Nuqat
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| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-governmental organization, Non-profit organization |
| Focus | Cultural Development |
| Headquarters | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
Region served | MENA Region |
| Website | www.nuqat.me |
Nuqta (Arabic: نقاط, lit. 'Dots') is a nonprofit organization based in Kuwait that focuses on cultural development in the region.[1] Diverse participants from all over the world join Nuqta throughout the year to discuss design, entrepreneurship, architecture, fine arts, technology, culture, and social matters.
About
[edit]Nuqta aims to address this by facilitating, enabling, and nurturing a collaborative community that solves social challenges through creative thinking.[2] Nuqta is primarily a platform providing cultural programming and community networking.[citation needed][3]
Nuqta, first known as "Nuqta Ala Al Hereof" (Arabic: نقاط على الحروف, lit. 'Dots on the Letters') started with one objective in mind - to develop Arab creativity on all levels, encompassing design, advertising, architecture, fashion, production and all other pertinent social and cultural fields.[citation needed][4]
History
[edit]According to its founders Archived 2016-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, Nuqta was started out of "frustration with the lack of spirited exchange in the Middle East" and "with one objective in mind - to develop Arab creativity on all levels." The organization was founded in 2009 with a two-day consortium and began its intensive activities in 2010, hosting a conference, workshop, and exhibition at the Gulf University of Science and Technology (Kuwait) on the theme of visual pollution. In 2012 Nuqta organized workshops, exhibitions, and conferences under the heading The Lost City of Arabesque in both Kuwait and Dubai - the latter was produced in conjunction with the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Tashk eel and traced the route of traditional arts in Dubai to their modern counterparts.[5]
2009: The First conference was conducted under the theme "Nuqta Ala Al Hereof" meaning "dotting the I's" with 3 speakers, 3 workshops, and 80 participants over 2 days.
2010: A bigger conference under the theme of "Visual Pollution in the Arab World" was conducted with 12 speakers, 9 workshops, and 200 participants over 3 days.
2012: Nuqta was invited by Dubai Design Days to conduct the conference in Dubai as part of their program in March. The conference brought about 26 speakers, 12 workshops, and 200 attendees over 5 days. The same conference was completed in Kuwait. A decision was made to keep Kuwait as the main base for the big conference and conduct several small activities in the GCC and MENA.
2013: Nuqta received the support of the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs and conducted the conference with 27 speakers, 12 workshops, and 750 attendees over 7 days under the theme of "Executing Culture Shock."
2014: The theme was "The Missing Link: Practicing the Collective Approach". We asked speakers to tackle a challenging part of the creative process: collaboration. Nuqta got its license as a non-profit company. Nuqta partnered with LOUD Art in Saudi Arabia to produce a second edition of their "Executing Culture Shock" program, which according to Nuqta ambassador Tala Saleh was a way to emphasize the "communal framework" of Nuqta as an Arab organization.[6][7]
2015: With the theme "The Copy/Paste Syndrome", the 7-day program tackled the idea of originality along with the upsides and downsides of copying. The conference became a program, engaging local and regional cultural organizations to conduct their activities as part of the program. Also, this year witnessed the launch of Nuqta Junior, the children's creative education program.
2016: In 2016, Nuqta ran the annual conference on "The Seventh Sense: Powering the Creative Economy in the Middle East". This NUQAT conference looked at the ways the seventh sense, i.e. the mechanism of the human mind that produces new ideas, can develop innovation in the industries of the Arab world and beyond. Looking at the idea of alternative energy, we proposed that creativity should play a larger role in powering our economies as we move forward. During the conference, we ran our first-ever round of Exploration Sessions on three aspects of the Creative Economy. These Exploration Sessions brought together various academics, professionals, intellectuals, creatives, designers, and more to discuss a given topic of the Creative Economy.
2018: Nuqta presented a special edition two-day forum titled "The Human Capital: Investing in Creativity for Social Impact". The forum was presented to the public talks and discussion panels exploring various delving deeper into the creative economy and stimulating the collective wisdom of our minds and souls for the progress of our communities.
For the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 the Kuwait edition of the Nuqta conference was hosted in the American Cultural Centre Archived 2016-02-17 at the Wayback Machine (Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah) and the Sadu House hosted the workshops.[8][9]
As for the 2018 forum, Nuqta looked elsewhere and decided to take a different step concerning where the event would be held thus looked into the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre, the recently opened Culture House/Opera House in Kuwait, JACC provides a space for dialogue to share and showcase skills and knowledge, giving younger voices a forum in which to speak. The cultural center is a platform for educational and cultural exchange; moreover, it functions as an influential entertainment and culture powerhouse and productive space for the region.[10]
Cultural programming
[edit]Nuqta regularly organizes art and design competitions, film screenings, exhibitions, and other cultural events. In conjunction with 29Letters, a type foundry based in Beirut, Nuqta hosted the first annual Hourouf competition in 2014. Hourouf aims to identify in its pool of applicants new bilingual type designs in Arabic and Latin.[11]
Amongst the films screened by Nuqta are Scheherazade's Diary[12] by Zeina Backache and short films by Kuwaiti directors including Dinosaur[13] by Mead Al Kout.
Conferences
[edit]Nuqta conferences invite regional and international thought leaders to participate in a curated form of talks, panel discussions, workshops, and cultural events that are open to the public. Each conference is meant to explore a central idea.
Exploration Sessions (Nuqta On Tour)
[edit]In 2016, Nuqta ran the annual conference under the topic "Powering the Creative Economy".
Simultaneously, Nuqta held a pilot series of Exploration Sessions in 2016 which looked at the following three topics: "Architecture and Urbanism", "Design Deficit in the Gulf" and "Funding the Creative Economy". These sessions brought together architects, academics, artists, writers, investors, designers, and innovative thinkers to stimulate conversation and create a multi-dimensional understanding of the prevalent issues within three different fields. Following from this analysis, actionable steps were outlined and published in a report by Nuqta.
Educational programs
[edit]Workshops
[edit]Since 2009 Nuqta has offered dozens of workshops[14] in a variety of practical and theoretical art and design subjects. Studio Nuqta is a series of workshops and events offered by Nuqta. Nuqta provides skills-building and industry immersion opportunities for teams and individuals (including students, professionals, and hobbyists). The objective of Studio Nuqta is to provide a creative outlet that in turn serves to develop the creative capacities, vocational skills, and networks of its participants. Studio Nuqta serves as a form of alternative learning as well as a continuing education platform.
Nuqta's street art workshop[15] have led to public art interventions in Mubaraka district and on the Sheraton roundabout at the heart of Kuwait City. Nuqta is currently offering a course series in photography, design, and entrepreneurship.
Zain-Nuqta IN•DIG•GO
[edit]In 2017, Nuqta went into partnership with Zain Group, the leading mobile telecom innovator in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa.[16] Together, the two organizations are set to introduce a development initiative dubbed IN•DIG•GO, which is an alternative thematic-based educational program for children between the ages of 6 and 11 years. The program is aimed at strengthening the understanding of the participants, expanding their knowledge, and developing their soft and learning skills. The program is the first-of-its-kind in the region and will be initially launched as a pilot supporting children of Zain employees in Kuwait. This pilot will act as a learning platform for all stakeholders and then after the intention is to roll out the program on a larger scale.
Partnerships
[edit]Nuqta workshops have received many different sponsors. In 2014 Jazeera Airways and IKEA provided materials and support for workshops in which participants created designs for the airlines and the furniture giant.[17][18] In 2015, Alghanim industries sponsored Dr. Amar Behbehani's workshop "Innovative Entrepreneurship: A Creative Process" and Elevation Burger sponsored Wajiha's workshop 'Social Design | Fi Al Wajiha'.
References
[edit]- ^ http://nuqat.me/
- ^ Al Shatti, Nouriah (November 16, 2016). "Nuqat, A Creative Collective That's Changing Lives". Vogue Arabia.
- ^ Alfoory, Samyah (February 22, 2016). "Nuqat: Creative Education and Innovation in Kuwait". The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
- ^ Jaber, Ramzi (8 December 2013). "Nuqat Creative Conference creates 'culture shock' in Kuwait". wamda.com.
- ^ "Conference to chart Dubai's design history". gulfnews.com. 15 March 2012.
- ^ ""Culture shock" exhibition attracts visitors in Saudi Arabia". 12 July 2014.
- ^ "LOUD Art and Nuqat unite for creative project in Saudi Arabia". buro247.com.
- ^ "The Missing Link: Practicing the Collective Approach". bazaar.town.
- ^ "Fifth Nuqat Creative Conference kicks off". news.kuwaittimes.net. Archived from the original on 2015-03-24.
- ^ "The Cultural Centre".
- ^ "Horouf : Bilingual Type Design Competition". 29Letters - 29LT BLOG.
- ^ "Scheherazade's Diary (2013)". IMDb.
- ^ "Nuqat". nuqat.me. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- ^ "Nuqat". Archived from the original on 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- ^ "Nuqat, Kuwait City - Updates from eL Seed". Tashkeel.
- ^ "You are being redirected..." www.zain.com. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Jazeera Airways official carrier of Nuqat Creative Conference". Al Bawaba.
- ^ "IKEA x Younes Duret workshop pour Nuqat 2014 – Koweït". Younes Duret Design. 24 November 2014.
