I know this is a bit late but I just passed by the Oum Kalthoum exhibit at the 360 Mall over the weekend and thats why I decided I would post about it. I am not a big Oum Kalthoum fan neither do I know much about her but the exhibition is definitely worth visiting. The exhibition space is huge. I was expecting a small room but it turned out to be gigantic. Its also very nicely put together, very tasteful and there are a lot of things to see. There is even a small cinema like section with a large projector where you can sit and watch Oum Kalthoum perform on screen. If you haven’t passed by the exhibit yet you should. Its free and its located on the ground floor of the 360 Mall.
15 replies on “Event: Oum Kalthoum Exhibit”
I really liked it, and I was impressed with how well organized it all was.. I was a bit puzzled by having the accompanying texts in Arabic and French, not English, but I realized later that the exhibit was done in collaboration with the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris
Kudos to 360 and Tamdeen for injecting a bit of culture and class into our barren lives!
It’s amazing, we need more of those instead of dumb shops.
really? the room was gigantic? i heard it was a tiny room with only a few pix on the walls… i was going to go but decided it wasn’t worth visiting… ur post is making me rethink my decision
It’s not huge, but it is big and It’s definitely worth visiting… Agree with your review, Mark.
However, I don’t understand the silly rule against photography!!! Sure you can sneak a quick shot with a mobile – but the sight of a proper camera attracts uniformed security guards with too much talk and too little reasoning. They didn’t even know why it’s not allowed – they were just ‘following orders’. In the end I listened as I don’t want to get them in trouble.
Saw it as well, it was excellent
really worth visiting?
Bu Yousef: When I was there people were taking pictures with proper cameras with flashes and no one was stopping them.
Maybe they’ve relaxed a little now… I was there during the first week.
Will try again. Thanks Mark.
Correction Bu Yousef, if you don’t listen to them, YOU will get in trouble and not them. What are you? The Incredible Hulk?
While the space is impressive, Um Kalthoum is not an artist that lends herself to visual exhibition – her talent is in her music and frankly what she wore at the time is irrelevant. I hope the next subject of the exhibition concentrates on the kind of art that is suitable for that exhibition.
1001Nights I disagree with you. Om Koulthoum is the mother of Arab showtime. She has transcended her own voice and here status became bigger than she has ever imagined. Atleast in the Arab world. I think if someone finds her hairpin in some small village would find himself stabbed to death for it. To have an exhibition about her as a person and an artist is very important for everyone to understand who she really was. If a similar event about Michael Jackson was made you would be not complaining would you ?
TweeZ
They didn’t agree with their orders and offered me an exemption. I respectfully declined fearing they would get the heat from their management.
I hope this clarifies what is clearly an issue for you.
Yah man we posted about it too https://www.360dewan.com/?p=1388
by the way here name spilled in the exhibit Um-Kalsum 😛
Realist,
Michael Jackson, in contrast with Um Kalthoum, included visual art in his performance through dancing and an artillery of music videos. It was not something purely for the ear but for the sight as well. Um Kalthoum, who by the way happens to be one of my all-time favorite artists (while Michael Jackson isn’t) held her genius solely in her sound. Knowing about her life sounds like something you must read in a book – read, not see. A pin or an article of clothing do little to show us her personality. Look in London I went to an exhibition called something like The Golden Age of Couture. It went through different designers and displayed their old dresses from decades ago. An exhibition with a bunch of dresses made sense to me in that situation – their art is in their craft and their craft is tailoring. It is for the eyes not for the ears. Um Kalthoum was a marvel of a woman, Alla yir7amha, full of talent – but I don’t care about her hairpin.
1001Nights, many ppl would disagree, females in particular. While i was there i have overheard a lot of comments from women: “oh she wore guuci?” “is that christian dior?!” “her dresses seem heavy; how did she stand them” and so on…
Visually representing someone is always a plus, especially if one wants to know and “see” captions of their personal life.