Despite still undergoing renovation, in 2009 the Amricani Cultural Centre emerged as a local cultural hub. Five exhibitions, organised by embassies, scholars and Kuwait University students were held on site. The first was The Entire City, a photographic exhibition co-organised with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, which was followed by an exhibition of historic German photographs called Leap In Time. An academic study of Kuwait’s iconic water fountains, The Quest for Water before the Oil Discovery and the Ma’sabil, a Generous and Symbolic Creation drew an enthusiastic audience, as did The Chair Project, featuring work done by Kuwait University art students. The final Amricani exhibition of the year, rich with beautiful textiles, was Mezzari and Mandilli: The Cotton Route from East to West, co-organised with the Embassy of Italy. In addition, the DAI Forum was established at the Amricani. The Forum offered a platform for local speakers and artisans to share their knowledge and skills through lectures and workshops.

Of course, the al-Maidan Cultural Centre continued to host the cultural season lectures (the end of Cultural Season 14 and the beginning of Cultural Season 15 in 2009) and DAI Music Forum performance. The DAI Book Club, introduced at the beginning of Cultural Season 15, met there once a month and several special events were also held at al-Maidan. This included Pecha-Kucha Night and a 4-night seminar entitled “Beauty, Sincerity and Devotion: The Basics of Islamic Faith and Practice”.

DAI friends enjoyed two international cultural expeditions, one to Morocco and the other to Jordan. In addition, many travelled to Moscow, Russia for the opening of the Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals exhibition at the Kremlin Museums.

From Moscow, Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals moved to The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. The DAI’s Islamic Art and Patronage: Treasures from Kuwait exhibition was still on display in the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization in Sharjah, UAE and DAI loans were on display in Beyond Boundaries at the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar and in Pathways to the Modern World: Travelling the Silk Road at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, USA.

Three issues of Bareed ad-Dar and Hadeeth ad-Dar were published this year. In addition, a new children’s book called “Fables Inspired By Kalila wa Dimna”, by Susan Eileen Day and translated by Ma’asouma al-Habib, was published as part of the Khair Jalees series.

Reaching the local community has been a priority of the DAI since 1983. With the adoption of the Amricani Cultural Centre as a local hub for cultural activities, 2009 saw an exponential increase in the organisation’s ability to do just that.