A major addition in your to do list while you’re in Kuwait is visiting the FA gallery, a boutiqueand art gallery located on the Gulf road opposite the Amiri Hospital. To be fair, the word gallery is an understatement of the FA gallery concept. Whatever you think, they are one step ahead exceeding all expectations and giving you the most memorable art experience ever writes Men’s Passion’s Nouf Al-Hajri.
In fact, your experience will start even before you enter when you find a vintage mahogany carpet leading your way to the entrance of a house aged more than 50 years, embracing contemporary interiors manifested in the massive walls and high ceiling as well as the state of the art lighting system and display - and yet managing to keep the essence and originality of this historic place making you feel like you’re home.
Your first entertainer would be the ground floor art gallery showcasing exquisite pieces of the in-house artist Ibrahim Al Qassab as well as an international artist where the collection changes every two weeks making every visit the first. As you wander through the place you won’t help but pause and gaze at every single piece which was selected very carefully to give a different kind of pleasure to the viewer.
The rich simplicity of the interior also makes it a hub to host different kinds of events throughout the year both local and international, from fashion to charity as well as private events.
Aside from the art gallery you can have a unique shopping experience in their fashion boutique. This features designs mostly from the South American region, as well as a number of brands from London, Paris and Canada for both men and women. You can see when you look at the pieces that great effort has been put in to choosing them. They are a mixture of couture and high street fashion, urban and classic, making it easy for everyone to find something they like with a superb quality and finish that came straight from the runways of Columbia and Brazil. The boutique collection includes clothing, bags, accessories and shoes.
The collections feature well established designers as well as upcoming ones. The brands include names like Osklen created by Oskar Metsavaht in 1989 whose brand is considered as the virtual bible of the fashion world and one of the top ten most influential and inspiring brands in the world. This brand has more than 50 stores and showrooms around the world. Another brand is Huisclos which isn’t that old in the market but became an object of desire to fashion lovers in a very short time and soon another brand came next to it called Maria Garcia mixing sophisticated pieces with modest ones.
Native, a very interesting shoe brand, came from Canada in 2009 to sell a lightweight foam-injection molded EVA shoes. Native are the new Crocs , but lighter and actually looks pretty with a wide colour range for both genders as well as kids.
Most of the brands in The FA Gallery are organic and eco-friendly through the use of high quality textiles which vary from natural to technological fabrics.
If you’re up for a treat , the FA Gallery offers its VIP customers a special experience where they can relax and lounge in a cozy VIP area while shopping and even grab their lunch and enjoy their meal over a fairytale like rooftop with a breathtaking view of the seaside.
Upcoming events in the FA gallery:
2/11/2010 : Kiehl’s charity art exhibition by the artist: Amira Behbehani in support of the“Ghalia” charity initiative to help children with kidney disease.
7/11/2010 : new collection in the art gallery by the Egyptian artist: Mahmoud Maghrebi
8/11/2010 : new fashion collection coming to the boutique by the Columbian native Adriana Santacruz
20/11/2010: Kuwaiti artist: Mohammad AlShemmeri displays his work in the art gallery.
FA Gallery is in Sharq, Block 2, Gulf Road, Villa 76. Telephone +965 2249 8999, www.thefagallery.com
First Published in Men's Passion Issue #26 November 2010
