“I love art, we paint at school but this workshop is different, in this moment I feel that I’m a famous artist.”

“I would like to be a fashion designer, I’m drawing some of my own designs in the mural and I WANT people to see them.”

These are just a handful of the comments made by some of the students who took part in Edge of Arabia’s education programme during the launch of our World Tour.

There were two workshops, one hosted by the prestigious Hewar Gallery on the 53rd floor of the Kingdom Tower itself, the other at the Al Tarbiya Al Ahlieah School, exclusively a girls zone! In both murals, the artists discussed themes of Saudi heritage, cultural identity and modernity with the children to get them inspired and expressive!

The students were selected from the Mawhiba schools partnership and the International Child Art Foundation and were from Saudi, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and the United States making it a truly international collaboration!

After two days of paint, stencils, music, laughter and a lot of fun, emerged two beautiful murals capturing the essence of some of our artists yet expressed through the eyes of the young creatives. They are on display in Jeddah in the office of Bab Rizq Jameel, our supportive education partners who share our value of inspiring creativity in young people in Saudi.

“Two days aren’t enough for me, I want to paint and paint and show everyone my work.”

Edge of Arabia Launches World Tour in Riyadh

The start of 2010 was marked by the inaugural exhibition of Edge of Arabia’s World Tour at SAGIA’s Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF) held in Riyadh’s iconic Kingdom Tower under the patronage of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

The ground-breaking group show, comprising of leading artists from Saudi Arabia – one of the world’s youngest cultures for contemporary fine art – was one of the surprise hits at the 53rd Venice Biennale and has now relaunched as a touring exhibition due to show in Dubai, Berlin and Istanbul this year with more locations to be confirmed for 2011-14.

The opening, sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel Co. Ltd, was attended by Saudi dignitaries, political leaders and cultural figureheads including the Director of MoMA New York, the director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, His Excellency Amr Al-Dabbagh, the Governor of SAGIA and HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal.

This significant moment opens a fresh chapter for the project that aims to empower a new generation of creative voices to deepen understanding of the Kingdom’s cultural achievements, while celebrating artistic practice and achievement at the centre of the Islamic world. Edge of Arabia acknowledges the support of both Fady Jameel from Abdul Latif Jameel and Sarah Al-Faour from SAGIA, without whom this event would not have been possible.

Edge of Arabia will participate at Art Dubai from 17-20 March 2010.

http://www.universes-in-universe.de/english.htm

The Palazzo Contarini Dal Zaffo Polignac was once the grand palace of the Contarini Dal Zaffo family and later the Polignac’s who showcased parties that were to mark the beginning of European avant-garde music. The Piano Nobile (main floor), overlooking the Grand Canal, is adorned with an array of magnificent early Renaissance tapestries and classic oil paintings of the great icons that once lived there, just the way a Palazzo should be. Every velvet and wooden wall, every master painting, every elaborate gold frame, every piece of authentic furniture and every dusty book tell endless tales and speaks volumes about the great Venetian past.

Today however, the ground floor and courtyard tells similar tales through the artwork and also speak volumes about the culture of a country at the heart of the Islamic world. This private palace that has been closed off to the public for centuries, now has its doors open to an outpour of visitors interested in the creativity of Saudi Arabia and the small body of works that delve deep into the voice of the contemporary Saudi artist.

The exhibition starts with Ahmed Mater’s iconic print and installation of Magnetism. The illusion created of pilgrims circumambulating the Kaaba is “Like the sun in the centre while the people are like stars travelling in their orbit of the solar system.” People stop and stare, mesmerised by how something as simple as iron fillings and a magnet can create an image so profound.

At the facade of the palace the gate opens up to our exhibition with Abdulnasser Gharem’s Concrete barrier blocking people from entering with ease. Gharem ‘questions our relationship and trust in the structures and materials that surround us.’

Poetic echoes from Gharem’s video installation of The Path palpitate throughout the exhibition space. Upon entering the dark, secluded room, you watch in isolation the movie of the almost faded figures painting The Path (Al Siraat) across that iconic broken bridge in the Saudi Arabian valley. The only light comes from the small niche where the image of The Path hangs perfectly against a brick wall, as if that architects of the building new that room would one day exhibit this piece.

Through the curtains is the female domain of Shadia and Raja Alem and Maha Malluh. Hanging from the ceiling is Alem’s Negative no more, hundreds and hundreds of negatives of women they knew, woven together in an attempt to ‘shed the cocoon of negatives, misconceptions cast upon us.’ On the walls is Malluh’s photograms, (ironically is a method of photography without the use of a negative) which convey intimate, traditional and modern objects referencing a preservation of cultural heritage in a modern world.

The exhibition has been well received by a generally surprised public. The 53rd Venice Biennale is hosting several pavilions and collateral events of counties from the Middle East including UAE, Palestine, Syria, Morrocco, Iran and many visitors have commented that Edge of Arabia has presented the best display of the Middle East.

Edge of Arabia praised by BBC for focussing on the artists not the National Agenda…click to read on

Arabic Coffee and Incense Introduce Saudi Arabian Art to Venice… click to read on

German political magazine Der Spiegel highlights Edge of Arabia in Venice… click to read on

Saudi Arabia in the City of Venice, what a thought! Venice has historically been described as ‘the eye to all the West’ and was the main portal that the Middle East came filtering into Europe and continues to do so. The Venice Beinnale, the Olympics of art events, was founded in 1895 and has been ongoing every two years since. Today we find countries from across the world represented showcasing an abundance of international talent. From the Middle East we have the UAE, Palestine and for the first time, Saudi Arabia.

The Palazzo Contarini Dal Zaffo Polignac is the magnificent, early Renaissance palace that will house the exhibition for two months. It is a classic Renaissance building with a long history and was once immortalised by Claude Monet in 1908. He painted the series Thirty-Seven Views of Venice and of all the thousands of glorious sights, this for him, was one of the most breathtaking.

Edge of Arabia in Venice features the work of 8 Saudi contemporary artists, male and female. Their work explores the complex and diverse reality of 21st century life in Saudi Arabia, combining installation, performance and a variety of other media with a multi-disciplinary approach to artistic practice – one artist is a GP, another an army Major.

Saudi Artists are engaging more with an increasingly globalised society. Even when exploring Islamic themes of cultural heritage you will find many of the artists make implications about the rapid developments in Saudi or comment on the integration of traditional values in a modern society. It is this engagement from the point of view of an artist based in the Kingdom that I believe has facilitated the emergence of contemporary art from Saudi Arabia into the international cultural community.

A visitor of EOA 2008 said:

“At last.
Dear artists, I must congratulate you all for such an impressive and unique display of Arabia! The blend from the past and the mixture of the present contemporary world speaks volumes!! Please keep up the excellent work and continue to enlighten such exposure of Arabian work throughout the world. I know that Ansha’llah such work will reach the sky with its brilliance.”

With this platform in Venice, these artists shall continue to enlighten such exposure of Arabia.

The time has come to close this chapter of Edge of Arabia and we plan to do it with style. Please join us for the Final Party at the Brunei Gallery this Saturday 13 December from 10.30-5. Don’t miss out on the last chance to see the exhibition, an infamous event for Saudi Arabian cultural history. There will be snacks, drinks, team members and EoA merchandise for your last minute Christmas buys…

See you there…

I went to Putney High School today, my old 6th form, to give a talk to the girls about the exhibition and encourage them to visit before EoA packs up and re-locates. As always, I enjoyed sharing my knowledge and love for the project and hopefully inspiring some of the girls to use the artists and artwork in their own projects.

I was pleased to know that most of the girls had all come across the exhibition, on the underground, in the posters around their school. When I asked them what they knew of or what comes to mind if one says Saudi, I got the typical responses, ‘camels’, ‘desert’, ‘oil’, ’scarved women’… It was incredibly satisfying to show them a side to Saudi Arabia (and the Middle East) that many of them would never have come across if it wasn’t for this exhibition.

Shabina from Dunraven Scool in South London with the Edge of Arabia Teachers Pack.

The time you have all been waiting for has FINALLY arrived. The Edge of Arabia Shop is now up and running.

If its a wonderful set of postcards, an EoA book or if you really want to splash out for Christmas on a Limited Edition Signed artists print.. We have it all. The best gifts, greeting cards, moleskin notepads, prayer beads, T-shirts, resource packs, books you’re likely to find anywhere. I’m not exaggerating, but please, take a look for yourself..

EDGE OF ARABIA SHOP