Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

Arabic). Aversion to reading is connectedto a high illiteracy rate, low purchasingpower, low quality of education, and thelack of cultural development plans, allof which facilitate the spread of easier,simpler, and less costly commercial mediawhose knowledge content becomes centralto mainstream culture.As for Arab architecture, it faces theproblem of the relationship between localarchitectural heritage and contemporaryarchitectural concepts and technologies.And yet the experiences of innovativearchitects have been a success whenthey have been able to strengthen therelationship between heritage and theproduction, industry, and technologymarkets. In contrast, certain attemptsto transfer or copy architectural modelsthat do not take Arab particularities intoconsideration have failed.In contrast, the cinema scene is bothlively and full of variety. Arab cinema hasa lengthy history that began in the earlytwentieth century in Egypt, which stillremains the leader of Arab cinematicproduction today. Arab interest in cinemahas expanded since then, however, toinclude Morocco, Lebanon, and someGulf countries, which now have advancedcinema production studios. Arab cinematicBOX 5-9As set forth in his book Building with the People, 23Hasan Fathi’s view of the relation betweenarchitecture and the human led him to establishan alternative form of architecture that rejectsthe copying of Western buildings. In Egyptianrural architecture he found artistic, technical, andenvironmental solutions for facilitating daily life andmaintaining a relationship with the land.The second half of the twentieth century ismarked by the pioneering experience of the lateRahbani brothers, Asi and Mansur, which culminatedin their collaboration with the enchanting voice ofFairuz, imprinted in the imagination of successivegenerations as an accompaniment to their joys,sorrows, rituals, and longings. The Rahbani schoolhas had a radical impact on Lebanese art in itsreliance on short songs, subtle vocal expression, andhigh-level orchestral and theatrical performance,TABLE 5-10CountryFairuz and the Rahbani brothersproductions participate in internationalfestivals even as some Arab countriescontinue to ban public movie theatres.A telling sign that cultural and artisticinnovation is opening up in the Arab worldis the growing number of cinema screensand audiences. Data on cinema audiencesshows that Egypt, Bahrain, and Moroccotake the lead with regard to the sevenArab countries for which detailed data isavailable in both the number of viewersand their ratio to the number of cinemas(Figure 5-10). In so far as film-making is aArab Innovators in Architecture and MusicSizes of cinema audiences and numbersof cinema screens, 2004-2005Size of audience(in millions)The works of Rif‘at Chadirji are characterisedby a deep theoretical and practical assimilation oflocal roots of expression and their translation intothe technical terms of modernity. Chadirji has alsomade theoretical and critical contributions throughhis writings that address debates in the field ofarchitecture and has established an annual award forpioneering Arab architects.as well as inspiring poetic images and a revival ofLebanese rural heritage in compositions that varyfrom the romantic and traditional to the modern.After performing hundreds of their songs and scoresof musical plays every year, and after exploring newvocal horizons with her son Ziyad, Fairuz remainsan innovator today. She shines in the hearts ofher public, remaining at the heart of public taste,despite the shifts in generations, technologies, andartistic preferences.CinemascreensNumber of cinemagoers (in thousands)per cinema screenEgypt 26.8 250 107.2Bahrain 1.3 26 48.1Morocco 3.8 115 33.2United Arab Emirates 6.3 202 31.4Lebanon 2.1 87 24.1Tunisia 0.3 29 10.3Algeria 0.7 69 10.1Source: The European Audiovisual Observatory, www.obs.coe.int, 15 December 2008A telling sign thatcultural and artisticinnovation isopening up in theArab world is thegrowing numberof cinema screensand audiencesARAB PERFORMANCE IN RESEARCH AND INNOVATION205