‘Katara seeks to bridge Qatar with rest of the world’

 

By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter

“I knew from the start that there were a number of exceptionally good artists, photographers and painters among the locals. However, most of them were found to be working only during their spare hours. With the establishment of Katara, an effort is made to make such people competent to make a living out of their art”

Katara would serve as the vital bridge to connect Qatar with the rest of the world and the place would remain unique by itself in showcasing the diversities of different corners of the world to the region’s populace, said the cultural village’s general manager Dr Marcio Barbosa.In an interaction with a few journalists yesterday, the former Unesco official said the encouraging response that the Cultural Village has received in the last 16 months since his arrival had made him extremely happy about the work that he and his team have carried out to take it to a large number of people in the Arab world, especially the Qatari locals.“When I came here to join the Katara, only a handful of vehicles used to be seen in the entire village. However, now even I’m struggling to find parking for my car in the evenings these days in the sprawling complex,” said the Brazilian national.Dr Barbosa was confident about the ambitious mission he is embarking upon. “May be, even now only a handful of the Arabs, in particular the locals, are aware of the flourishing relations that their forefathers had with the rest of the world during the medieval days and the influence that those Arab travellers could make on the local culture and traditions of the European and Latin American regions,” the general manager pointed out.However, the Katara official said changes have slowly started taking place in the minds of people, especially among the youth, and there is a lot of keenness and enthusiasm among them to learn and understand the history, culture, traditions, heritage and music of those regions with which their forefathers had contact.As part of the Katara’s mission, the team at the village is making the locals aware of how the studies of diverse cultures across the world could contribute to the development of the country in line with the guidelines of the Qatar National Vision 2030.Well aware of the importance of sharing information to make the upcoming generations aware of the illustrious work carried out by their forefathers in connecting the region with the outside world, the South American realised at the beginning itself that the information about the other regions and their culture was certainly lacking even among many enthusiastic and educated youngsters.The ongoing Latin American festival is only a small beginning, he said. In coming years, similar festivals featuring artists of other regions are already on our plans, added Dr Barbosa.The village official is pleased at the overwhelming response the festival has received from the locals. “Almost all shows are held before sell-out crowds,” he said. “I knew from the start that there were a number of exceptionally good artists, photographers and painters among the locals. However, most of them were found to be working only during their spare hours. With the establishment of Katara, an effort is made to make such people competent to make a living out of their art,” said Dr Barbosa.Eventually, our intention is to use this cultural platform to bring peace and development to the entire world, said the ex-UN official. “In short, the village shows how art and cultural diversity could be utilised to bring peace and development everywhere”, he said.Dr Barbosa said the institution would also make one aware of how the study of variant cultural traditions, origin and relations between different worlds could make an individual more tolerant and patient in his life and how it could eventually contribute to successful deliberations at different levels.Speaking about the initiatives made by the village to boost the confidence of budding talents among the locals, Dr Barbosa said the services of a widely acclaimed photographer were utilised to inspire local amateurs.The Katara official felt the institution has enough reasons to be happy about the way Doha Film Institute has evolved itself into its present shape. Making use of the village’s unparalleled facilities, the Doha Trebeca Film Festival has now entered the third successive year. “It is heartening that the DFIs first baby is all set to release”, he said in an apparent reference to the Black Gold, a film co-produced by DFI in association France-based Quinta Communications, which is being screened at this year’s festival opening.