Algeria

... Culture

• - Arts : Algeria has a wide variety of art forms, enshrining the memory of civilisations that have succeeded each other.
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• - Literature : The meddahs, ancestral singers-poets, have always orally passed down the history of Algeria, thus contributing to preserving its historic heritage. Modern Algerian literature is written in Arabic, French, and Tamazight. For example, it has Arabic-speaking thinkers, including Moufdi Zakaria, Moubarek El Mili, Mohamed Laid Al Khalifa; French-speaking intellectuals, such as Kateb Yacine, Mouloud Feraoun, Mohamed Dib; as well as a booming Berber literature.

• - Music : Algerian music has a vast repertoire of styles and comes in various genres: Arabo-Andalusian music (Mahieddine Bachtarzi), considered to be traditional Algerian music, Chaabi music (Hajj M’Hamed El Anka) or Rai music (Cheikha Remiti), urban and popular music;  kabyle music (Idir), inspired by tales handed down orally, or even Gwana music (Othmane Bali) and Tuareg, originating from the slaves of Sub-Saharan Africa.

• - Cinema : Born after the country's independence, Algerian film has focused on different trends at different times: until 1970 the main themes dealt with colonialism. From the mid-seventies, the golden age of Algerian cinema, the topics focused on the building of socialism. Today, after a period of lethargy, Algerian cinema is experiencing a revival. Some big names: Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina and Ahmed Rachedi.

• - Painting : Besides the thousands of engravings and paintings representing the slopes of Mount Tassili, Algeria's painting has been inspired by many, varied sources. Affirmation of its identity and enhancement of the Islamic heritage (Racim), expressionism (Bashir Yelles), naive movement (Baya) and even abstract (Guermazi Benanteur) are all forms of artistic features of Algerian painting.