Jubilee Arts is a new international programme established in the Diamond Jubilee year to celebrate the global Jamat’s vast artistic skills and cultural traditions, and aims to encourage a deeper appreciation for the arts within the Jamat. Jubilee Arts provides opportunities for aspiring Ismaili artists from around the world to showcase and further develop their talents both during and beyond the Diamond Jubilee year.

Jubilee Arts is envisioned in line with Mawlana Hazar Imam’s aspiration that the full spectrum of artistic endeavour should be cultivated, developed, and promoted in the multiple traditions of the global Ismaili Jamat.

The Jubilee Arts programme culminated in Lisbon, Portugal in July 2018 through the International Arts Festival. This event allowed Ismaili talents from all over the world to come together and share their talents through a Talent Showcase, a Film Festival and an Art Gallery.

Artistic expression is therefore an opportunity for the Jamat to discover and appreciate our rich cultural traditions and plurality. In these lines, we can refer back to the dancers Shaista Nazaraly and Priya Veldjee who represented the Malagasy jurisdiction last July in Lisbon.

In the year of the 2018 Diamond Jubilee, the National Council for Madagascar organized a National Arts Festival, during which more than 100 artists participated in various forms of art such as: music, singing, dance, theatre, painting, photography, etc.

Thanks to the success of the first edition of the National Arts Festival in 2018, a second edition of this festival was organised on March 23rd at the American Centre in Antananarivo.

This festival brought together three major disciplines:

1. Visual art (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, etc.)
2. Cinematographic art (films, documentaries, animations, etc.)
3. Stage art (dance, music, theatre, singing, etc.)

Thus, about 50 artists from the Jamat of Madagascar performed in front of more than 200 members of the Jamat for a total of 23 performances. The National Arts Festival organised last March was an opportunity to illustrate and to extend the Jubilee Arts legacy for the Malagasy jurisdiction. The National Council warmly thanks all the artists, participants and volunteers for their tireless involvement and dedication.