After winning the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture for 2023 granted by the organization in Paris, the founder of the Lebanese National Theater, actor, and director, Kassem Istanbouli, was appointed as a cultural advisor in the Advisory Board of the TransCultural Exchange, Boston, USA, for his significant cultural and artistic role in Lebanon and the Arab region, decentralizing culture, and achieving the principle that “art is a right for all” in South and North Lebanon.
In addition to this, the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture is considered one of the best international cultural prizes, through which the jury has chosen Istanbouli for his leading and unique contribution to rehabilitate and reopen numerous closed cinemas in Lebanon, establish festivals and artistic training workshops, reactivate the cultural movement in Lebanon, promote parallel cultural development by opening independent and free cultural platforms, as well as his prominent role in expanding knowledge of art, promoting cultural dialogue, and activating and disseminating Arab culture in the world. The award was established in 1998, at the initiative of Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, to celebrate Arab creators and intellectuals.
For 15 years, Istanbouli played numerous theater performances in over 23 countries and was awarded by Jordan, Vienna, and Egypt. He established the Istanbouli Theater troupe in 2008 and contributed to the founding of the Tiro Association for Arts (TAA) in 2014. “Koum Yaba,” “A Picnic on the Battlefield,” “Zanka Zanka,” “Experiencia del Mural,” “The Black House (La casa de Bernarda Alba),” “Margins,” “Mours,” “Stories from the Border,” “School of Dictator,” “The Court of People,” and “Waiting for Godot” are among the performances that the troupe had played, in addition to participating in local and international festivals. In 2009, the troupe won the best artistic work award at the Lebanese Universities’ Festival and then the best actor award at the Toqous Festival in Jordan back in 2013. In 2011, “Experiencia del Mural” was the first Arab theater performance to participate in the Almagro Festival’s official contest. In addition to this, in 2019, Istanbouli won the Best Theatrical Character award at the Sharm El-Sheikh International Theater Festival in Egypt, the Intercultural Achievement Award (IAA) in Vienna for the Arab Culture and Arts Network (ACAN) project in 2021, and the jury’s special award at the Mansoura Theater Festival in 2023.
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