

External links

Art Kuwait
{{Asian topic, , art Kuwaiti culture