24 April 2016
H.E Shaikha Mai Receives a High Profile Russian Cultural Delegation
H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA), received on 24 April 2016 a high profile Russian delegation led by Governor of St. Petersburg, Georgy Poltavchenko, during a recent visit to Bahrain from April 24 to 27. The visit comes after the governor of Manama visited St. Petersburg in 2015. Governor Georgy Poltavchenko, who is on a three-day visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain along with a high profile 60-membered Russian delegation, will be holding more than 20 meetings with establishments in both the public and private sectors during the visit.
H.E Shaikha Mai welcomed the Russian cultural delegation composed of Mr. Victor Kononov, chairman of the Committee for the Development of Tourism, Mr. Constantine Sohinko, head of the Cultural Committee, Mrs. Irada Tofikovna Vovnenko, deputy director of the Public Relations Department at St Petersburg Museum and St Isaac Cathedral, Mrs. Elena Kalnitskaya, general director of the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve.
H.E Shaikha Mai briefed the Russian delegation on cultural activities held throughout the year, highlighting the activities lined up this year under the theme ‘Bahrain Your Destination 2016’, which is aimed at promoting Bahrain as a pioneering hub for cultural tourism in the region and the world. H.E explained BACA’s strategy as part of the ‘Invest in Culture’ program, which yielded many promising and successful projects. The ‘Food is Culture’ project, which is a unique shared art and cooking experience, the National Theater program, Qala’at al- Bahrain Dilmun site and ‘Pearling: Testimony of an Island Economy’ to be completed in 2018, are just a few as well as 2018 will celebrate Muharraq as the Capital of Islamic Culture.
During the meeting, both sides discussed ways and means of boosting cultural cooperation between Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities and many Russian official entities with regard to training museum employees, rehabilitation of Bahraini specialized staff and holding an exhibition storytelling Dilmun’s ancient civilization in St. Petersburg in the beginning of 2017.
At the end of the meeting, the Russian delegation praised the kindness and hospitality of H.E Shaikha Mai and the Bahraini people in general, hailing the strenuous efforts deployed by the Bahrain Culture & Antiquities Authority (BCAA) president in developing the culture and tourism in Bahrain. The delegation also stressed the importance of cooperation between both countries.
H.E Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, for her part, lauded the efforts of Russian officials in encouraging culture and arts and the common heritage of humanity, valuing highly the crucial sponsorship and support of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, may God protect him, to culture in Bahrain.
The history of joint and mutual cultural and artistic exhibitions between Bahrain and Russian is crowned by many successful events. Starting with the 2012 ‘Tylos, the Journey of Life’ Exhibition at the State Museum of Oriental Art in the Russian capital, Moscow, in the presence of world figures and delegations interested in heritage and museums.
Russian cultural manifestations organized in Bahrain, started with ‘Days of Russian Culture’ in Manama, whereby Russian jewelry, woodwork, handicraft, folk dance and horn music were presented to the public. Indeed, the ‘Days of Russian Culture’ featured five days of breathtaking performances and exquisite displays of traditional handicrafts and photography exhibitions. In 2012, the Ministry of Culture inaugurated, the new National Theatre, by presenting for the first time dancers from two of Russia's most famous theatres, Bolshoi and Mariinsky. The spectacular ballet performance, Gala Russe: Stars of the Russian Ballet, dazzled the audience, featuring dances from Swan Lake, Don Quixote and La Corsaire, with some of the world's most renowned names in ballet performing, including Denis Matveinko, Vyacheslav Lopatin, Anastasia Stashkevich and Ekaterina Osmolkina.
On its part, Bahrain hosted a Russian Textile Exhibition, ‘Russian Textile: Printed Cotton from Traditional Patterns to Soviet Propaganda Design’, which was held in the Bahrain National Museum as part of the MoU signed between the two sides. In line with ‘Manama, the Capital of the Arab Tourism’ 2013’s celebration of the season of ‘Leisure Tourism’, Minister of Culture, Shaikha Mai launched the exhibition ‘Pearls in the Arabian Gulf’ at the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied, and Folk Arts in the Russian capital Moscow in September 2013, as an initiation for launching ‘Intraregional Tourism’, which is considered the first cooperation within the agreement between the two countries along the history of the political and cultural relations bonding them.
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s art season opened with a group exhibition entitled ‘Contemporary Bahraini Art Exhibition: New Horizons, at the Russian Art Academy in Moscow’ from 17 September – 15 October 2013. In fact, in the same year H.E attended the opening of the contemporary fine art gallery for Bahraini artists at the Russian Academy of Arts (Zurab Tsereteli Arts Gallery). The Minister of Culture was honored by the president of the Russian Academy of Arts as well as the Russian president's Advisor for Cultural Affairs Prof. Zurab Konstantines dze Tsereteli, who granted her the honorary membership of the academy in tribute to her tangible role and efforts in supporting arts, preserving global human heritage in Bahrain and cementing cultural and artistic ties between Bahrain and Russia.
The ‘Russian Textile: Printed Cotton from Traditional Patterns to Soviet Propaganda Design 2013’ at the Bahrain National Museum showcased various forms of textile and cotton fabric from 18th- 20th centuries and costumes from the 19th- early 20th centuries has been supported greatly by the Museum of Ivanovo Printed Cotton and oldest Moscow printing enterprise, OAO Trekhgornaya Manufactory. As part of Russia Culture Days in Bahrain in 2013, Russian Handicrafts Exhibition of North Ossetia-Alania also showcased a collection of beautifully adorned national costumes, jewelry referring to artifacts of rich and indigenous Koban bronze culture, woodworking and pottery will be on display.
In 2013, cultural and tourism cooperation was strengthened with the signing of a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) on exchange of cultural activities, in coordination between the two countries' Culture Ministries and the Russian and Bahraini embassies. In addition, the Ministry of Culture hosted the world acclaimed Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre performing live Hoffman's classic fairytale of the Nutcraker on the 18th & 19th September 2014. Indeed, the two nights of sweet dreams at Bahrain’s National Theater animated by Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet, The Nutcracker, showcased one of the most famous plays of all-time. The 24th Bahrain International Music Festival’s inaugural concert started with an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina by the Eifman Ballet of St Petersburg led by its artistic director Boris Eifman. In 2015, and in one of Thousand and Night sensational stories, Bahrain National Theater hosted Giselle ballet.
