In January, the National Council for Cultural, Arts and Letters presented DAI director general Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah with the “State Appreciation Award.” For the remaining 11 months, the DAI demonstrated why the award was given.

Cultural Season lectures (the end of CS7 and the start of CS8) led the education programme, which also included a visit to the Subiyah archaeological site, an historic architecture walk in Kuwait City and a cultural expedition to Iran. In addition, experts from the Denver Art Museum came to Kuwait and led a workshop for museum volunteers. Publications for the year included Hadeeth ad-Dar, Bareed ad-Dar and a new edition in the Khair Jalees Series, Torok al-Saniya by Mona S. Charani. Aziza ya Kuwait and The Travels of Ibn Battuta were among the performance highlights of the year.

DAI exhibitions Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals and Islamic Art and Patronage: Treasures from Kuwait continued to travel. Treasury of the World went to The Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in Texas, and the Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri, all in the United States. Islamic Art and Patronage went to Australia, where it was exhibited at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.

DAI loans to international exhibitions continued to connect with audiences in Europe and the United States. The Glass of the Sultans exhibition was displayed at the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece. In Paris, at L’Institut du Monde Arabe launched Chevaux et Cavaliers Arabes dans les Arts d’Orient et d’Occident with object loans from The al-Sabah Collection. The Adventures of Hamza, a new exhibition with objects from the collection opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington DC, before moving to the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York. Also in New York, this time at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia 1256 – 1353 exhibition opened with several DAI objects. Finally, Pearls opened at The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.

In Kuwait, the DAI had people involved in a host of activities. Abroad, DAI objects in DAI exhibitions and on loan to exhibitions gave people opportunities to delve into the art and culture of the region. That’s an award-winning formula for success.