Going once.. going twice.. sold!
Published: Apr 27, 2011 18:22 Updated: Apr 30, 2011 14:52
Philanthropy beckons artists at auction to ‘Benefit Arabia’
Saudi Arabia is witnessing a committed, serious and enthusiastic partaking of the young enterprising generation in addressing entrepreneurial, social and cultural challenges. Such challenges have been largely addressed through the use of social networking media and discussion groups. Recently, however, the use of artistic mediums has been gaining popularity.
The Westin Jeddah hotel played host for two days to a soirée welcoming brilliant young painters, sculptors and photographers eager to auction their work to help raise funds for orphans without identities.
Benefit Arabia, a non-profit event management company organized the “Art Auction for Humanity” fund-raiser as a contribution to Al-Wedad charitable society, a foundation that aims to support orphans by attaching them to families and providing focused child-care through foster-mothers, housing, education and psychological support.
Rania Al-Harith, founder of Benefit Arabia said: “When I visited Al-Wedad, I realized they needed financial support toward the care of the orphans. We have ensured that the money raised is directly rewarded into the personal funds maintained for the orphans by Al-Wedad.”
“The Art Auction for Humanity” is slated to be an annual affair to ensure the continuous support for the objective of maintaining the care of the orphans. The price tags on the artwork ranged between SR1,000 to SR25,000 to generate a revenue, of which 50 percent would be contributed for clothing, education and other miscellaneous needs of the orphans housed by the Al-Wedad charitable society.
It is an ingenious effort for the sustainability of the growing numbers of emerging artists to develop their art and contribute as vocational members of the artistic society. At the same time, it will add more value to the face of social responsibility through voluntary contributions of earnings through such art-sales. The multi-cultural fabric of the society in Jeddah is ushering an avant-garde arts movement through a multitude of artistic impressions, particularly in photography.
The youngest participant at the auction was six-year-old Nour Ashary, managing to exhibit nine nature inspired photographs after two months of taking a course in basic photography.
Photographer Maan Salha exhibited a three-piece black and white photography set, which explores religious and spiritual understandings and resistance of societal expectations and flays human emotions through the stillness of his subject’s composure.
“Art is expressive and people need to express themselves freely through art. Artistic freedom is very vital. If it’s restrictive, then there’s no point to it. Art changes the way society looks at things,” said Jawaher Abbar, a young animal-rights aficionado who exhibited a collection of nature and animal photography. She spoke on the ethics governing the need for artists to express the nature of their impressions without undue restrictions.
Mir Anwar, a visiting wedding photographer based in New York, showcased a collection of cell phone shot images worthy of advanced technological finesse. The images ranged from pages out of the Qur’an to an architectural structure at the Haram premises in Makkah to the local mosque off Corniche. It was an attempt at re-establishing ties of his childhood memories with the locality of the city he grew up in.
“The vibe here at this art auction is nothing less of what we have outside of Saudi Arabia,” he remarked.
Yaser Qarout, a photographer from Makkah, chose to shed light on the decline of the traditional Hejazi-styled housing in place of modern abodes and the dire need to restore the architectural pride, which is falling into ruins. He did that through a black and white photograph shot in old Jeddah.
The social support movement through arts, a comprehensive toiling effort between the organizers, artists, buyers and patrons is by no means a sojourn given the emergence of new talents and visions the youth of this country are producing.
A young Palestinian photographer, Muhannad Abu Ghdaib, who is an architectural engineer by profession, paid tribute to the growing political resistance against Israel by the Palestinians through an anthology of photographs shot in locations from the alleys of Nablus to the hills overlooking the Askar village in Palestine.
“I strongly believe in the power of artists and their role in society. I believe our generation is witnessing a cultural renaissance where more people are appreciating the role of arts in social reform,” said Soraya Darwish, the graphic designer for Benefit Arabia.
Said Aghil Baaghil, Middle-East’s leading brand marketing strategy consultant and one of the key speakers at the event said: “You see fundraisers are very important to any cause. Now, what Benefit Arabia is doing is making small steps toward such a goal of supporting orphans.”
He said that despite the trend of supporting causes being very recent to Saudi Arabia, tremendous efforts have been executed by the young university students in reviving the support of causes — a requirement closely tied to religion.
“How lucky are we to live where we live. We don’t recognize the things that don’t exist in our lives. We should continue such efforts not only by supporting such causes but also through creating awareness,” he said.
Iman Al-Dabbagh Bushnak, a photographer based in Sarajevo, Bosnia, made overseas efforts to exhibit her photographs for the prime purpose of supporting the cause.
“The auction is a way for people to get off their couches and be productive. It is a way to encourage people to be involved in the betterment of their community,” she said.
The auction in her opinion serves multiple goals in helping raise funds for a local charity, involving the community by working together, meeting new people and recognizing local creative talents.
“Artists can connect the privileged with the unprivileged youth by breaking down the walls that have been preventing progress,” she added.
Saad bin Mohammed bin Saad bin Abdulrahman, a Saudi writer and artist who auctioned his oil canvas paintings, “The 7 Inners” and “Formation of a Being,” said: “I am so honored to be a part of this noble event. It is a golden opportunity for the society to prove its civilization by accepting the orphans as human beings and God’s creations, regardless of their names or even tribes. Just because they were born in different circumstances doesn’t make them any less than you and me.”
He is of the opinion that liquid money is not the absolute solution to the financial setbacks the orphans face due to the absence of their supporting families.
“Poverty is a severe disease. What these children need is not sympathy money but the opportunities to prove themselves competitively in the work-force for the sustainability of their future,” he stated.
With the growing interest of society in contributing resources to alleviate the empty finances that orphans face under their given circumstances, combined efforts need to be undertaken by the regulatory to achieve a more stable integration of the orphans into the community.
