Felicity Ulmer, Hameed Al Qaed, Nimah Nawwab, Nujoom Alghanem e Shurooq Amin (R). Gathering the Tide: An Anthology of Contemporary Arabian Gulf Poetry at VCUQatar. Image courtesy of Shurooq Amin.
At the end of March, 2012 Kuwaiti artist Shurooq Amin was invited by Virginia Commonwealth University of Qatar to participate the events organized with the occasion of the book launch of ‘Gathering the Tide’, an anthology of contemporary Arabian Gulf poetry. Next event was in Beirut but Tuesday, 10th of March,2012 on Facebook Group Shurooq Amin’s Art Cafe all the members read following text:
Dear art supporters: I was invited to MBC Beirut to appear on the program Kalam Nawaen to speak about my journey, about the closure of my show, about censorship & about freedom of expression. Yesterday MBC Kuwait came to my studio and filmed for 3 hours. After I land in Beirut, I’m shocked to be told that MBC was ordered to cancel my appearance & ban me from speaking about this on TV! They received a call from the Ministry of Information in Kuwait ordering them to ban me from speaking! Since when is MBC controlled by Kuwait? Since when is MBC against freedom of expression? Who is afraid of my art and why? It’s not political; it’s not religious: it’s just art! What’s going on here?
Below you can read short news appeared on local newspapers:
Image courtesy of Rami El Adly http://twitter.com/RamiAdly
Article from Al Qabas
Perhaps, the decision of MBC’ s Director was in someway related to the official statement of AICA (International Association of Art Critics) published on their website (Exhibition ‘It’s a Man’s World’ by Shurooq Amin at the Al M. Gallery in Kuwait (10 April 2012) ) and sent by email to all the authorities in Kuwait such as Ministry of Information, Kuwait Arts Association, National Council of Culture, Art and Letters or it was a reaction to the article published in Gulfnews Kuwaiti artist fights for freedom of expression ?
We are waiting for Shurooq Amin return to Kuwait and release a video interview and we hope all of us can understand better what is really happening.
Read more :
Exhibition of Shurooq Amin “It’s a Man’s World” was shut down 3 hours after the Opening
“It’s A Man’s World” – the story of the shortest art exhibition in Kuwait
Shurooq Amin’s artwork on Christie’s Dubai
I would like to ask permission to place a link to this site on my facebook page.
What is happening to Shurooq is wrong. She is a highly talented artist and writer. We were members of the same poetry group for a while and her poems are nothing short of incredible; the language, construction and vocabulary in English are both precise and lyrical. Her books are to be read over and over again. They are inspiring, elevating. Her paintings are much the same. They ask the questions we all need to answer when it comes to our humanity, our ability to reflect honestly and without prejudice concerning any of the usual excuses for fear : religion, sex, gender, equality and freedom… are these notions only, words without meaning? Or do they lead to truths we have yet to understand, which she is asking us to think about for our own good and enhancement? Why does power fear what can only lead to greater understanding and the beneficial sharing of talents and thoughts? Freedom in all its forms is our only way up and out of the quick sands of fear. Let her paint; let her speak; let her write and let her share her talents – listen, hear and rejoice!
Dear Anaïs, please, place a link to artkuwait.org on your facebook page.