The Cultural Village Foundation – Katara announced the launch of Katara Summer Events 2020, which will be presented remotely through their accounts on social media, in line with the state’s precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The events include a variety of competitions and virtual shows, such as heritage collections contest, Katara Handicraft Competition, Katara Novel and Fine Art Competition, Meshwar and Novel competition, Al Dhad Channel Competition and the Katara Caricature contest. Big prizes await winners of each competition.
In addition to a number of virtual exhibitions, Katara also offers weekly theatre activities as well as lectures, seminars and workshops covering culture, literature and art. There will also be online shows courtesy of Al Thuraya Planetarium during summer.
Heritage Collections Competition
Participants should submit a video presenting the story of collections of traditional antique items. Submitted videos should not exceed three minutes, of high quality and in horizontal format. It should be shot using mobile phones only, not a professional camera.
Each participant can submit three videos. Participants should be in Qatar and at least 18 years old. Any video containing copyrighted (music, image) or inappropriate content will be disqualified.
First place winner will receive QAR15,000, while second and third place winners will receive QAR12,000 and QAR10,000, respectively. Deadline for submission of entries is 30 July.
Handicraft Competition
The first competition for women handicrafts, ‘Inspired by the Women Craft Heritage’ was launched under the umbrella of the Qatari Women’s Pen Forum and aims to highlight the role of Qatari women in craft heritage creativity and the opportunities offered to allow them to exchange ideas and experiences.
Participant must be at least 18 years old and choose to work on a vocabulary related to the women artisan heritage – Al Marash, Sadu and Mukhala and to employ it in contemporary creative works – products handicrafts or souvenirs, which contributes to inspire their values.
Participants in this competition should submit a sample of products, handicrafts or souvenirs to the Qatari Women’s Pen Forum in Building 18 (first floor), not later than 15 August. Samples should be especially created for the competition.
Top prize winner will receive QAR25,000, second prize winner will receive QAR20,000, while third place winner will receive QAR15,000.
Other Competitions
Katara also launched the Katara Novel and Fine Art Competition where participants will paint for the cover of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel 2020 publications, both published and unpublished.
The winner will receive US$500 and his name and painting will be on the cover of the novel. More details available here.
A series of weekly competitions – Meshwar and Novel Competition and Al Dhad Channel Competition offers a prize of US$1000 weekly.
The Katara Caricatures Competition, should tackle the issues of working from home or home schooling. As much as US$5000 await the top winners of the competition. Deadline for entries is 15 August. More details available here.
Theatre, Fine Arts and Astronomy Events
Katara will also be showcasing weekly events online, presented through their social media accounts. These virtual shows will feature performances inspired by international and Arabic plays, and will be participated by a distinguished group of artists.
Virtual exhibitions as well as seminars, lectures and weekly workshops related to culture, literature, heritage and the arts will also be available through the Katara website. For a listing of virtual exhibitions currently available for viewing, visit the Marhaba Calendar.
Al Thuraya Planetarium will also present various activities, in addition to publications of the Eclipse and astronomical events presented every week via the social media accounts of Katara.
For updates and more information, visit katara.net.