55% of Saudi Society Attended Cultural Events in 2019

Features

June 11th, 12:52pm

Riyadh- Asharq Al-Awsat

1.2 billion dollars worth of books were sold in Saudi publishing market in 2017 (SPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Culture issued on Wednesday the first copy of its report on "The State of Culture in the Kingdom", which discusses the growth and development of 16 cultural fields. In his statement, Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Farhan said that culture, in all its fields, was part of the country's renaissance and a contributor to it. Since Vision 2030 was launched, the state of culture, which was considered "a factor in measuring the quality of life", is not what it was before it, as many achievements, to which writers and artists in all 16 cultural sectors contributed, realized in 2019. The report provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative account of the 16 cultural fields. 15 chapters explore the most prominent initiatives within each field, delving into contributions, outputs, and achievements. Another chapter is devoted to following providing indicators of the general state of culture in the Kingdom. The first chapter sheds light on linguistic initiatives, revealing that there are 65 Arabic language institutes, departments, associations, and specialized centers in the kingdom, and 5463 books had been translated in the Kingdom by 2016, according to the Saudi Observatory of Translated Publication. This chapter also discusses initiatives aimed at supporting the integration of Arabic into new technologies. The second chapter, which addresses literature, indicates that 604 books of various genres were published in 2018 - 2019 in Saudi Arabia, and 161 Saudi novels were published, a number higher than that of any other Arab country. It also points out three Saudi novelists have been awarded The International Prize for Arabic Fiction. The seventh chapter deals with cultural festivals and events and reports that 55 percent of citizens, residents, and tourists attended at least one festival or event during 2019, and nearly half a million visitors flocked to Souk Okaz. 22.8 percent of Saudis work on visual arts, such as carving or drawing, either as a hobby or a profession, as mentioned in the tenth chapter on visual arts. The chapter on museums revealed that Saudi Arabia is home to 84 public museums and 217 private museums and the chapter on libraries found that 35% of Saudis have a private library at home. More than four million people have attended the 12 movie theaters in Saudi Arabia since they opened and 101 Saudi films classified as long, short or documentaries have been produced, as per the chapter on film and video arts. 155 plays were shown during the first half of 2019, attended by nearly 95,000 people, as reported by the chapter on Saudi theater. The report also includes chapters on architecture and design, heritage, music, fashion, and other cultural fields.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2329096/55-saudi-society-attended-cultural-events-2019