Manama: Bahrain is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bahrain National Museum with a sleepless night featuring several cultural and entertainment events.
Culture Minister Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa will start the evening on Sunday with an 8pm guided tour of the museum overlooking the Arabian Gulf.
The 30-minute tour will be followed by a one-hour concert to be performed by the French Orchestre de chambre de Versailles, the culture ministry and French embassy said.
At 9.30pm, a photography exhibition by Eric Bonnier will be opened at the adjacent Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage. The works in exhibition was produced during two journeys on December 2012 and April 2013. In the course of his stay in the Kingdom, Bonnier revealed his impressions of Bahrain in a collection of photographic pictures.
The show will continue at 10.30pm, but with an Italian tune through the piano recital by Italian pianistic duo Antonella Vitelli and Luciano Bellini.
At 11.30pm, the cultural feat continues with questions and answers on the fifth volume of “Atyaf”, the literary series that covers the legacy of Nobel Literature Prize winner Najeeb Mahfouz.
The session at the lecture hall of the museum will be with the book’s editor Dr Abdul Qadir Faidouh who edited, collected, and studies the papers contained within written by 20 Arab analysts and intellectuals.
The fine arts and calligraphy exhibition by young artist Ayman Jaffar will be opened at 12.30am at the museum.
A glimpse into life 25 years ago will be offered to participants when a traditional meal will be served in a family setting at 1am.
A group of youths will play eastern and Latin music as part of the one-hour concert to be staged at 2am, followed by the screening Patience of the Salt, the short film that won the second prize of the Gulf Film Festival and Abu Dhabi Film Festival. The film was also selected to be screened in Saint Petersburg.
A second short tour of Bahrain National Museum will be afterwards held to help rediscover its contents.
“Tela’at Ya Mahla Noorha” a one-hour concert with qanun player Nabeel Al Najjar will be the last cultural event of the evening at 5am while a group breakfast by the seaside will conclude the day’s events by 7am on Monday.
This innovative showcase of culture began when Paris hosted the first “Nuit Blanche” event in 2002. The success of the event in Paris has made it an annual city celebration and has become an international trend, spreading to several cities, including Rome, Madrid, Brussels, Toronto and Miami.