23 November 2021
Bahrain National Week Continues with Events at Expo 2020 Dubai, Ending on 26 & 27 November with the National Day festivities
Bahrain National Week events held at Expo 2020 in Dubai will carry on until 26 November 2021, presenting a range of activities to raise awareness about the kingdom’s rich culture and a promising business-friendly environment.
Curtains will fall on these unique Bahrain National Week on 25 & 26 November, coinciding with festivities celebrating Bahrain National Day, touring the different parts of the Expo, not simply the ‘ Opportunity District’ where it is located.
Indeed, Bahrain National Day festive events include an exhibition opening on Bahraini pearls, whereby three pioneers of the pearling most valuable gems in Bahrain will display their pearl-related designs in the pavilion, namely, Al-Mahmoud Pearls, Matar Jewelry and Al Fardan Jewelry. The exhibition will be accompanied by music performances by the Qalali Folklore Troupe, Mohammed Bin Faris. The Police Band. The famous Al Wasl Plaza's dome in the middle of the Expo will also host a visual presentation on the Kingdom of Bahrain, produced by the Economic Development Board and the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.
In addition, the activities of the week kicked with the effectiveness of the digital challenge organized by the National Bank of Bahrain in partnership with Bahrain FinTech Bay, aiming to develop the digital capabilities of Bahraini youth and explore various emerging technological trends.
The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and the Economic Development Board stated on this occasion that, while tomorrow an event will be held A high-ranking diplomat, through which a number of ambassadors of countries from major global markets that have commercial and economic relations with Bahrain have the opportunity to see investment opportunities in the Kingdom. On Wednesday, the Economic Development Board will host a forum entitled “Future Outlook: The Middle East’s Path to a Digital Economy”, in partnership with “The Economist”, and Invest in Bahrain’, which will discuss data governance, legislation, the role of human capital, and creating a supportive environment for emerging technologies.
Noteworthy that the Kingdom of Bahrain inaugurated its National Pavilion titled - “Density Weaves Opportunity” on October 1 at the largest and long-awaited international event, Expo 2020 Dubai. Her Excellency Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities President and Commissioner General of the Bahrain Pavilion, inaugurated the Pavilion. Bahrain pavilion at the Expo has a unique architectural design, where aluminum panels envelop it in a scene free from engineering complexity, while the visitors are surprised from the inside by a lively space filled with visual experiences, activities and programs organized by the authority until March of next year.
The pavilion is conceived as a physical and spatial experience of density and the future possibilities of building in an increasingly dense world. Designed by Christian Kerez Zürich AG, it is imagined as an open plan space, submerged in the site and accessed through a ramp that creates a transition between the outer and inner worlds of the pavilion. The structure of this central space is made of 126 columns of 11cm in diameter and 24m in height that join each other at several points throughout the height of the space. The columns support one another and support the roof, providing a poetic structure that demonstrates principles of connection and density in an exploration of the three-dimensional possibilities inspired by geometric gypsum ornaments of traditional Bahraini architecture. This central space houses the main exhibition space, the gift shop and the cafe that are loosely nestled between the columns of the building, shaping the physical experience of density in the pavilion.
A different set of periodic installations will take their place in the space and transform it over the course of 6 months during the Expo period, creating a different scenography that changes the visitor's reading of the place. Each of these installations is created through a collaborative process, handcrafted in Bahrain using various traditional and contemporary weaving crafts, viewing the weaving process as a metaphor for intensity. Each scenography will have a general theme, revealed in four different exhibitions, as in theatrical work, to show an important aspect of Bahrain's culture and its rich heritage.
The first theme to be shed light on will be an installation artwork, titled “What She Sees” created by Bahrain-based textile designer Muhairi Boyle was the opening event of the pavilion. The exhibition focuses on the nobility of textile craft in Bahrain and the beauty of sails of the Banoosh ships used for pearling. Bahrain Culture Authority, in cooperation with “DANAT” institute is offering a unique opportunity for Dubai Expo 2020 visitors to delve into magic world of latest techniques of pearling testing, examination and natural gems valorization.
