About

Founded by Sulayman Al Bassam in 2015, the Failaka Institute for Knowledge and Arts Research is a non-profit organization that operates as a think thank and artistic production platform to usher new narratives, forms of research and expressions, and experiments in response to contemporary global issues.

The epicenter of FIKAR is the island of Failaka as it provides a unique laboratory to observe at a micro-level the consequences of climate change and the fallout of late-stage capitalism. Paradoxically, the island’s current state of inertia, combined with its incredibly rich history, mythologies, and relative autarky, allows to incubate practices of artistic and intellectual production conditioned by ephemerality, fragility, and transition.

Currently, Dar FIKAR is the main site of research and creation; in the coming years, FIKAR will expand through the creation of permanent and ephemeral hubs in collaborations with kindred partners.

FIKAR works across geographies and disciplines with leading artists, scientists, cultural organizations and academic institutions.

 

Missions

  • Facilitating connectivity between ideas across disciplines and across geographic, cultural and socio-political borders by bringing people from diverse backgrounds into dialogue, enabling knowledge exchange between artists, scientists and communities.

  • Foster critical thinking around past civilizational transience and future global realities, and incubate a practice of artistic and intellectual production conditioned by ephemerality, fragility, and transition; focusing on the pre- and post-carbon paradigms and leading to a deeper understanding of the contemporary world.

  • Nurture new habitats for culture and new forms of artistic expression and production, in synchronicity with natural ecosystems and with an awareness of the need to redefine forums and audiences for culture in the 21st century.

  • Sulayman Al Bassam

    FOUNDER

  • Océane Sailly

    DIRECTOR

  • Saif Al Areef

    ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

  • Chaminda Kumara

    HEAD OF MAINTENANCE

  • Nazar Chemplantta

    HOUSE-IN-CHARGE