“Art in Exile…a Kuwaiti Experience”, edited by Anne al-Bassam, led a flood of publications in 2003. It is the story of the Islamic Art and Patronage: Treasures from Kuwait exhibition that escaped Kuwait just before the Iraqi invasion and travelled the world for more than a decade, serving as an ambassador for the country while under occupation and then later while recovering.

Three other books were published that year either by the DAI or with DAI support. “Early Persian Painting: Kalila and Dimna Manuscripts of the Late Fourteenth Century” by Bernard O’Kane “Folk Stories from the Northern Sudan”
(Khair Jalees Series) by Abdulla El-Tayib and “Kuwait: The Growth of a Historic Identity” edited by Ben J. Slot reflect the diversity that is the DAI. In addition, three editions of Hadeeth ad-Dar and Bareed ad-Dar were also published.

While the publications gave an audience the chance to read more about aspects of Islamic art and culture, the exhibitions – DAI’s and those with objects loans – gave an audience the opportunity to see actual works of art from the region. Islamic Art and Patronage: Treasures from Kuwait left Australia for the Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand. Treasury of the World: Jewelled Objects from India in the Age of the Mughals enjoyed an extended stay at the Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri. The Adventures of Hamza left the United States for Europe, landing first at the Royal Academy of Arts, London and then moving to the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland. Chevaux et Cavaliers Arabes, dan les Arts d’Orient et d’Occident closed at L’Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia 1256 – 1353 moved west, leaving New York for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in California.

The variety of educational opportunities available in 2003 was equally impressive. In addition to cultural season lectures and performances, the DAI hosted “Iraq’s Historical Perspective” conference at al-Maidan Cultural Centre, a presentation on the cemeteries and Sgraffiti discovered by the Kuwait team at the al-Khiran archaeological site, and a lecture by Sheika Hussah on “Art in Peril: Kuwaiti and Iraqi Museums in Perspective” at the Kuwait National Museum. DAI trips included a walk through old Kuwait and a visit to the historic Red Fort in Jahra. Many of the participants in these excursions also joined the DAI cultural expedition to India.

Books, exhibitions, lectures, theatrical performances, local excursions and an international expedition: 2003 was a year rich with opportunity.