Cultural development is an important part of the Social Development sector of the Dubai Strategic Plan. The Dubai Government is committed to protecting and developing the country's culture.
Cultural development in Dubai is firmly guarded by the government as well as privately owned foundations, where a number of cultural activities take place regularly.
Among the main cultural foundations that promotes theatre and poetry in Dubai is the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation. According to information posted on its website, the foundation was established in 1988 under the umbrella of the UAE Association of Writers and Men of Letters.
The foundation later became an independent cultural institution in 1992 through an Emiri Decree by the late Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Objectives
The objectives of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation include supporting Arab talents and culture by presenting awards in the categories of poetry fiction, drama and literary criticism, in addition to the Cultural and Scientific
Achievement Award. These awards are presented every two years.
The Dubai Cultural Council is another active body that aims to develop cultural and artistic talent. Mohammad Al Murr, a short-story writer who has written at least 15 collections of short stories, heads the council.
The council is to supervise the construction of an opera house and general as well as arts museums in Dubai.
The proposed opera house building will include libraries for music and culture, a music school, indoor and outdoor theatres and an art gallery. The three-million-square-foot opera house will be built on a manmade island in the Creek.
Support from the Dubai Cultural Council does not stop at the role of just coordinating cultural centres, but it also develops their cultural infrastructure, sponsoring activities and organising specialised courses and sessions in arts and culture.
Theatre
The cultural scene received a boost with the opening of the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre in the Mall of the
Emirates where plays, musicals, lectures, classes and art exhibitions are offered.
The building has two theatres, the larger of which has a capacity of 543 and space for a live orchestra. The centre also includes the Manu Chhabria Arts Centre, which includes the Centre for Musical Arts, the Old Library and 16 classrooms or studios that cater to visitors interested in learning crafts, painting, sculpture, ceramics and pottery.
Cultural and Scientific Association
An institution founded in 1987, the Cultural and Scientific Association highlights the country's culture and preserves its heritage, while enhancing the UAE's cultural development.
Its main objectives are to encourage talented people in cultural, literary and scientific fields, support the cultural movement and its process of development and to encourage cultural ideas.
It also offers members social activities in addition to strengthening relations and cooperation between the association and other similar institutions.
The association's targets are followed through a variety of activities to encourage scientific development by providing awards such as the Rashid Award for Scientific Distinction, the Al Owais Award for Studies and Scientific Innovation, and the Emirates Scientific Club.
