There are so many cool and interesting events, exhibitions and activities to enjoy this month. We’ve got the rundown from the Bahrain Authority of Culture and Antiquities…

Title: Sound & Light Show
Date: Every Tuesday – Thursday – Friday
Time: 6pm English version – 7pm Arabic version
Venue: Bahrain Fort (Qal’at Al Bahrain)
An interactive and moving audio visual experience which takes the audience through a guided journey from the present into the past, and back.

Title: Five P.M. at Bab
Date: Every Thursday
Time: 5pm
Venue: Bab Al Bahrain – Front Outdoor Space (Market Area)
Genre: Music / Workshop / Tour
The weekly activity “Five P.M. at Bab” returns once again for the third year in the heart of Bab Al-Bahrain, offering visitors in the area diverse cultural activities that represent the dynamics of the venue and its historical value, while targeting different age groups through the designated space, which is dedicated to practice creativity in its various forms.

Title: The 46th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition
Date: Current – February 15
Time: Daily 8am – 8pm (closed on Tuesdays)
Venue: Bahrain National Theatre & Bahrain National Museum
Genre: Exhibition
The 46th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition, the first, biggest and longest-running platform for Bahraini artists to showcase and exhibit the outcome of their creative minds. Since its inception in 1972, the Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition has now evolved into an important yearly gathering of artists, all eager to display their talents and works. Every year, the fine arts exhibition acts as an innovative forum for debate in which the different artistic monologues have an exclusive opportunity to communicate, converse and compete. From abstract to surrealism, from modernist representations to more traditional cultural expressions, this exhibition represents an opportunity to highlight different schools of thought, artists’ perceptions and ideological backgrounds.
Held annually under the patronage of HRH the Prime Minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition has hosted more than 2,600 artists over the years, showing more than 5,500 works of art. Those who were once young and enthusiastic art students hoping to take part in the exhibition are now the pioneers of the Bahraini Art Movement. This exhibition now stands witness of the evolution of the Bahraini Art Scene throughout the years and a reference documenting Art in Bahrain’s history.

Title: Milton Lipp – Early years of BAPCO
Date: Current –February 29
Time: Daily 8 am – 8pm (closed on Tuesdays)
Venue: Bahrain National Museum
Genre: Exhibition
The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) since its inception in 1929 has been at the cornerstone of the shaping the economy and society of Bahrain. The contribution of BAPCO exceeds that of the oil industry, and it has enabled the country to capitalize on its fossil fuels wealth, and placed Bahrain strategically on the global energy market. Behind this company were men and women who have dedicated their experience and commitment in progressing the credibility and development of BAPCO. Milton H. Lipp (1895 – 1970) was one of many men that has had an impact on BAPCO during its early years. Serving as the General Manager of BAPCO from 1939 – 1942, then in 1957 – 1960 as Resident Vice President, the company has accomplished a number of milestones that shaped the history of oil in Bahrain. This exhibition is dedicated to the life and achievements of Milton Lipp during his time in Bahrain. His years spent in BAPCO were instrumental in developing the company’s profile, and the relationships he established with the rulers and people of Bahrain are a testament to the strong relations between Americans and the Bahrainis.

Title: Dive into the Jurassic
Date: Current – March 16
Time: Daily 8am – 8pm (closed on Tuesdays)
Venue: Bahrain National Museum
Genre: Exhibition
Dive into the Jurassic brings together immersive CGI films with original fossils and replica casts from the Natural History Museum’s unique marine fossil collections to bring the ancient seas to life. The exhibition takes visitors on a journey beneath the waves to meet the amazing creatures that inhabited the oceans 200 million years ago at a time when dinosaurs ruled the land. This exhibition has been generously supported by the British Council, DCMS and GREAT through the UK-Gulf Culture and Sport programme to support and encourage new partnerships and collaborative projects between institutions in the United Kingdom and the Gulf.

Title: Ta’a Al Shabab 11
Date: February 14 – 29
Venue: Various Locations
Genre: Festival
Ta’a Al Shabab is an annual cultural festival (first held in 2009) that organizies a wide range of activities, encouraging the youth of Bahrain interested in culture to participate, as well as enriching the Bahraini cultural scene as a whole, under the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities’ scope of work. Full festival line-up on www.ta2alshabab.bh

Title: What Night Does
Date: February 16 – 28
Time: Daily 8am – 8pm
Venue: Art Centre
Genre: Exhibition
Abdulrahim Sharif presents his latest artworks in a solo exhibition, reexamining the relationship between subject and painting, focusing on the synchronization between the text, or title, and images. Abdulrahim Sharif, whose artistic talents blossomed at an early age, studied Fine Arts at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris and Parsons School of Art and Design. As one of the pioneering professional Bahraini artists, Abdulrahim Sharif is considered an art giant, his work attracting a large following and demand from private collectors and owners across the Middle East. Abdulrahim Sharif is one of the founders of the Bahrain Arts Society, is a lecturer of Fine Arts at the University of Bahrain and plays a pivotal role in the Bahraini art scene.

Title: The Annual Celebration of the Opening of the Qal’at Al Bahrain Site Museum
Date: February 18
Time: 7pm
Venue: Qal’at Al Bahrain Site Museum
Genre: Music
The Qal’at Al Bahrain Site Museum (Bahrain Fort Site Museum) celebrates the 12th anniversary of the opening with musical artist Faisal Al Kooheji.

Event: Hazawi Telling
Date: February 22
Time: 10.30am
Venue: Dar Al Muharraq
Type: Storytelling
Age: 6 – 12
Children will have the opportunity to learn of the events and tales that took place in the neighborhoods of Muharraq through this storytelling event. Registration is required on www.culture.gov.bh.

Title: Spring of Culture Festival
Date: February 25 – March 27
Venue: Various Locations
Genre: Festival
For the 15th consecutive year, the Spring of Culture Festival returns in a new cultural season full of activities that cater to various tastes, interests and age groups and underscore the Kingdom of Bahrain’s position as a leading regional and global cultural hub. This latest season of the festival comes as part of BACA’s year-long celebrations under the slogan “Dilmun, Land of Density”. As is the case every year, the festival is set to kick off on February 25 in conjunction with Arab Tourism Day, an occasion which was adopted when Manama was the Capital of Arab Tourism in 2013 to mark the birthday of the great Arab traveler Ibn Battuta. Full festival line-up on www.springofculture.org.

Title: Film Screening: The Time That Remains (2009)
Date: February 27
Time: 7pm
Venue: Pearling Path Visitors Centre
Type: Film
The Time That Remains is a 2009 Palestinian film directed by Elia Suleiman. The film is an intimate semi-biographical portrait of Palestinians living as minorities in their own homeland between 1948 and the present day.

Title: Archaeology Walkathon
Date: February 29
Time: 8am
Venue: Qal’at Al Bahrain Site Museum
Type: Walkathon
Age: 18 years & above (parental guidance for participants below 18 years)
An 8km walkathon through various archaeological sites north of Bahrain, starting from Qal’at Al Bahrain Site, the trail will pass through surrounding farms, Hilla Islamic Site, Al Hajar Burial Mounds, Al Shakhoura Burial Mounds, finally ending at Barbar Temples Site. This event is held with the support of Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC). Registration is required on www.culture.gov.bh . ✤

GO: VISIT WWW.CULTURE.GOV.BH  FOR MORE INFORMATION.