Around 100 students and teachers participated in a number of creative workshops as part of the community programme on the side lines of the 2015 Spring of Culture festival. The workshops were organized and hosted by the Economic Development Board (EDB) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.
The three workshops covered various types of arts and included production of documentaries, woodcarving and copper hammering. They were delivered by artists and experts who trained the participants in their respective fields.
The community programme aims to enhance culture and arts knowledge among youth in the Kingdom and develops talents in different fields. Through the various workshops, the programme looks to reach out to all aspects of society and attract young Bahraini men and women to improve their talents.
The workshop on producing documentaries was delivered by Egyptian director Amir Ramses, a graduate of the Higher Institute of Cinema in Egypt. He earlier worked as an assistant director to renowned late director Youssef Chahine and directed various features, short films and documentaries. Mr. Ramses filled the role of jury member in national and international film festivals and had himself received a number of awards for his work. This includes Best Film award in the Fifej Festival in Tunisia as well as in the Egyptian National Film Festival in 2001 for his short film "Down Town".
The workshop included learning the mechanism of documentary production and introducing basic concepts of filming and writing scenarios. The session also included applied practice of filming at the Bab Al Bahrain in Manama and editing a film produced by one of the students.
A wood carving workshop was also conducted by Bahraini artist Fuad Albinfalah as part of the programme. The Bahrain Arts Society member introduced participants to the skills and basics of carving on natural wood. Around 30 art pieces were produced by participants following the workshop.
Meanwhile, participants learned basics of copper hammering with Egyptian artist Mohamed Nashaat, Art teacher at the Muharraq Secondary Boys School and member of Bahrain Arts Society. Mr Nashaat has participated in many exhibitions and received numerous awards including the Arts Exhibition in the Bright Years Exhibition by Ministry of Education in 2009.
The Spring of Culture is one of the largest events in Bahrain, featuring performances by renowned international artists. The 10th Spring of Culture will be held between March and April 2015, and will host a number of international artists, as well as young Bahraini talents. The festival is expected to attract audiences from across the region and will contribute to the tourism sector in the Kingdom
The Spring of Culture Festival is organised by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities in collaboration with the Economic Development Board (EDB), Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research, Al Bareh Art Gallery, Al Riwaq Art Space, and La Fontaine Centre.