Culture of Kuwait describes the cultural aspects of the Kuwaiti society and is part of the
Eastern Arabian culture.
Kuwaitipopular culture, in the form of dialect poetry, film, theatre, radio and television soap opera, flourishes and is even exported to neighboring states.[1][2] Within the
Arab states of the Persian Gulf, the culture of Kuwait is the closest to the culture of
Bahrain.[3]
Kuwait has the oldest
performing arts industry in the Arabian Peninsula.[4] Kuwait is the main centre of
scenographic and
performing arts education in the GCC region.[5][6] Many famous Arab actors and singers attribute their success to training in Kuwait.[7] The Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts (HIDA) provides
higher education in theatrical arts.[6]
Television and soap operas
Kuwait's television drama industry is the largest and most active Gulf Arab drama industry and annually produces a minimum of fifteen serials.[8][9][10] Kuwait is the main production center of the Gulf television drama and comedy scene.[9] Most Gulf television drama and comedy productions are filmed in Kuwait.[9][11][12] Kuwaiti soap operas are the most-watched soap operas in the Gulf region.[8][13][14] Soap operas are most popular during the time of
Ramadan, when families gather to break their fast.[15] Although usually performed in the
Kuwaiti dialect, they have been shown with success as far away as
Tunisia.[16]
Theatre
Kuwait is known for its home-grown tradition of
theatre.[17][18][19] It is the only country in the Gulf with a theatrical tradition.[17] The theatrical movement in Kuwait constitutes a major part of the country's cultural life.[20] Theatrical activities in Kuwait date back to the 1920s when the first spoken dramas were released.[21] Theatre activities are still popular today.[20]
Kuwait is frequently dubbed the "
Hollywood of the Gulf" due to the popularity of its television soap operas and theatre.[22][23][24][25] Theatre in Kuwait is subsidized by the government, previously by the Ministry of Social Affairs and now by the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL).[26] Every urban district has a public theatre.[27] The public theatre in Salmiya is named after the late actor
Abdulhussain Abdulredha. The annual Kuwait Theater Festival is the largest theatrical arts festival in Kuwait.
Kuwait is the birthplace of various popular musical genres, such as
sawt and
fijiri.[28][29] Traditional Kuwaiti music is a reflection of the country's seafaring heritage,[30] which was influenced by many diverse cultures.[31][32][28] Kuwait is widely considered the centre of
traditional music in the GCC region.[28] Kuwaiti music has considerably influenced the music culture in other GCC countries.[33][29]
Kuwait is home to various
music festivals, including the International Music Festival hosted by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL).[38][39] The
Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre contains the largest opera house in the Middle East.[40] Kuwait has several academic institutions specializing in university-level
music education.[41][42] The Higher Institute of Musical Arts was established by the government to provide
bachelor's degrees in music.[43][41][42] In addition, the College of Basic Education offers bachelor's degrees in music education.[43][41][42] The Institute of Musical Studies offers music education qualifications equivalent to
secondary school.[43][42][41]
Kuwait has a reputation for being the central music influence of the GCC countries.[44][33] Over the last decade of satellite television stations, many Kuwaiti musicians have become household names in other Arab countries. For example,
Bashar Al Shatty became famous due to Star Academy. Contemporary Kuwaiti music is popular throughout the Arab world.
Nawal El Kuwaiti, Nabeel Shoail and
Abdallah Al Rowaished are the most popular contemporary performers.[45]
Kuwait has the oldest
modern arts movement in the Arabian Peninsula.[46][47][48] Beginning in 1936, Kuwait was the first Gulf country to grant scholarships in the arts.[46] The Kuwaiti artist
Mojeb al-Dousari was the earliest recognized
visual artist in the Gulf region.[49] He is regarded as the founder of
portrait art in the region.[50] The Sultan Gallery was the first professional Arab art gallery in the Gulf.[51][52]
The government organizes various
arts festivals, including the
Al Qurain Cultural Festival and Formative Arts Festival.[59][60][61] The Kuwait International Biennial was inaugurated in 1967,[62] more than 20 Arab and foreign countries have participated in the biennial.[62] Prominent participants include
Layla Al-Attar. In 2004, the Al Kharafi Biennial for Contemporary Arab Art was inaugurated.
Sadu House is among Kuwait's most important cultural institutions.
Bait Al-Othman is the largest museum specializing in Kuwait's history.
The Scientific Center is one of the largest science museums in the Middle East. The
Museum of Modern Art showcases the history of modern art in Kuwait and the region.[69] The Kuwait Maritime Museum presents the country's maritime heritage in the pre-oil era. Several traditional Kuwaiti dhow ships are open to the public, such as
Fateh Al-Khayr and
Al-Hashemi-II which entered the
Guinness Book of World Records as the largest wooden dhow ever built.[70][71] The
Historical, Vintage, and Classical Cars Museum displays vintage cars from Kuwait's motoring heritage. The
National Museum, established in 1983, has been described as "underused and overlooked".[72]
Several Kuwaiti museums are devoted to
Islamic art, most notably the
Tareq Rajab Museums and
Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah cultural centres.[73][74][75][76] The Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah cultural centres include education wings, conservation labs, and research libraries.[76][77] There are several
art libraries in Kuwait.[78][76][79][77]Khalifa Al-Qattan's Mirror House is the most popular art museum in Kuwait.[80] Many museums in Kuwait are private enterprises.[81][74] In contrast to the top-down approach in other Gulf states, museum development in Kuwait reflects a greater sense of civic identity and demonstrates the strength of civil society in Kuwait, which has produced many independent cultural enterprises.[82][74][81]
Kuwaiti cuisine is a fusion of
Arabian,
Iranian, and
Mesopotamian cuisines. Kuwaiti cuisine is part of the
Eastern Arabian cuisine. A prominent dish in Kuwaiti cuisine is machboos, a rice-based dish usually prepared with
basmati rice seasoned with spices, and chicken or mutton.
Seafood is a significant part of the Kuwaiti diet, especially
fish.[83]Mutabbaq samak is a national dish in Kuwait. Other local favourites are hamour (
grouper), which is typically served grilled, fried, or with
biryani rice because of its texture and taste; safi (
rabbitfish); maid (
mulletfish); and sobaity (
sea bream).
Kuwait's traditional
flatbread is called khubz. It is a large flatbread baked in a special oven and it is often topped with sesame seeds. Numerous local bakeries dot the country; the bakers are mainly Iranians (hence the name of the bread, "Iranian khubuz").
The
Kuwait men's national handball team is controlled by the Kuwait Handball Association. Kuwait has achieved handball success at both the national and club level. The sport is widely considered to be the national icon of Kuwait, although football is more popular among the overall population. Kuwait is also the founding member of the Asian Handball Federation, the Asian Championship and Club Champions League.
Kuwaiti society is markedly more
open than other Gulf Arab societies.[89] Kuwaiti citizens are ethnically diverse, consisting of both Arabs and
Persians ('Ajam).[90] Kuwait stands out in the region as the most liberal in empowering women in the public sphere.[91][92][93]Kuwaiti women outnumber men in the workforce.[94] Kuwaiti political scientist Ghanim Alnajjar sees these qualities as a manifestation of Kuwaiti society as a whole, whereby in the Gulf Arab region it is "the least strict about traditions".[95]
The
Dewaniya has existed in Kuwait since time immemorial. In the old city of Kuwait it was the reception area where a man received his business colleagues and male guests. Today the term refers both to a reception hall and the gathering held in it, and visiting or hosting a dewaniya is an indispensable feature of a Kuwaiti man's social life. Dewaniya became a fundamental part of Kuwaiti life. Hence, it has become a mark in their traditional daily life.
Qarqe'an is an annual celebration, observed in Kuwait, that takes place between the 13th and 15th nights of
Ramadan. Gergee'an is marked with children dressing in traditional attire and going door-to-door to receive
sweets from neighbours, whilst also singing traditional songs. The tradition has existed for hundreds of years and deeply rooted in
Kuwaiti culture.[96]
Although the celebration of Qarqe'an shares superficial similarities with the
Halloween custom of
trick-or-treating, practiced in some western countries, Qarqe'an has no connection with horror and no associated origin with Halloween.
Media
Kuwait produces more
newspapers and magazines per capita than its neighbors.[97][98] The state-owned
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) is the largest media house in the country. The Ministry of Information regulates the media industry in Kuwait. Kuwait's media is annually classified as "partly free" in the
Freedom of Press survey by Freedom House.[99] Since 2005,[100] Kuwait has frequently earned the highest ranking of all Arab countries in the annual
Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.[101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109] In 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014, Kuwait surpassed Israel as the country with the greatest press freedom in the Middle East.[101][102][103][104][108] Kuwait is also frequently ranked as the Arab country with the greatest press freedom in Freedom House's annual Freedom of Press survey.[110][111][112][113][114][115][116]
Kuwait has 15 satellite television channels, of which four are controlled by the Ministry of Information. State-owned
Kuwait Television (KTV) offered first colored broadcast in 1974 and operates five television channels. Government-funded Radio Kuwait also offers daily informative programming in several languages including
Arabic,
Persian,
Urdu, and English on the
AM and
SW.
Kuwait has in recent years produced several prominent contemporary writers such as
Ismail Fahd Ismail, author of over twenty novels and numerous short story collections. There is also evidence that Kuwaiti literature has long been interactive with English and French literature.[117]
^Ali Alawi.
"Ali's roadtrip from Bahrain to Kuwait (PHOTOS)".
Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-07-05. The trip to Kuwait – a country that has built a deep connection with people in the Arabian Gulf thanks to its significant drama productions in theater, television, and even music – started with 25 kilometers of spectacular sea view
^
ab"Shooting the Past". y-oman.com. 11 July 2013. Archived from
the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016. Most Omanis who get to study drama abroad tend to go to Kuwait or Egypt. In the Gulf, Kuwait has long been a pioneer in theatre, film and television since the establishment of its Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (HIDA) in 1973. By contrast, there is no drama college or film school in Oman, although there is a drama course at Sultan Qaboos University.
^
abAl Mukrashi, Fahad (22 August 2015).
"Omanis turn their backs on local dramas". Gulf News.
Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016. Kuwait's drama industry tops other Gulf drama as it has very prominent actors and actresses, enough scripts and budgets, produces fifteen serials annually at least.
^"Closer cultural relations between the two countries". Oman Daily Observer. 20 February 2017.
Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017. The Kuwaiti television is considered the most active in the Gulf region, as it has contributed to the development of television drama in Kuwait and the Gulf region. Therefore, all the classics of the Gulf television drama are today Kuwaiti dramas by Kuwaiti actors
^Rubin, Don, ed. (1999).
"Kuwait". The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. Vol. 4: The Arab world. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 143.
ISBN978-0-415-05932-9.
^Badley, Bill. "Sounds of the Arabian Peninsula". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 351–354. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.
ISBN1-85828-636-0
^Sajjad, Valiya S.
"Kuwait Literary Scene A Little Complex". Arab Times. Archived from
the original on 2014-11-29. A magazine, Al Arabi, was published in 1958 in Kuwait. It was the most popular magazine in the Arab world. It came out it in all the Arabic countries, and about a quarter million copies were published every month.
^"Press Freedom".
Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Since 2005, Kuwait has earned the highest ranking of all Arab countries on the annual Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders.