“Circles are the revolution.” With tongue firmly in cheek, these words are proudly projected onto the main screen in the last gathering of the season for the Art Scene community. Cleverly referred to as a NOT PARTY in circulars to throw off the ’rents and other disapproving authority figures, this is a celebratory hang-out designed to appreciate the participants who take the time to engage with Art Scene circles, shows, and sessions. bazaar is here to meet the minds behind the marvelous Art Scene which has been forming and reforming the creative spaces available to local artists, writers, musicians, entertainers, and filmmakers for the last year. It’s a loud, fun, and social gathering and so to glean any real insight from the organizers we agree to an online interview instead and leave the creative kids to it.
It’s unsurprising that Areej Saleh and Mohammad Husnain (Huss) are the first two to join our Zoom meeting as one or other of them, usually both, can be seen running around Art Scene events, prepping, keeping on top of things and maybe looking a little stressed at times, but always happy and exhausted by the end.
Areej and Huss laugh as they remember how they met, describing their days together a decade ago at the now-defunct (dead?) Kuwait Poets’ Society (KPS). “When we were still young and angsty,” says twenty-five-year-old Areej. Still young. Still angsty. Returning to Kuwait from university in the States, and after Corona, Areej couldn’t find the creative events that used to be such a big part of Kuwait life. She reached out to Huss – he used to be the events organizer for KPS – and they endeavored to organize together along with Asad Ayaz and Khizar Khalil.
What started with Open Medium Hangouts of around 10 people in an art studio or on a beach, then grew into Art Scene’s first Open Mic which highlighted the increasing demand for more of these spaces. “Ever since then we’ve been growing and expanding,” Areej continues. And they have been gathering loyal supporters along the way. Mohamed Saleh joined as an organizer after the first Open Mic. He explains, “I found the space and the people that I was looking for since I was a kid.” Now, as Art Scene’s Program Manager, Mohamed’s main responsibility is, “…to execute the vision of events and to monitor the overall progress in terms of the goals of the organization.” What he does is help to put creatives together as a community where, “They can have their own initiatives and ideas that grow the art scene in Kuwait,” he concludes.
Hawraa Khalfan, Art Scene’s Circles Manager, tells of her previous experience of organizing a community-based writing club similar to KPS which is where Areej became aware of Hawraa’s efforts. Areej asked her to be a facilitator for Art Scene. “How we find facilitators [now], based on my experience, is we find people who are very motivated about their craft, but not just that, they want to find their people in the craft too.”
This is where Areej interrupts saying that Muhamed has the most descriptive word for the kind of creatives that they are looking for, “Hungry” is the word. “This is the only word that I can use to describe it,” says Mohamed. He stresses with great emphasis, “They want this just like we do.” Mohamed’s first Open Mic experience with Art Scene was revelatory, and he made his mind up immediately that he wanted to stay and be a part of it.
After Open Mics came Circles; more in-depth, themed gatherings. Music Circles have been facilitated by Nasser Qabazard, Visual Circles by Saja Alsaadoun, and the Writing Circles facilitated by Hawraa who, “ Volunteered to do that and fix everything else,” jokes Areej, who further states, “We started as ‘where are all the artists’, then we found the artists and then we said ‘how do we keep the artists in’ and ‘how do we make the artists feel better about their art’?” A regular attendee of Music Circles, Abdullah Khuraibet a talented, young musician and composer says, “[What makes Art Scene] special is, it’s an opportunity for like-minded people to gather.” As so many participants express to bazaar, here is where they have finally discovered their community and space; within Art Scene projects and initiatives. Art Scene itself must be seen as invaluable, especially for those young artists now trying to find themselves within the local creative community.
How can Art Scene commodify and monetize this community creation and stay true to art? Does survival mean selling out? Areej has been putting a lot of thought into this lately and muses, “I was just trying to set up a space where people could express but I think most of it is realizing that as much energy as you want to put in, you’re able to ask people for it back and you don’t have to sit there and act like art is such a big sacrifice and you have to give it from your soul without ever taking anything back. It doesn’t have to be that way.” Maintaining the community takes funding, and building a strong foundation and infrastructure with a network that can hold organizational memory with longevity doesn’t come for free. It requires program development, attracting more facilitators, providing resources, and growing the community so that eventually, the artists turn around and want to give right back to up-and-coming creatives. The build can be exponential if done right, even though – from bazaar experience, organizing creatives can be a little like herding cats. It’s aspirational and inspiring to meet a team of people who know their worth and can pass on this confidence to a new generation. Let them build their own platform to be seen, heard, and taken seriously as a vital part of society.
Hawraa talks fondly about the family support that was her experience, “The reason that I’m still a writer is my dad. I was this little kid with a notebook writing poetry about love I’ve never felt…and my dad was like, ‘This is amazing. I’m going to show it to my colleagues in the English department.’ I’m sure he embarrassed himself but it was still sweet”. However she also goes on to express that, “There is this…dynamic…which is we are taught or socialized into thinking that art is not a way to make money,” further going on to describe her father still expressing, “You should be an English teacher” which, although supportive, is not quite the same as embracing the idea of Hawraa as a writer.
Areej quite rightly interjects to clarify, “I think it’s kind of important for us to differentiate the spheres that we’re working in because there is money in Arabic pop and folk music and theater has been really well funded in Kuwait for a long time. There is money in different spaces.” The group then discusses how people have had to leave Kuwait and develop elsewhere in order to be able to then come back and be lauded as fully polished creatives, designers, and artists etc. “There’s a need for spaces for people to be able to just play and experiment,” urges Areej, “I think it’s really just a lack of seeing things as possible, and then as soon as you are shown, or as soon as people who can fund these things are shown [then they realize] this is possible.” Art Scene shows inexperienced, hungry artists that you can live your art in Kuwait. bazaar reached out to @neptunic. photography published to @artscenekw on Instagram and immediately Nusaybah Al-Menaii responded by volunteering, “I can do a testimony for how great Art Scene is! Genuinely I can’t express how much I love that community!” Artists across myriad fields are finding they are a tribe, and interacting with each other can lead (and is leading to) exciting collaborations and a strong network.
Art Scene makes it look easy. So far they have produced and completed four Music Circles, five Writing Circles, two Comedy Shows, eight Open Medium Hangouts, seven Open Mics, and three Festivals. But it’s not that easy. Huss regales the group with stories of how events have been challenging. “Two days before [a rooftop open mic] we realized it was going to rain, and we had to shift from the rooftop to an auditorium. [Only after] we did the entire setup, did we realize that the AC was not working.” There may be a metaphor in there somewhere. Even when there is AC sometimes Art Scene gatherings have been so well-attended that the venue is bursting at the seams. Huss continues, “I believe it was the second open mic in Better Books and we were not expecting it to get really crammed…[but with one hundred people] it got so hot, even with the fans, that at the end, our last resort was…handing out ice cream to people!” A creative solution to a social need. Iconic. This is what Art Scene is all about.
TRUTH OR DARE
How would your mother describe you in one word?
MH: Super-Genius
AS: Sensitive
MS: Chaotic
HK: Well-behaved
How would you describe your mother in one word?
MH: Warmth
AS: Shining
MS: Gentle
HK: Funny
What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked?
MH: Why do you spend your money recklessly?
AS: What are you thinking about?
MS: Why are you drinking water so much?
HK: Do you live in tents [in Kuwait]?
What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
MH: Pulled off a show at Kuwait Times HQ in 3 Days
AS: Buy a food truck and start my own coffee business.
MS: Went to the mountains and stayed for two days
HK: Shaved half my head
What is your theme song?
MH: If I was your Vampire – Marilyn Manson
AS: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper
MS: By Design – Jacob Banks
HK: Mockingbird – Eminem
What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented?
MH: Nirvana
AS: A word for pre-emptive nostalgia, when you know you’re creating core memories.
MS: ETC = End of Thinking Capacity
HK: Meh
Where would you like to live?
MH: Thailand
AS: Everywhere, for a little while
MS: Vienna
HK: I’m happy in Kuwait
What is your dream retirement location?
MH: Norway
AS: Somewhere with a lot of green, by a body of water, where I can write on a balcony under a tree
MS: Los Angeles
HK: A tiny beach house in Asia somewhere with my husband
What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind?
MH: Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place – Kurt Vonnegut
AS: There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness – Friedrich Nietzsche
MS: Ready is not a feeling, it is a decision – Andrew Gerstner
HK: “To be or not to be, that is the question” – by Hamlet, in Hamlet, written by Shakespeare
Which animal best describes your perfect partner, be it in business, or in life?
MH: Wolf
AS: A fox, perky and sly and focused
MS: Horse
HK: A bear. I like cuddles.
Do you miss anything from your childhood and if so, what is it?
MH: The Simplicity
AS: The absolute freedom to explore and create without self-inflicted criticism.
MS: I miss the spontaneous plans and how we were all just living in the moment
HK: My mother
If you could change your name, to what would you change it?
MH: Harris
AS: Laila
MS: Omar or Saleh
HK: Zainab
How would you describe your handshake, in one word?
MH: Firm
AS: Curious
MS: Firm
HK: Indifferent, lol
What is the toughest part of your character?
MH: Resilience
AS: I’m a tornado
MS: I’m stubborn sometimes
HK: A high sense of justice
Who is your favorite historical figure?
MH: Socrates
AS: Does my grandma count?
MS: Carl Jung
HK: Toni Morrison. I don’t know if she would be considered ‘historical’ because she only passed away a few years ago, but she is one of my deepest inspirations. The Bluest Eye was the first novel that I read that inspired some major inner child healing within me.
What in the world do you least desire?
MH: Violence
AS: More desires
MS: To own a Lamborghini
HK: Being stuck in an unfulfilling job
What do you think is lacking in the world, which [if there were more of it] would make the world a better place?
MH: Kindness
AS: A little more focus on what it is we’re all doing here
MS: If we could just be a little gentler with each other and with ourselves
HK: Communication. Not in the technological aspect, obviously there’s a lot of that. But in the deep, hearty, understanding, listening and hearing someone for who they are and what made them. Communication that leads to acceptance. Communication that leads to love.
Why do you think most people who do, like you?
MH: Because I’m rational and straightforward
AS: I’m funny sometimes!
MS: I try to provide a safe space for the people around me to be themselves
HK: I’m always the Mom in the room, lol
Finish this sentence: “Happiness is…”
MH: …contentment within oneself
AS: …a morning alone to watch the bugs
MS: …comes from within
HK: being aligned within, through my mothering and writing
Main image Nusaybah Al-Menaii @neptunic.photography on Instagram. This season look out for creative residencies and retreats, Art Screen, Open Mics, Field Trips & Experiences. To stay up-to-date with all things Art Scene follow @artscenekw on Instagram. Look out for Hawra’a Khalfan’s first novel “Still Born a Woman” and for notifications follow @hawraawrites on Instagram.
