JLF Soneva Fushi will come to Male’ later this month, bringing literature, music and culture to the capital city for one special day.
The festival day will be held at Salt Cafe in Male’ on Wednesday 18 May, with Maldivian poetry reading and storytelling, as well as conversations with prominent authors Shobhaa De and Marcus du Sautoy. Mauroof Jameel, renowned Maldivian architect and academic; Zaahie Saeed, an illustrator and author whose work focuses on island life; and Ahmed Mauroof Jameel, a writer of, and expert on, comics, will also speak at the event.
Shobhaa De is one of India’s best known novelists, whose most famous work focuses on fictional depictions of the colourful lives of Indian socialites and high society figures. Her session at the festival day is entitled ‘Fiction, Faction and the Spaces in Between’, where she will discuss the many spaces she inhabits as writer, the ability to balance and flourish in each.
Marcus du Sautoy is a mathematician extraordinaire and author of the books, Thinking Better: The Art of the Shortcut and The Creativity Code: How AI is Learning to Write, Paint and Think, in which he studies the nature of creativity, algorithms and how engineers track emotional responses to art. His session is entitled ‘AI and Creativity’ where he will discuss AI, intuition, the creative process and its connection to mathematics.
Q&As and book signings will be available with both authors.
The event will also feature local musicians, Ammadey, Igyan Rafeeu, Shamoon Mohamed, and Ahnaf Ibrahim. These artists are curated by Fannuge Dharin (Talent Gathering), a local organisation that provides a platform for Maldivian artists to meet, share and inspire.
The world-famous JLF is holding a 10-day festival at Soneva Fushi in Baa atoll from May 13-22. Soneva Fushi is hosting the one-day event in Male’ as part of its outreach programme, to provide an opportunity for Maldivians in the Greater Male Area to enjoy some of the festival’s world-class cultural programming.
Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, the producer of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival and the international extensions of JLF said, ‘’We are excited to bring a version of the world’s biggest literary event to Maldives with JLF Soneva Fushi, which explores diversity and creates a platform to celebrate world literature and commonality.”
Sonu Shivdasani, CEO and co-founder of Soneva, said, “We are delighted to be hosting part of JLF in Male’, and we hope that people living in the capital can enjoy participating in this exciting festival of culture, music and literature.”
For more information regarding the festival, including the full event programme, please see: https://soneva.com/soneva-fushi-jlf/
