Dr Shatha Almutawa, the founder and director of Kutubna, Dubai’s latest independent bookshop and cultural centre, personifies the saying ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’.
Kutubna embodies her vision of celebrating khaleeji culture, inclusive community building, and promoting a love of the arts, poetry, reading and writing, particularly in the Arabic language.
From a small bookshop to a cultural centre
In 2023, Dr Shatha launched Kutubna upon returning to Dubai after having lived in the United States for 23 years where she was teaching at major universities. Her decision to move back was so that her baby daughter would have the chance to grow up with her family in the UAE. To quit her dream job in the US, she knew she had to do something with books to be happy. “Initially, I imagined Kutubna as a small bookshop and it grew from there.”
Dr Shatha’s vision for Kutubna expanded to being a literary and community hub that would support artists, writers and creatives. She mentions a children’s book Goodnight, World which her two year old daughter loves so much that she has it memorised. “I’ve been thinking what’s so special about this book that a child would memorise it. And what I’ve come to realise is that exceptionally beautiful writing and art is easier to produce in societies that make training, practice, and resources abundant. Not just money, but books, supplies, and community support. We should have many books like this in Arabic too: books that children want to read over and over again until they memorise them. And these books should be promoted and celebrated more. We are losing our language and culture in many ways. If we want to save who we are, our intangible cultural heritage, then we need to dedicate resources and spaces that support artists, writers and creatives in our society.”
Art and Creativity As Part of Everyday Life
Dr Shatha notes that there has been a massive move towards arts and culture in the last few years in Dubai, but there is still more that can be done. What is needed is a cultural shift that makes it acceptable for someone to be a writer or artist and make a living from it. “We need a lot more places that employ creative people. Art and creativity, words and literature, can’t be apart from life. They have to be infused in everything we do.”
At Kutubna, Dr Shatha has chosen to keep the walls of Kutubna unfinished, so she can employ artists to make murals and to purchase art.
“I’m trying to make the centre be the world I want to see.” She adds laughing, “But world-building is hard!”
Celebrating khaleeji culture
Being the daughter of a Kuwaiti mother and an Emirati father who grew up in both Kuwait and Dubai, it is important for Dr Shatha to celebrate khaleeji culture, and its diversity, through Kutubna.
“Kuwaiti culture and Emirati culture are very different, and even the dialects are different enough that when my family moved to the UAE during the Iraqi invasion, at first I couldn’t understand my Emirati classmates.” Growing up she was more aware of the differences in the cultures, but when she moved to the US, her sense of a unified khaleeji identity took root.
“Being in the US made me acutely aware that the Gulf is my home. I missed khaleeji music and I missed speaking the dialect. I realised that being a khaleeji citizen gives you belonging and privilege which is unique: access to housing, healthcare, education and safety. Living in the US I understood how precarious life is in other places, where you can die simply because you can’t afford to see a doctor, or you may have to sleep on the streets.”
Space for Inclusive Community Building
One of the most heartwarming aspects of Kutubna is that when one walks in through its doors, the place feels very welcoming and inclusive. This inclusivity is felt in the design of the space – accessible toilets, a playroom for children, and a nursing room for mothers – but also in the content of the programmes and financial accessibility. For example, a weekly writing group that is free and open to all, as well as scholarships for paid events.
Dr Shatha notes, “The most important aspect of being from Dubai is that it is very international. We can’t have a centre that celebrates our culture without celebrating the most obvious thing about it, which is our diversity.”
As an academic in the US, Dr Shatha became aware of the ways in which western education and curricula were designed in a way that justified colonial projects by perpetuating negative stereotypes about marginalised peoples. For her, it was important to design curricula that were truly inclusive. She now brings this ethos to Kutubna. “The classroom is a microcosm of the world. We need to take lessons from the inclusive classroom and apply them in the world.”
Another experience that was instrumental in her approach to inclusivity was the work she did in Washington DC with the non-profit Split This Rock focused on social justice and poetry. The founders ensured that half their board seats were filled by Black people, reflective of the demographic of DC. This resulted in diverse programmes as well. “Every time you walked into an event, you would see this incredible diversity in the line-up of the speakers and poets as well as the audience. It was very affirming. Split This Rock is the model for what I’m doing at Kutubna,” says Dr Shatha.
Joys and Challenges of running Kutubna
Recounting the highs and lows of running Kutubna, Dr Shatha enthuses, “I have loved meeting so many creative people in Dubai. People here love to read and there are so many writers. We are in a place that really loves and appreciates literature and arts and culture. We are a city of book lovers. We need to embrace that.”
The biggest challenge the centre faces is to make it financially viable. “We need community support so we can cover our expenses and our staff can make fair wages. Become a member, attend our events and programmes, visit our café, buy books from the bookshop. If people believe in this vision of an inclusive cultural space, then we need them to come out and support us.”