Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Arts Society (ADAS) launched the first virtual session of the organisation’s Council series on Wednesday, under the title “How Literature and Art responded to the impact of social and intellectual changes”.
A group of writers, novelists and critics participated in this session, namely, the writer and film director Nasser Al Dhaheri, poet and journalist Talal Salem, artist Dr. Najat Makki and literary critic Dr. Mohamed El Fateh.
Dr. Hamed Bin Mohamed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Abu Dhabi Arts Society (ADAS) affirmed that organising this session shed the light on the social and intellectual transformations of literature and art and their impact on the cultural scene, pointing out that this platform seeks to enrich the local and international art scene by activating dialogue between art professionals and their audiences.
Al Dhaheri emphasised that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on writers and artists and how they dealt with this issue, especially during the lockdown period that lasted for long hours, and how the contemporary culture will be without theatre and the rest of the arts that push the human imagination great strides forward.
Salem addressed the issue of the writer’s relationship with his society and how society changed in receiving literature and writing between generations with this rapid transition that our societies are going through. Makki highlighted that the social and intellectual changes affect the personal life of the artist and the contents of his works and methods in the future.
Importance of Arabic
Al-Fateh discussed the obstacles that the language is experiencing considering the intellectual and social reality, civilizational openness and highlighted the importance of Arabic, its role, characteristics in addition to the plans that UAE is adopting to support it.
Dr. Amal Al-Jamal, film critic and writer, participated in the interventions, in addition to the participation of Samia Badr, Strategic Partnerships and Media Manager at Abu Dhabi Arts society (ADAS), where she referred to the initiatives adopted by ADAS to support the artistic and cultural scene locally and internationally.
