From June 22 to 27, and June 30 to July 4, a number of Emirati musicians will perform at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. This year’s edition of the artistic and cultural event will centre on the United Arab Emirates.
Noura Bint Mohammed Al-Kaabi, the UAE’s Minister of Culture and Youth, met with the festival’s creatives this week. The event, according to Al-Kaabi, “celebrates the UAE’s past and highlights the essential role of art in the country’s prosperity and evolution.”
“The involvement of a group of UAE creatives in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which includes both Emirati and resident artists, symbolises our country’s rich legacy,” she said. “As the focus country, the UAE will exhibit Emirati and Arab culture and arts to present a taste of Arab civilization and its living heritage.”
The festival, dubbed “UAE: Living Landscape, Living Memory,” will mark the 50th anniversary of the UAE’s creation by presenting a variety of events with more than 80 Emirati craftsmen, creators, and singers, with the goal of introducing Emirati history to an international audience.
The festival’s events are free to attend. The festival will kick out with a concert on June 22nd, followed by cultural programmes on June 23rd, reflecting the UAE’s living memory and cultural traditions that come from its relationship with land, sea, and sky.