One of the capital’s most iconic structures and cultural hub for the Emirate’s citizens and residents is being brought back to life at this year's Qasr Al Hosn Festival held in Abu Dhabi city from February 11th to 21st 2015.

A symbol of Abu Dhabi’s modern heritage, the Cultural Foundation Building is engraved in the memory of Abu Dhabi residents.

As part of the Festival programme, areas of the Cultural Foundation will be re-opened to the public and will be brought back to life through a number of curated interactive activities and performances introduced to engage visitor participation in a mass recollection of memories exercise. Visitors will also get the opportunity to learn more about the current conservation status of this widely popular landmark.

The Cultural Foundation Building will welcome visitors to take experiential self-guided tours. Installations throughout the Building will draw on one’s senses; sight, sound, and movement, to revive and celebrate the memory of this treasured landmark and raise awareness on the importance of conserving Abu Dhabi’s modern heritage.

Resuming its historic role as a platform for culture and arts, the Cultural Foundation Building will also be home to a series of performances in its open air Amphitheatre, as well as a number of arts & crafts workshops.

It will host an exhibition that recreates the collective memory of this space in a contemporary cultural experience. In the Cultural Foundation Building, visitors will go on a journey through the past, present and future of Emirati modern heritage. Besides its importance as an architectural landmark that combines Modern and Islamic styles, the exhibition will highlight the vital role that the Cultural Foundation has played in the development of Abu Dhabi’s cultural scene.

The Cultural Foundation Building will also be home to the  ‘Lest We Forget: Structures of Memory in the United Arab Emirates’ in its homecoming from la Biennale di Venezia where it featured at the International Architecture Exhibition in the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates. This exhibition, commissioned by the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, showcases the findings of a larger initiative ‘Lest We Forget’ that seeks to archive the history of architectural and urban development in the UAE over the past century, and is one of the pioneering programmes dedicated to the definition and conservation of Emirati modern heritage.

An ongoing conservation programme by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) aims to revive the building, but more importantly, it aims to revive the memories associated with it. The visitors of the Qasr Al Hosn Festival this year will be able to tour the Cultural Foundation Building, relive the important moments that took place in it, whilst engaging in and enjoying the curated programme of arts throughout the duration of the Festival.

During the Festival, the Building’s Amphitheatre will host a significant number of performances including
·Memory of the Emirati Song: A live performance that seeks to revive the memory of Emirati folk songs cherished by older generations from the perspective of Emirati youth; Emirati musicians from today’s generation will pay tribute to their forefathers in a live performance preceded by a pre-show film documenting the memory of the Emirati
song.

·Cinema Emaratiya: The Amphitheatre will host a cine-programme dedicated to a selection of documentaries, performance films and animated short movies that will be screened on a daily basis. They have been carefully selected from a portfolio of short films that have been produced by twofour54 in support of the Emirati film scene.

·Abu Dhabi Today; a city between tradition and modernity: A concert with a mixed music programme featuring traditional and contemporary Arab music played by Oud Master Faisal al Saari and Emirati percussions. The goal of the concert is to keep on with the idea of telling stories through music. But this time, the story to be told is the story of Modern Abu Dhabi with its different interaction with the world.

·Sand Artist performance: A programme specially commissioned for Qasr Al Hosn and performed by sand artist Shayma Al Mughairy depicting with sand the history of Qasr Al Hosn, and accompanied by music of the beloved Emirati Rababa tunes.

With an extensive list of new performances, the Festival is also brining back one of its most popular contemporary experiences that was hosted at the Cultural Foundation last year ­ Gahwa.   This concept was launched in Qasr Al Hosn Festival 2014 to celebrate the intangible heritage of Emirati coffee making. Gahwa will provide visitors with the opportunity to experience the shared coffee drinking tradition that symbolises hospitality, generosity and community values that are deeply rooted in UAE heritage in a beautiful contemporary setting that will transport the visitor through the transformation of the UAE from traditional to modern.

Visitors will also be taken back to the inner living quarters to enjoy the culinary traditions of the UAE, accompanied by the Gahwa tradition that withstood the passage of time. The menu is inspired by local flavours with a modern twist, and the retail area will feature Gahwa paraphernalia that are tailored for a modern day use so that people can enjoy Gahwa at home.

This year, the Festival has teamed up with a number of community institutions that will showcase their initiative to promote the culture of the UAE. Community partners include the National Archives, the National Library and twofour54.

The Cultural Foundation Building is one of the two fundamental anchors to the entire Qasr Al Hosn project. Located on the same founding block of the city of Abu Dhabi, Qasr Al Hosn stands next to the Cultural Foundation Building which has housed the UAE’s first dedicated Cultural Centre and served as a National Library, a performance auditorium and exhibition centre.
 

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