Saudi woman that breaks into the world of fine arts is not a news item, but a Saudi woman that breaks into the male-oriented world of editorial cartoons is.

World, meet Hanaa Hajjar.

Hajjar discovered a keenness for drawing caricatures with social relevance.

“In my opinion, editorial cartoons are more expressive than regular news articles. They usually criticize life’s issues with sarcastic approaches that reach all people,” said Hajjar, whose work has recently begun gracing the local news pages of this newspaper.

Hajjar said she began her love affair with art at the age of ten. She used to decorate her school walls, draw maps and participate in school exhibitions.

During her journey toward discovering her talents, Hajjar has met artists that have encouraged her to move onward, expressing her ideas regarding life issues through caricatures.

“The first person to back me up was the art critic Hisham Qandeel, manager of the Jeddah Atelier gallery, when he recognized my potential,” said Hajjar.

Hajjar spent a month-and-a-half training with the Egyptian cartoonist Saeed Shihata in Al-Ahram newspaper. Though none of her work was published in the daily, she said that she learned a lot from her mentor.

“Saeed Shihata used to watch my caricatures and direct me toward being a professional editorial cartoonist,” she said.

Hajjar has displayed her works at Cairo’s Opera House in September 2005. She also displayed a painting in the Youth Salon exhibition in Cairo that same month.

“I was the only Saudi to participate in the exhibition,” she said. “The Egyptian Deputy Minister of Information Ahmad Nawwar admired my painting,” she said, adding that Nawwar — who is a leader in arts advocacy in Egypt — gave her an honorary certificate.

Back home in Saudi Arabia, Hajjar participated last year in the Ramadaniyat Exhibition at the House of Artists in Jeddah and the Islamiyat at the Saudi Center for Plastic Art.

Last week, Hajjar participated with one tableau each in the two exhibitions: the Saudi German Hospital and the Saudi Center for Plastic Art.

Hajjar was awarded in 2005 as the first upon the other participants in the Future Talents Exhibition. This time she displayed her caricatures.

“I was the only one to participate with caricatures in this exhibition. I felt that people were attracted to my cartoons,” she said.

Attendees of the exhibition expressed their admiration of her creative work.

Hajjar will participate with her tableaus in the Al-Baha Exhibition in Bahrain next April.