297 artists to represent 62 countries

CAIRO, July 21: The activities of the Seventh International Caricature Forum kicked off Wednesday evening, under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, with the participation of 62 foreign and Arab countries, including the State of Kuwait. In a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on the sidelines of the opening, Mustafa El-Sheikh, head of the Egyptian Caricature Association, praised the great Arab and foreign participation in the forum, which was suspended for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

El-Sheikh explained that the forum will be attended by about 297 artists representing 62 countries, including Kuwait, Belgium, Ukraine, Peru, Brazil, Russia, India, Croatia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Tunisia, Morocco and the UAE. In this regard, he pointed out that nearly 400 artworks were selected from about 1,000 works, adding that “the best artworks were chosen so that the forum would come out in the best image and highest level.” He said that the forum discusses two axes, the first of which is the subject of music as a main title, in addition to the caricature of Umm Kulthum, the “giant pyramid of singing and rapture”, pointing out that “despite the death of Umm Kulthum decades ago, she still occupies the top in rapture and listening rates so far.

The forum, which will run until July 30, was inaugurated by Dr. Khaled Sorour, Head of the Plastic Arts Sector at the Ministry of Culture, Sabri Saeed, Head of the Foreign Cultural Relations Sector at the Ministry, and Mustafa El- Sheikh, Head of the Egyptian Caricature Association, in the midst of a large presence of plastic artists, cartoonists, critics and the public. A number of Kuwaiti artists will participate in the forum, including Muhammad Thalab, Adel Al Qallaf, Khaled Al-Khashti, Mona Al-Tamimi, Basil Abu Haimed, Hussein Al-Sarraf, Zainab Dashti and Sami Al-Khars (KUNA)