1995 saw the debut of what has become one of the most popular aspects of the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah. At 7 PM sharp on 17 October Professor Géza Fehérvári gave the first lecture of the DAI’s Cultural Season One.

Professor Géza’s speech marked the formalisation of the organisation’s penchant for providing scholars with a platform for sharing their ideas. From that date forward, the DAI would actively search for scholars and cultural authorities and invite them to Kuwait to give a Monday night lecture. The diversity of the topics covered would grow with each season, but expertise of the speakers and the hospitality of the DAI would remain the same.

Islamic Art and Patronage: Treasures from Kuwait moved to the Fitzwilliam Museum in London in April and with that, the international focus for the year shifted there as well. DAI curator Manuel Keene gave a lecture on the extraordinary “Ruby Dagger” as part of the exhibition’s opening. In Kuwait, Sheikha Hussah gave a lecture on “The Enigma of the Three Mughal Emeralds” at the British Embassy.

In mid-May, a conference was held at the Peterhouse Lecture Theatre, exploring Kuwait: The Development of an Historic Identity. Five months later, a new exhibition titled Africa: The Art of a Continent, which included objects on loan from The al-Sabah Collection, opened at The Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Hadeeth ad-Dar’s fourth issue was published and academic institutions outside the country began requesting copies of the magazine. Like the DAI, Hadeeth ad-Dar was in demand!