Bahrain Art

The first associations of artists began to arise in Bahrain in the 1950s. The beginning of this process was the creation of the "Club of Arts and Literature" in 1952. ^[2] The club served as a meeting place for professional and amateur artists, musicians and actors. In 1956, the first painting exhibition was held in the capital of Bahrain, Manama . The artistic movements of expressionism and surrealism , as well as the art of Arabic calligraphy, were popular at that time. It is worth noting that most of the Bahraini artists of the 20th century studied in Cairo or Baghdad, the cultural capitals of the Arab world. Bahrain Arts Society was founded in 1983. Its creation was the result of the appeal of a group of 34 famous artists of the country to the government with a request to create a non-profit cultural organization. ^{[3] The} company organizes exhibitions inside and outside the country, as well as provides students with the opportunity to study Arabic calligraphy, painting, interior design and photography. The government of Bahrain is actively promoting the development of Islamic art , for the works of which a special museum, Beit Al-Quran, was created.

In recent decades, abstract expressionism has gained popularity in Bahrain. Bahrain National Museum regularly hosts contemporary art exhibitions. ^[four]

Artists

The most famous Bahraini artists of the 20th century:

• Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed al Khalifa - expressionism.
• Ahmed Qasim Sinni - Expressionism.
• Abdul Karim Orayyed (born 1936) - expressionism.
• Rashid Oraifi (born 1949) - expressionism.
• Nasser Yousif (born 1940) - expressionism.
• Rashid Swar (born 1940) - expressionism.
• Abdulla al Muharraqi (born 1939) - expressionism and surrealism.
• Abdul Latif Mufiz (b. 1950) - expressionism.
• Badie al-Shaikh (born 1955) - calligraphy.
• Abdul-Elah al Arab (born 1954) - calligraphy.
• Jamal A. Rahim (born 1965) - sculpture.
• Adel Mohamed Al-Abbasi - sculpture.
• Salman Mubarak AlNajem (born 1992) - neo-expressionism.

Galleries

There are six major exhibition venues in Bahrain:

• Albareh Art Gallery
• Al Riwaq Gallery
• The la fontaine center of contemporary art
• Ella art gallery
• Nadine gallery
• Seana Mercedes Mallen

As for the medieval buildings of Bahrain that have survived to this day, primarily fortresses, they are made in the same architectural style as other fortifications of the Persian Gulf. At the same time, the architecture of Bahraini residential buildings is unique to the region. ^{[5] The} “Wind Tower”, through which natural ventilation is provided, is a typical element of old buildings, especially in the old districts of Manama and Muharraq . ^[6] A traditional Bahraini residential building is being constructed according to the “pavilion around the yard” scheme. Typically, the houses have two patios, which allows one to be used for receiving guests, while the other serves for the personal needs of the residents themselves. When planning a dwelling, seasonal climate changes in the region are taken into account, in particular, special structures are erected on the roof to capture summer breezes and redirect them into the courtyard. The rooms on the lower floors have thicker walls, which makes it possible to use these rooms during the cool winter months. To save from extreme heat in the summer months, walls made from coiled rubble mortar are used in the construction of walls. Light and porous coral with layers of lime and gypsum allows you to maintain a comfortable temperature in the room. The disadvantage of coral walls is their low strength and vulnerability to water, as a result of which, after the rainy season, such walls, as a rule, need to be repaired.

Since the country gained independence and the oil boom of the 1970s, many Western-style glass and concrete office buildings were built in the business districts and diplomatic quarter of Manama. ^[7]

Throughout the history of Bahrain, crafts such as pottery, blacksmithing and jewelry were widespread among the inhabitants of the region. In particular, the manufacture of jewelry made of copper and gold and the inlay of products with these metals. ^[8] Along with this, the tradition of weaving various products from palm leaves, which is especially characteristic of villages in the area of ​​the capital of Manama, is still preserved in Bahrain. ^[9]

The development of Bahrain's literature as a whole is in stages consistent with that in other countries of the Arabian Peninsula, which are characterized by rapid literary evolution after the country gained independence, repeating the change of literary movements in such most developed Arabic literature as Egyptian and Syro-Lebanese, but in a much shorter time. Since the 1970s, Bahraini literature has gone from classic works to romanticism, realism and further to modernism. Among modern Bahraini writers, it is worth mentioning Ali al-Qassem, Sharkawi Haddad, Ibrahim Al-Arraed and Ahmad Muhammad Al Khalifa. The most famous Bahraini poet is Ali al-Sharkawi. In poetry, there is a tendency to move away from the traditional Arabic theory of versification and an appeal to the metric of Western literature. ^[10] Most of the books in Bahrain are published in Arabic. In August 2004, the former Bahraini journalist Ali As-Said published the novel QuixotiQ, which became the first Bahraini work by the author directly published in a foreign language, without a preliminary translation from Arabic.

In February 2011, many Bahraini writers and artists signed a statement of their solidarity with the Egyptian revolutionary movement . ^[eleven]

As for women writers, their share in Bahraini literature is large enough, with poetry predominantly prevailing in their work. Among the outstanding women poetess of Bahrain, it is worth highlighting Fatima at-Taitun, Fathia Ajlan, Fauziya al-Cindy and especially Hamdu Khamis. ^[12] It was she who, in 1969, was the first among women to publish her collection of poems under the name Shazaya (Arabic: شظايا, which means “shrapnel”). At the end of the 20th century, a free verse gained popularity in the works of women.

Bahrain music is also part of the Gulf folk traditions. The most popular genre is South - compositions performed on three instruments: oud , rebab and percussion. South has developed under the influence of African, Indian and Persian music. The most famous performers in this genre are the duet of Sultan Hamid Ali Bahar (vocals) and Khalid al-Sheikh (oud). The second popular musical genre in Bahrain is Fijri - songs of pearl hunters . There are two types of songs: performed on the ship and on the beach. Their performance includes singing and clapping to the accompaniment of drums. In this genre, the most famous singers are Salem Allan and Ahmad Butabania. The third type of music and dance - liva - exists mainly in communities of descendants of East African migrants living in the area of ​​the city of Muharraq.

As for other genres, then in Bahrain there are several music groups performing hard rock , thrash metal , black metal and oriental metal . Among them should be noted Narjahanam , Smouldering in Forgotten and Motör Militia. The Osiris band, performing progressive rock music with elements of Bahraini folk music, achieved some international fame in the 1980s. ^[13]

As for Bahrain dances, al-Arda is the most popular. This is a folk male dance with sabers to the accompaniment of a drum, accompanied by singing.

Bahrain became the first Gulf country in which a recording studio was founded. ^[14] Modern music institutions in Bahrain are represented by the Bahrain Institute of Music, the Institute of Classical Music and the Bahrain National Orchestra.

The film industry in Bahrain is poorly developed, due to the lack of government support and the low interest of the private sector. In the entire history of the country, several dozens of short films and 5 feature films were shot by individual Bahraini directors. The basis of the repertoire of cinemas in Bahrain are Indian, American and Arab films. Bahrain Cinema Club was founded in 1980 in Manama. ^[15]