A significant part of my project proposal has been stepping out of my comfort zone to see if there were any artistic avenues in Jeddah — contrary to popular opinion. Looking at my old blog posts I realize I can date it back to that day at Arbab al Heraf. That day two things coincidentally came to my attention: I realized that, hidden in the nooks and crannies of Jeddah, circles of writers and artists bloomed Jeddah, and KSA as a whole, was undergoing a mini-cultural revolution Thus began an exploration that has gained momentum over this last year, almost too …
Tag: jeddah
Embracing the storyteller
You know what can be terrifying sometimes? Realizing that you have so many interests, passions and ambitions that you end up feeling totally unfocused. Four years ago I picked art and I have the consistency disease. I literally stick by what I choose through thick or thin. So while the fear was always there, so was art. I wouldn’t give it up, even in the moments where I felt I was a fake, pretending to be an artist. But you know what that did? That sole, blinders-on kind of focus made me exclude some of my other interests as important. …
Women’s day
Women’s day was quite a while back but I forgot to write a blog on a small exhibition that happened at Ascott Hotel Jeddah. It was called “Women Supporting Women” and it exhibited all kinds of arts and crafts. Here are the paintings chosen to be exhibited there: I absolutely loved the exhibition space. An artsy person could just walk in there and feel at home. Mental note made in case I ever need a space for an art event in Jeddah! Ayla and I even purchased this adorable pin …
Artisans of Love
During my first ever tutorial, when art in Jeddah felt like a haze I was unable to penetrate, I talked to Jonathan about an art cafe I had discovered called Arbab al Heraf. It inspired a wonderful, artsy, curious discussion with wonderful, artsy, curious people and, you could say, it was the springboard for me exploring and understanding art in Jeddah. One of the things that emerged from that discussion was the idea that I could set up interviews with celebrated local artists. The stories that emerged would be a piece of narrative art in and of itself. Finally that …
The Other Story Project — Illustrated
The Other Story Project, mentioned in one of the previous blog posts, is a public art project I’ve been following for quite some time. I guess it is exactly my idea of using various forms of art and community involvement to build a cultural narrative. The Other Story Project often orchestrates a collaboration with artists to create a version called “The Other Story Project–Illustrated”. In January they reached out to me to join the team of artists illustrating one story each for the month of February. This is the story I was given (originally in Arabic, below is a close …