In brief: One can visit many Kuwaiti cultural institutions though much of the wealthy society looks forward rather than backward.
Kuwait has built “Cultural Centers” all along its Persian Gulf coast, places to celebrate the arts or recall the desert culture of the past.
Cultural centres offer insights into traditional culture and crafts like weaving, or reflect the Kuwaiti interest in contemporary arts. Kuwait City is sometimes called the Hollywood of the gulf: in just a few days we bumped into three filming sites without even trying.
One example is the Al Bahhar Entertainment Historical Village. It’s like a mini-Epcot, a re-creation of an old Kuwaiti village, offering a bazaar and exhibits, as well as picnic space and amusements for children.
Just across the highway is another cultural center, the Amricani. Once an early 20th century American mission hospital developed by the Dutch Reformed Church of America, it now houses another private collection of artistic and calligraphic treasures like the Tareq Rajab.
These cultural institutions flourish though much of Kuwait’s wealthy society looks forward rather than backward – planting flashy skyscrapers, showcasing contemporary art, multiplying malls, rehabbing the old, and creating new suburbs. Even their Dilmun burial mounds are questionably preserved.
Tareq Rajab Museums
It was a pleasure, therefore, to discover the Tareq Rajab Museum, a hidden gem tucked into one of those suburbs. Oddly the hotel staff and our driver – some of the non-Kuwaiti workers that keep commerce going here – knew nothing about this place.
The museum constitutes a sterling collection of Islamic antiquities from around the world, gathered by the former Director of the National Museum (which itself has sadly been closed for four years due to conflicts over land use). He fought for the preservation of the past even while so much was bulldozed to make way for the new. His collection was so vast that it now occupies two separate villas near each other, one devoted to calligraphy.
Rare 12th century bronze incense burner with lion figures drawing a stupa, from Afghanistan.). In the nearby rooms, we savored an extensive collection of swords and rifles from the region, as well as ceramics and ancient manuscripts.
Another section of the main Tareq Rajab museum was devoted to the diverse, elaborate jewelry from dozens of different cultures across the Middle East and Asia. This assemblage was typical and comes from Uzbekhistan.
13th century Iranian jug adorned with Kufic and Abbasid styles of calligraphy. This was displayed in a second home for the museum, dedicated to the stunning beauty of Islamic calligraphy (Tareq Rajab, Calligraphy)
One of innumerable manuscripts and printed Korans, each of which exhibits striking artistry, at the Tareq Rajab Calligraphy museum. This one shows a frequent application of the calligraphy, the definition of an object or figure with the writing, in this case a vessel.
One of a dozen display rooms at the Tareq Rajab Calligraphy museum showing just some of the richness of the collection. Those huge wood panels, presenting Sura 76 of the Koran date, from around 1400AD and come from a mosque in Egypt.
Mirror House
Close to those villas, we also discovered the artistry of another contrarian couple at their “philosophical” house – one completely covered in mirrors. Illuminating.
During the required tour of the Mirror House, we toured with the artist herself, Lidia Qattan. She dedicated 50 years of effort to covering the complete interior of the Mirror House in glass. She did all the work while her husband, Khalifa Qattan, a celebrated painter in Kuwait, was away for exhibitions and meetings – and then redid it after an invasion of termites forced a re-do.
Many of Khalifa Qattan’s paintings are in the house. He was a well-known Kuwaiti artist who exhibited around the world. His philosophy of circularism, based on the cycle of life that his wife’s work also echoes, took physical form in many of his paintings, such as these. Always reflecting and commenting on everyday life, he later painted works more overtly hostile to tyranny and war.
Each room devised by Lidia Qattan has a theme related to her own philosophical concerns about mankind’s relationship to the universe, our connection to nature, and women’s powers. Here her paintings on the glassed walls reflect the room’s theme of birth, the big bang, and cosmic forces.
The salon of the Mirror House, dedicated to Terra, our Earth…and, in this particular corner, fish. The kitchen next to the salon is also fully mirrored, including the refrigerator.
A hallway in the Mirror House, with more domestic imagery. No shoes allowed; you bring your own slippers or buy/rent them for the tour.
A corner of the bathroom in the Mirror House with an appropriately aquatic theme. You can just see the curve of the bathtub on the left. The toilet cover was mirrored, but the seat was not.
(To enlarge any picture above, click on it. Also, for more pictures from Kuwait, CLICK HERE to view the slideshow at the end of the itinerary page.)
