Abu Dhabi: The Al Ain Book Festival, which kicked off its 15th edition on Sunday, organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, is opening wide doors for visitors to explore illuminating pages from the life story of the founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace, allowing attendees to learn about his noble qualities, achievements, and wisdom, which represent a legacy for future generations, in an innovative and artistic form.
The festival, which runs until November 23, at Al Ain Square at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, and other cultural and tourism centres across the city, has creatively presented a national project designed by Emirati engineer and artist Salem Al Kaabi, which features an artistic space (10×5 meters) fully decorated with 5,000 pages taken from the book “Words of A Leader”, published by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre. Al Kaabi used solar printing technology, a technique in photography that involves mixing paper with chemicals and then exposing it to sunlight, allowing the image to become clearer, but in blue-coloured details.
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Al Kaabi began his project, “In Both Arabic and English,” over four months with the support of the Centre, where he chose a special corner of the festival to build a room that he called the “The Founding Father’s Words Room”. The room’s floor was covered with sand from the city of Al Ain, offering visitors a unique experience as though they were living in the era of the founding leader. Additionally, the walls of the room were covered in reflective chrome material to tell the story of a leader and his journey through a unique visual experience.
Al Kaabi explained that he drew inspiration for the visual and sensory elements in the room from the cover of the book. He also collaborated with a sound engineer to remix songs from poems sung in tribute to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace, including “Marhaba Ya Hala, Hayy Bil-Shahama” as well as others that are deeply connected to the heritage and history of Al Ain, where the founding father grew up.
