ALKHOBAR: Saudi artists will be featured on the Italian art scene through two major events beginning this month. A cultural and artistic exchange of Saudi and Italian artists, Soglie-Nawafeth, will take place in Italy, June 10 to 18, at Museo di Roma in Trastevere. During the event, artworks created by artists from both countries will be displayed along with scheduled talks by Dr.Thuraya Al-Arrayed, “Saudi Arabia: The Road is Planned” and Dr. Maha Al-Senan, “Contemporary Art in Saudi Arabia and the Role of the Saudi Woman in the Cultural Movement.”
Venice is the site of another art event, from June 5 through August 2, where ten contemporary Saudi Artists are exhibiting at Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo Polignac as part of the 53rd Venice Biennale. These artists are participants in the Edge of Arabia showcase focusing on contemporary art from Saudi Arabia. Developed as a five year project, Edge of Arabia is traveling the world to create interest in the contemporary Saudi art scene. Internationally known Saudi artist Manal Aldowayan (www.manaldowayan.com) is participating in both events and before leaving for Europe, she spoke with Arab News about how information technology is bringing changes for artists and the world of art.
“The projects in Italy have been planned since 2008. The one in Rome is a cultural exchange between Saudi Arabia and Italy. It started off in Riyadh in the National Museum when approximately 20 Italian artists and 20 Saudi artists joined together there,” said Aldowayan. “The Venice Edge of Arabia exhibit is an important presentation of Saudi contemporary art. This is an area that has been largely ignored until Edge of Arabia was created bringing together about 17 different artists. Edge of Arabia launched in London in the fourth quarter of 2008. Due to the different goals of the two projects, they are being supported in different ways from a technology point of view.”
Soglie-Nawafeth is being promoted mostly through established media resources, both online and traditional. In the planning for Edge of Arabia, since it is a long-term project, it was determined that the exhibit should be promoted in part through its own website and resources at www.edgeofarabia.com.
“The fact is that information technology makes art accessible. It’s no longer about going to museums” explained Aldowayan. “More and more people have access to the Internet. Sitting at home in Jeddah or Riyadh you can bring up the website for the Tate Britain or MOMA in New York and see great art that way. The curators who put together the Edge of Arabia project wanted a means of reaching out to the public and the global art community to promote the exhibition and that is where a website is essential. Actually Internet tools, including e-mail, websites and social networking, have become very important for promoting anything and everything.”
Aldowayan believes that while the technology supporting Internet resources is new, that Internet tools are actually just refinements of previous concepts and strategies. For example, in the past, many artists would write a short essay to explain the ideas behind a particular work or collection. Blogging is now an expansion of this.
“Artists always expressed their ideas about their work in the past,” said Aldowayan. “But now with a website or a blog, artists can share their ideas with a global audience.”
Other technologies are also being used to spread ideas about art. For instance, many major art museums post their expert lectures online as streaming video. These lectures and discussions hosted by artists have always existed. Aldowayan pointed out that the new aspect of using technology is that it’s possible to watch a lecture that was held two years ago and the viewer can experience the discussion in the first person, rather than reading a report about the event.
“The Internet has enabled artists to talk to the public directly, rather than depending on magazines or television to get their message out,” said Aldowayan. “For too long art has been hidden in museums and galleries — secluded from public view. This can keep people away from art. A lot of people are not comfortable walking into a gallery and interacting with the art displayed there. They may feel that they cannot enter the gallery because they cannot afford what might be hanging on the walls. Or they might be intimidated, thinking that they might not be able to understand the art on display. Galleries can build barriers. Web resources offer invitations to experience art.”
Art is a means of expanding minds, growing culture and exchanging ideas. Too often though art has been accessible to a limited number of people. Information technology can make art more accessible and artists more approachable.
“Many people e-mail me directly. They can find me on Facebook. Twitter can make art very exciting as people can share their ideas about art in nearly real time,” Aldowayan remarked. “It’s important to emphasize that artists can get inspiration from this community interaction — whether it’s with other artists worldwide or just reading the comments of someone who leaves a note on a Facebook page. To grow, an artist needs to listen to the comments of those outside their small circle of friends or colleagues. There is no better way to get close to a wide audience than through the use of technology. I believe that now there is a more intimate relationship between artists, art and the community and that’s because of technology.”