A seminar titled ‘Forty-two Years of Documenting Kuwait’ by Claudia Al-Rashoud.
In 1979, at the age of 22, Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud became Kuwait’s first professional female photojournalist at the Arab Times newspaper. Join her as she talks about photographing and interviewing film stars, fashion designers, royalty, an astronaut, and entrepreneurs on the one hand, and on the other hand, Kuwait’s last master bedouin weavers, shipbuilders, sea captains, and pearl divers. Find out why Kuwait’s desert environment and animal welfare are among her major areas of concern. Finally, learn about how her photographic work here began in the chaotic conditions of a newspaper darkroom, and have come full circle, with a collaboration with The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Beirut, and the Akkasah Center for Photography at New York University Abu Dhabi.
Bio:
Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud became Kuwait’s first female photojournalist at the Arab Times in 1979. Captivated by a country rich in heritage and traditions, she began capturing her dramatically-changing surroundings on film and in writing. She authored five books on Kuwait and has contributed to countless publications, researching many subjects largely undocumented elsewhere. Serving as Ethnographic Consultant for the nascent Scientific Center, she procured unusual and rare artifacts and helped produce exhibits depicting a vanishing way of life. Claudia will touch on many subjects, including Kuwaiti heritage, natural history, and animal welfare.