JEDDAH, 19 April 2007 — Artists from various parts of the Kingdom yesterday celebrated the coming of spring with an exhibition of 40 pieces of art at the second annual “Rabeyat” art exhibition that began yesterday at the Al-Alamia Art Gallery.
The title of the exhibition, “Rabeyat,” comes from the Arabic word for spring “rabee.” The show is held annually in the month of April.
“The works were very impressive and of extremely high standard. The corporate world should take notice of the works for their collections instead of importing artwork,” said Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena, who was guest of honor at the opening event.
The event is being sponsored and organized by Ro’iya Art Consultancy, and was attended by a number of prominent businessmen and artists.
“The works displayed reflect the thoughts of artists and their perception of spring,” said Ma’an M. Bajnaid, an architect from Ro’iya Art Consultancy. He added that the artists had passed a piece of Arabic literature from their thoughts on to canvas.
Khalil Nehlawi, manager of the Al-Alamia Art Gallery, said, “The number of artists in the Kingdom has increased tremendously. In the past there was only a handful of artists, today they are in the hundreds.”
The Al-Alamia Art Gallery has been running for 10 years and has so far hosted 60 exhibitions.
Twenty-two artists, 11 men and 11 women, are participating in the current nine-day exhibition. “An equal participation from both genders,” said Nehlawi.
Prominent Saudi artists participating include Abdullah Hamas, president of the House of Artists, Fahd Al-Hujailan, Reem Nazer and Samia Khashoggi. Non-Saudi artists include Sudanese Awad Abu Saleh and Najwa Yaqoub, both resident in Jeddah.
