Nuqat
| File:Nuqat Logo.png | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-governmental organization, Non-profit organization |
| Focus | Cultural Development |
| Headquarters | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
Region served | MENA Region |
| Website | www.nuqat.me |
Nuqat (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.) is a non-profit organization based in Kuwait. Nuqat’s mission is to support cultural development in the Middle East and North Africa.[1] The organization runs conferences and workshops, and provides resources focused on various aspects of arts and design, technology, innovation, architecture, cultural, and social issues relevant to the region.
About
Nuqat, initially known as "Nuqat Al Al Huroof" (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.)[2] focuses on fields such as design, advertising, architecture, fashion, production, and related social and cultural areas.[3][4]
Organization history
Nuqat was established to address the lack of "spirited exchange in the Middle East" and with the objective of “developing Arab creativity”[5]. The organization was founded in 2009 with a two-day event. Activities began in 2010 with a conference, workshop, and exhibition held at the Gulf University of Science and Technology (Kuwait) on the theme of visual pollution. In 2012, Nuqat organized workshops, exhibitions, and conferences under the theme The Lost City of Arabesque in both Kuwait and Dubai. The Dubai event was produced in conjunction with the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Tashkeel, and explored the evolution of traditional arts in Dubai into their modern forms.[6]
Conference history
In 2009, the first conference, themed "Nuqat Ala Al Huroof" (meaning "dotting the I's"), featured 3 speakers, 3 workshops, and 80 participants over 2 days.
In 2010, a larger conference, themed "Visual Pollution in the Arab World", featured 12 speakers, 9 workshops, and 200 participants over 3 days.
In 2012, Nuqat was invited by Dubai Design Days to host a conference in Dubai as part of their program in March. The conference included 26 speakers, 12 workshops, and 200 attendees over 5 days. The same conference was also held in Kuwait. Subsequently, the decision was made to keep Kuwait as the main base for the large conference, and conduct smaller activities in the GCC and MENA regions.
In 2013, with the support from the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs, Nuqat conducted a conference with 27 speakers, 12 workshops, and 750 attendees over 7 days, under the theme "Executing Culture Shock."
In 2014, the theme was "The Missing Link: Practicing the Collective Approach." Speakers were asked to address collaboration as an aspect of the creative process. Nuqat obtained its license as a non-profit company. Nuqat partnered with LOUD Art in Saudi Arabia to produce the second edition of their "Executing Culture Shock" program, which according to Nuqat ambassador Tala Saleh, aimed to emphasize the "communal framework" of Nuqat as an Arab organization.[7][8]
In 2015, the 7-day program, themed "The Copy/Paste Syndrome," addressed the concept of originality and the benefits and drawbacks of copying. The conference evolved into a program format, involving local and regional cultural organization in hosting their own activities as part of the larger event. This year also saw the launch of Nuqat Junior, a creative education program for children.
In 2016, Nuqat ran the annual conference on "The Seventh Sense: Powering the Creative Economy in the Middle East." This conference explored how creativity, referred to as the "seventh sense," could drive innovation in industries in the Arab world and beyond. The concept proposed that creativity should play a greater role in economic development. During the conference, the first round of Exploration Sessions was held on three aspects of the Creative Economy. These sessions convened academics, professionals, intellectuals, creatives, and designers to discuss specific topics within the Creative Economy.
In 2018, Nuqat presented a special edition two-day forum titled "The Human Capital: Investing in Creativity for Social Impact". The forum included public talks and discussion panels exploring the creative economy and its potential for community progress.
From 2012 to 2016, the Kuwait edition of the Nuqat conference was hosted at the American Cultural Centre (Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah), while the workshops were held at the Sadu House.[9][10]
For the 2018 forum, Nuqat moved the event to the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre, a cultural venue in Kuwait.[11]
Cultural programming
Nuqat organizes art and design competitions, film screenings, exhibitions, and other cultural events. In conjunction with 29Letters, a type foundry based in Beirut, Nuqat hosted the first annual Hourouf competition in 2014. Hourouf aims to identify new bilingual type designs in Arabic and Latin among applicants.[12]
Films screened by Nuqat include Scheherazade's Diary[13] by Zeina Daccache and short films by Kuwaiti directors, such as Dinosaur[14], by Meqdad Al Kout.
Conferences
Nuqat conferences bring together regional and international participants for a series of themed talks, panel discussions, workshops, and cultural events.
Exploration Sessions (Nuqat On Tour)
In 2016, Nuqat held its annual conference under the theme, "Powering the Creative Economy."
Concurrently, Nuqat conducted a pilot series of Exploration Sessions in 2016 focusing on three topics: "Architecture and Urbanism," "Design Deficit in the Gulf," and "Funding the Creative Economy." These sessions convened professionals and thinkers from various fields to discuss prevalent issues within these areas. Following the discussions, steps were outlined and published in a report by Nuqat.
Educational programs
Workshops
Since 2009, Nuqat has offered workshops[15] in various art and design subjects. Studio Nuqat is a series of workshops and events offered by the organization, aimed at providing creative skill-building opportunities for individuals and teams, including students, professionals, and hobbyists.
Nuqat's street art workshops[16] have resulted in public art interventions in the Mubarakiya district and on the Sheraton roundabout in Kuwait City. Nuqat currently offers course series in photography, design, and entrepreneurship.
Zain-Nuqat IN•DIG•GO
In 2017, Nuqat partnered with the Zain Group to introduce IN•DIG•GO, an educational program for children aged 6 to 11 years to develop participants' learning skills. It was initially launched as a pilot for children of Zain employees in Kuwait to serve as a learning platform before potential expansion.[17]
Partnerships
Nuqat workshops have received support from various sponsors. In 2014, Jazeera Airways and IKEA provided materials and support for workshops where participants created designs for the companies.[18][19] In 2015, Alghanim Industries sponsored Dr. Amar Behbehani's workshop "Innovative Entrepreneurship: A Creative Process", and Elevation Burger sponsored Wajha's workshop "Social Design | Fi Al Wajha".
References
- ↑ "Nuqat". Culture | Nuqat | Creativity. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Ghaliyah (October 14, 2012). "Nuqat: The Lectures". Ghaliyah. Archived from the original on March 5, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Alfoory, Samyah (February 22, 2016). "Nuqat: Creative Education and Innovation in Kuwait". Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Jaber, Ramzi (8 December 2013). "Nuqat Creative Conference creates 'culture shock' in Kuwait". www.wamda.com/.
- ↑ AlziadiQ8 Plus 3 (2017-11-01). لقاء “حصة الحميضي” في برنامج (بالكويتي) عن مؤسسة نقاط للتقدم الثقافي. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via YouTube.
- ↑ D'Souza, Carolina (March 15, 2012). "Conference to chart Dubai's design history". Gulf News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ ""Culture shock" exhibition attracts visitors in Saudi Arabia". Alarabiya News. 12 July 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Bilemjian, Talar (May 6, 2014). "LOUD Art and Nuqat unite for creative project in Saudi Arabia". Buro 24/7. Archived from the original on February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "THE MISSING LINK: PRACTICING THE COLLECTIVE APPROACH". Bazaar. November 1, 2014. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Fattahova, Nawara (November 13, 2014). "Fifth Nuqat Creative Conference kicks off". Kuwait Times. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The Cultural Centre". Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2025. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Horouf : Bilingual Type Design Competition". 29Letters - 29LT BLOG. Archived from the original on 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2016-02-16. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Scheherazade's Diary (2013)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Nuqat". nuqat.me. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-02-16. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Nuqat". Archived from the original on 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2016-02-16. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Nuqat, Kuwait City - Updates from eL Seed". Tashkeel.
- ↑ "Zain collaborates with Nuqat to introduce IN•DIG•GO, a unique creative new education program for children". www.zain.com. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ↑ "Jazeera Airways official carrier of Nuqat Creative Conference". Al Bawaba.
- ↑ "IKEA x Younes Duret workshop pour Nuqat 2014 – Koweït". Younes Duret Design. 24 November 2014. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016. Unknown parameter
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