The exhibition, which kicked off on Wednesday with the participation of 130 artists, is part of the Jeddah Summer Festival.

“The expo is displaying 400 artworks from different art schools where participants chose their mediums: graphic art, plastic art, animation, and many other techniques,” said Fatimah Ba-Azeem, one of the show’s organizers who also hosts workshops for starting young artists prior to the event. “Every year we arrange this exhibition to concentrate on discovering young artists. Some of the participating artists are contributing for the first time.”

The aim of the exposition is also to promote art in Arabic style, as well as encourage domestic tourism to Jeddah during the summer vacation season.

“That is why we are displaying several works such as caricature illustration, photography, animation, street art, and graphic design,” said Ba-Azeem. “In malls the artists have the opportunity to interact with the people without being afraid of receiving professional criticism.”

Hussam Al-Qurashi, vice president of marketing and corporate communication for Red Sea Marketing Company, said the expo is part of a strategy to make Red Sea Mall a “special tourist attraction.”

“We decided to organize a different summer festival this year,” he added. “We have expanded our scope to include social, art, cooking, and sport activities to target all the people. We aim at making Red Sea Mall a special tourist location in Jeddah.”

The event organizers say the young artists were encouraged to express their feelings and opinions about society.

“We did not define a certain topic for the painters,” said Al-Qurashi. “They can create their new ideas and use different artistic techniques to express it.

Wejdan Jiad, who studies interior design in a local private college and who is participating in the exposition, said she benefits from local art workshops and the chance to display her work. She also said it is difficult to find a venue.

“I am always searching for art exhibitions to participate in,” she said. “I already participated in exhibitions at Serafi Mall, Mall of Arabia and Red Sea Mall.”

On Wednesday Jiad was making T-shirt designs inspired by Japanese anime. “I will draw a certain character on the T-shirt and write one word beside this character,” she said as she prepared her next masterpiece.

Azzam Hussain Al-Ahdal, 19, who attended recent workshops, is participating in the event for the second time. “This year we are training with a number of artists, such as Yasser Madani, Ibrahim Ries, and Khaled Arco,” he said. “We have been given the freedom to choose the idea of our work. That is why I chose to participate in three mediums: Graphic art, plastic art and animation.”

Photographers also had a chance to participate.

“I am participating with one piece: a photo for the old seaport,” said Abdulrahman Samman, who is a photojournalist for a local daily. “I am planning to participate to several exhibitions in order to develop my skills. Perhaps I will change my career.”

Yara Jiad is just five years old, but she is participating with wearable art.

“I decided to paint on kids T-shirts,” she said. “I am also planning to draw on several clothes only for kids. With each drawing I will choose a word to express the T-shirt.”

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