WHEN it comes to behind-closed-doors cultural activities, Canberra is a city with no rival in Australia.

That’s because of the artistic and scholarly richness hidden in our embassies, which provide an on-running alternative season of music, art, theatre and intellectual discussion.

Just three days ago, for instance, I was at a festive evening held in the Irish Embassy, with Irish and seasonal songs performed by soprano Rachael Duncan and harpist Madeleine Johnstone.

Ambassador Breandán Ó Caollaí and his wife Carmel, who are both dedicated Irish speakers, made sure the program included several songs in that language, while he recited a poem in Irish and the concert finished up with a rollicking round of “Adeste Fideles”.

Last week, I attended the debut exhibition by the artist-ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Abdulla Al Subousi, who staged a show of his art, “From UAE Oasis to the Australian Bush”, at the embassy’s Barton headquarters.

While this intimate exhibition was not for public viewing, the ambassador assured me that he was considering a public exhibition in the future.

Of particular note in this case has been his artistic search for the synergy between Indigenous Australian culture and that of his own ethnic Bedouin ancestry, with an allusion to the fact that he was born in an oasis. He’s even found one animal that serves as a symbol of resilience in both Australia and the UAE – the camel.

In one series of paintings, Mr Al Subousi endeavours to combine Australian native fauna with Aboriginal symbolism.

He also translates the traditional Aboriginal acknowledgement of country into Arabic, all the more affecting to him, he says, because the tradition of paying respect to elders is one common to both cultures.

In the exhibition are painted portraits of staff members at the embassy and also pictured is the country’s most famous female scientist, Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, chair of the UAE Council of Scientists and Space Agency.

In an unusual work, he depicts the faces of UAE founding fathers, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum emerging from the hearts of two modern-day leaders.

The crossing of cultures exemplified in his exhibition, Ambassador Al Subousi believes, confirms the principle that “tolerance is the reason we are very successful”.