Support for children with cancer
The announcement was made during a book launch ceremony held on Wednesday, May 14, at the Safeya Kanoo Hub for Arts. The event was attended by His Excellency Ali Bin Saleh Al Saleh, Chairman of the Shura Council, along with several government ministers, members of the Shura Council and the Council of Representatives, and representatives from the diplomatic corps in Bahrain.
As part of the ceremony, Tawfiqi presented a copy of his book to Sabah Al-Zayani, President of the Future Society for Youth.
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Gulf Weekly
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- Gulf Weekly
Finding home
For Khurram Salman, an artist born and raised in Bahrain to Pakistani parents, the question Min Wain? (Arabic for 'Where are you from?') is as familiar as it is unsettling, making it the perfect subject for artistic enquiry in his installation exploring identity and belonging. Created during Al Riwaq's Application 004 Art Residency earlier this year, a video of the Min Wain? installation was recently shared by Khurram and is sparking conversations around diaspora, memory and identity. 'I am a huge believer in the hyphenated identity – I am a Pakistani-Bahraini,' the 32-year-old visual artist and photographer told GulfWeekly during a recent interview. 'Bahrain is home, and hence the homeland. But because my parents originally come from Pakistan… I would also call that the motherland. 'The idea for this project came about during a routine conversation with a colleague, when, after telling her I was from Pakistan but grew up here, she asked, 'Do you get homesick?' 'It threw me off because, in a way, I am home, so why should I be homesick? 'Should I be homesick? And I almost felt guilty for not being homesick.' The installation unravels this paradox, showing how home can be both anchor and mirage. Min Wain? is centred in a 32-grid panel spelling out the word 'Home' in binary code. Each square is filled with a 1, 0, or question mark (?) representing citizens, non-citizens, and those who exist in the undefined, liminal space between. The installation is also textured with the everyday language of cultural exchange, like food. For example, on a shelf is Rooh Afza (rose) syrup, imported from South Asia, finding its place beside Bahraini margadoosh (distilled herbal water). Fragments of Khurram's personal history surface throughout the work. One element features a Polaroid frame of the four houses he has lived in across Bahrain, which are the only addresses he has ever known. Another engages with the Gulf tradition of elaborate family trees, mapping ancestry back through generations. 'I don't know beyond my grandfather, for example,' he admitted. 'That's the plight of people who had migrated.' Accompanying the installation is a video that layered voices and imagery to mirror the dissonance of 'Desi Khaleejis', caught between homeland, motherland, and the unsteady terrain of in-betweenness. 'My nephew recently went on vacation to Pakistan, and when he returned, he told me that while he liked it and enjoyed having his cousins around, the experience also reminded him of my piece and trying to navigate what home is,' Khurram explained. Through his piece, Khurram is also highlighting a need for intentional dialogue around what is kept, what is adapted, and what is quietly lost as cultures blend. He points to the ubiquitous Bahraini staple of karak tea as a blend, which traces its linguistic roots back to Urdu, where kadak means strongly flavoured, and its culinary roots to the Indian diaspora found around the region. 'When you look at it from a social discourse perspective, we're not having these conversations – it's on autopilot,' he explained. 'There's a very binary system of identity – either you're from here or you're not.' For diasporic families, this often translates into what Khurram calls 'permanent temporariness', where people settle down and children grow up without belonging fully to either their adopted home or their ancestral motherland. 'Visitors to the exhibition resonated with different elements… picking them out and sharing their stories,' Khurram added. For his piece, Khurram drew inspiration from the book Encapsulated Volume 1: Photoessays on Khaleejiness, which contains the curated works of 16 Khaleej-based photographers, and essays by five cultural academics including Manishankar Prasad, who conceptualised 'Desi Khaleejiness'. The video about the project was created by Khurram's fellow Desi Khaleeji and well-known photographer Fadhi Muhammed. As he turns to the future, Khurram wants to explore this identity across the Arabian Gulf, and how it translates locally in countries like Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. 'I would love to be able to have more of these conversations and develop more ideas,' he added. 'Not as an answer to what a Desi Khaleeji identity is, but to still keep that conversation going.'
Daily Tribune
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France, Bahrain Boost Film Ties
TDT | Manama The cultural bridge between Bahrain and France is set to grow stronger as the Bahrain Film Festival and the Embassy of France to Bahrain launch the second edition of the 48h Film Challenge, running from September 11th to 13th. Supported by Bahrain's Ministry of Information and the renowned French film school ESRA, the event blends competition with intensive training, drawing on the expertise of French and Bahraini cinema professionals. Organised ahead of the 5th Bahrain Film Festival, the challenge targets Bahraini nationals and residents aged 18 to 30, regardless of experience level. Participants will receive preliminary workshops in scriptwriting, directing, editing, and production before embarking on the two-day filmmaking sprint. They will work under the guidance of French cinema experts, including Camille Varenne, programmer and jury member of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and multi-award-winning French-Moroccan filmmaker and actor Ayoub Layoussifi. The completed films will be showcased at the Bahrain Film Festival from October 30 to November 4, with the winning team announced at a special closing ceremony. The top prize is a fully funded one-month summer school at ESRA's Paris campus in July 2026, including flights, accommodation, and tuition. Organisers say the scholarship offers a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the French film industry and build international networks.
Daily Tribune
13-08-2025
- Daily Tribune
Manama Hosts Sharjah Youth Delegation at Youth 2030 City
TDT | Manama Youth 2030 City welcomed a delegation from the 'Quarter Century' institutions in Sharjah, UAE, which focus on developing leaders and innovators. The delegation is visiting Bahrain as part of a youth cultural exchange program organized by Sharjah's 'Nash'at' and 'Sajaya Girls,' including members of Sharjah Youth Shura in its ninth parliamentary session (2025–2026). During the visit, the delegation toured the city's facilities, exploring a variety of centers dedicated to training in science and technology, arts and culture, leadership and entrepreneurship, media and entertainment, as well as sports and health. They also learned about specialized programs designed to further develop youth skills, enhance leadership capabilities, and foster a culture of innovation. The visitors were introduced to pioneering youth projects in entrepreneurship and modern technologies, reflecting the spirit of initiative and innovation among Bahraini youth and their commitment to contributing actively to the nation's overall development. The delegation expressed deep admiration for Youth 2030 City, praising its integrated environment that blends creativity, knowledge, hands-on experience, and teamwork. They emphasized that the city represents an inspiring model of Bahrain's approach to empowering youth as key partners in building a brighter future for the country.
