A local official talks to qat art enthusiasts from abroad.

Jasser Al-Herbish, chief of the National Handicraft Program at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) said the program is looking to expand the current Qat crafts by involving them in gifts and interior designs of hotels and restaurants in the Asir area and beyond.

These remarks came during a briefing for parties interested in preserving Qat art, which involves bringing awareness of the

importance of preserving heritage among civil society and non-profit organizations.

The meeting was organized by the SCTNH, with the participation of the Bari’ (the national program for handicrafts) and the Saudi Society for Preservation of Heritage.

Al-Herbish said that the meeting also aimed to introduce the local community to the latest experiences of Qat artists, and making a connection between the key artists and workers in this field, adding that a workshop was held to teach Qat.

He added that this meeting comes among Bare’s goals to teach Qat to those looking to learn.

Maha Al-Sinan, executive director of the Saudi Society for Preservation of Heritage, explained that her organization is working on a project called “In Pursuit of Heritage,” adding that the project aims to document intangible cultural heritage.

Al-Sinan said that the project chooses a new heritage field according to a mechanism put forth by UNESCO. “We will focus on collecting and documenting the art, by video and photos, connecting with the artists, recording their experiences and building capacity among artists,” she noted, stressing that this will be done in Asir regarding the documentation of Qat, with cooperation of SCTNH and Bari’.

She pointed out that the society will prepare scientific research and documentation for the Ministry of Information and Culture in order to list Qat as intangible heritage, as well as preparing a draft proposal to the ministry as the body responsible for addressing UNESCO to list this art on the heritage list. She added that the society has already submitted proposals to the ministry regarding Mizmar and Najadiya and preserving them.

Muhammad Al-Umrah, director general of SCTNH in Asir, said the Asir branch supports any qualitative push to preserve and document heritage.

He stressed that Qat has acquired international attention as an internationally acclaimed art, adding that many Arab and European artists have written articles to praise Qat as an Asiri culture.

He revealed that the branch works to have partnerships and agreements with relevant bodies to take Qat to the world as a civic symbol of the region, in addition to other archaeological artifacts that speak of man’s interaction with the land, and his self-expression.

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