KUWAIT CITY, Dec 13: The Kuwait Arts Association announced the names of the winners of the Ibrahim Al- Shatti Award for Contemporary Kuwaiti Heritage in the New Era 2022 at the Society’s headquarters in Hawalli. The grand prize, for which 75 male and female artists competed jointly, was won by Amira Ashkanani, Atared Al Thaqib, Suhair Al Zanki and Mai Al Nouri, while Turkia Al Subaie, Wadha Al Ajami, Nasreen Nasrian and Athar Al Ansari won the silver awards. The honorary prizes were won by Dalal Al Shatti, Hanan Al Jawisser, Tahani Al Kharafi, Hussein Al Mazal and Ahmad Al Husseini .

The head of the association, Abdul Rasool Salman, said in a speech on the occasion that heritage is an essential point for the artist and an artistic and cultural responsibility he carries to translate his creations in his own artistic style, away from imitation. He pointed to the interest of the award’s sponsor and honorary member of the association, Qusay Ibrahim Al-Shatti, in the heritage to determine the identity of the Kuwaiti society through the establishment of this award on a regular basis, saying that the participants in the competition excelled in describing the heritage of the fathers and grandfathers in a contemporary style and with a renewed artistic touch.

For his part, the sponsor of the award, Qusay Al-Shatti, referred to the role of his father, “a virtuous educator, writer, intellectual, and lover of Kuwaiti heritage and the arts,” saying that his father was known as “the official” and was one of the statesmen and served Kuwait for more than 50 continuous years through many positions in the field of education, media, diplomacy, and the most recent Director of the Office of His Highness the Amir and Undersecretary of the Amiri Diwan.

He added, “May God have mercy on him, he was a reference to the history of Kuwait’s renaissance and its transition from the pre-oil era to the modern era, and this was accompanied by his interest in the Kuwaiti element and the promising young national talents in several fields.” He referred to his father’s support for the plastic arts career during his membership in the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, which was represented in organizing many exhibitions for Kuwaiti plastic artists. He praised the efforts of the Kuwait Arts Association in embracing the award, appreciating the role of its board of directors and all its affiliates for their wonderful efforts in organizing its work and ensuring its success.

The Ibrahim Al-Shatti Award for Kuwaiti Heritage comes as an initiative of his family to perpetuate his fragrant memory and keep it alive in the memory of the homeland that he loved and sincerely served throughout his life and as an extension of his keenness to preserve the Kuwaiti heritage, document it and pass it on to generations of the countrymen. (KUNA)